How many roosters?

[Life is Good!]

That's the part I dread the most!

I look at the clean up part as an opportunity to sterilize my kitchen, faucet, sink, back hall handles and whatever else we touched between house and garage.
Truthfully, this is simply part of life. Everything has to eat...bad roosters get to be first in line. Further, I have to make hard calls about who stays the winter. Too many birds in a small confined space for 3-4 months isn't right either...hence the need to choose wisely.

 

[Minky]

Do you guys ever do one bird at a time or is it not worth all the set up and clean up after.
The closest butcher is almost a 50 minutes drive one way for us! I dont mind driving all the way for a batch of meat birds but its a bit much for a bird or two.
I wont be anywhere close for the deed, so Im wondering how much work it actually would be for my husband to do, say 2 birds. Your first time, how long? And once you're good at it how long? He hunts and worked in a butcher shop as a teenager so he is not squeamish. (unless its to deal with a 7 year old with a loose tooth!)

Oh, and what is a good age for, say a CLB buff orpington cross cockerel? 20 weeks? 15?
They look so small....

 

[Mrs. K]

They are going to be small. Younger more tender.

3 hours is what it took me first time...two birds.

 

[aart]

Do you guys ever do one bird at a time or is it not worth all the set up and clean up after.

No! I only do 4-5 at time due to physical/stamina issues, and fridge capacity(need to buy a second fridge/freezer this year).
I wish I could do them all(this year is 9 cockerels and 6 hens) at once and only clean up once. But part is also timing, 3 cockerels will be ready in a couple weeks, the others a few weeks later(tho I may do a couple/few early)....old hens go in fall after the pullets are laying and before winter weather clamps down.

I slaughter cockerels at 13-16 weeks, before they start causing chaos and while still tender enough to grill for that crispy skinned deliciousness. Not much meat but the grilled bones make for some excellent stock. Anything older than that I pressure cook until meat is done and is saved aside then a couple more hours to get that bone broth.

Resting the cleaned carcass in fridge for 48-72 hours for rigor to pass is essential for chewable meat from any bird(except maybe CX?). Tho no homegrown bird I've eaten, layer or meat breed, is as soft as a grocery bird, they are more 'toothsome'.

 

[Mimi13]

No! I only do 4-5 at time due to physical/stamina issues, and fridge capacity(need to buy a second fridge/freezer this year).
I wish I could do them all(this year is 9 cockerels and 6 hens) at once and only clean up once. But part is also timing, 3 cockerels will be ready in a couple weeks, the others a few weeks later(tho I may do a couple/few early)....old hens go in fall after the pullets are laying and before winter weather clamps down.

I slaughter cockerels at 13-16 weeks, before they start causing chaos and while still tender enough to grill for that crispy skinned deliciousness. Not much meat but the grilled bones make for some excellent stock. Anything older than that I pressure cook until meat is done and is saved aside then a couple more hours to get that bone broth.

Resting the cleaned carcass in fridge for 48-72 hours for rigor to pass is essential for chewable meat from any bird(except maybe CX?). Tho no homegrown bird I've eaten, layer or meat breed, is as soft as a grocery bird, they are more 'toothsome'.

I have yet to process one of my own, but I will be processing two cockerels in 5-6 more weeks. They are 8 weeks old now. I have always heard that home grown birds just taste better than grocery birds, kind of like the eggs do. So what is it about a grocery bird that makes it softer, and by softer do you mean tastes better, more tender? I’m just curious because I will shortly begin my adventure with processing the birds I deem either not useful (cockerels) or those no longer useful (old layers.) After much reading, I have finally come to understand which birds must be cooked a certain way, fryers versus stewers. I just wish every chicken had 5 or 6 gizzards, because I’m one of the weird people who LOVE fried or even boiled gizzards. I have loved them since I was a kid, and as old as I am that means I’ve eaten quite a few. Yum!

 

[aart]

So what is it about a grocery bird that makes it softer, and by softer do you mean tastes better, more tender?

They are bred to grow very large very quickly, especially the breast.
They are a special cross breeding developed over years and years.
They are only about 8 weeks old when slaughtered, which accounts for much of the softness/tenderness, plus they are pretty much confined so don't use those muscles much.
As for taste, I think they taste milder and less flavorful.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I agree with you on the gizzards, pure meat and good flavor. But it is not for everyone.

Basically what Aart said. The Cornish X you get at the grocery or butcher yourself are very young compared to our dual purpose breeds unless you butcher them before they have any real meat. A suckling pig or young calf is going to be more tender and less flavorful than if the animal is butchered at a later age. Age is a huge component.

Something Aart did not mention, especially with cockerels. Once the cockerels hit puberty the hormones hit. Those hormones cause the meat to take on a stronger flavor. I like that flavor but something it is too strong. As they age cockerels especially grow a lot of connective tissue. If you skin instead of pluck you'll notice this. I also butcher a lot of pullets as well as cockerels. While I think age is the major culprit, by comparing the pullets with the cockerels I think the hormones add more texture to the cockerel's meat as well as more flavor.

 

[Life is Good!]

DH does all the work - butcher, skinning, gutting and a rough clean. I bring carcass inside and do a final clean (feathers all off, clean interior of carcass, cut as I think we will use it, package and put in fridge). The worst part for me is doing all this in cold water. The worst for DH is if he misses the jugular the first time.

Our first birds were Rangers, and we did 5 in 2 hrs after work one weeknight. If there is a need, we can be set up in 10 min and a done in less than 30 min (lunch hour) for one bird. We skin, not pluck, which is a lot like taking a slightly too small jacket off a sound asleep toddler...! I know if we were to pluck, it would be longer.

 

[aart]

As they age cockerels especially grow a lot of connective tissue. If you skin instead of pluck you'll notice this.

Any older bird has much 'tougher' fascia and connective tissue, even older hens are harder to gut due to that. I slaughtered an 8wo CX once just to compare, much easier to gut than even the 16wo cockerels.

Man, I like the skin, especially young(<16wks) cockerels on the grill!
Plucking is more work and clean up, but I don't think my hands are strong enough to skin an older bird. Might have to try it again tho. Tried on my first slaughter, 1yo cockerel and was going to cure the hackle and saddle feathers but he was covered in lice(long rookie naivety story there), ended up doing partial harvest of breasts, legs, and top wing joint, it was hard to get that skin off.

I look at the clean up part as an opportunity to sterilize my kitchen, faucet, sink, back hall handles and whatever else we touched between house and garage.

DH does all the work - butcher, skinning, gutting and a rough clean.

See, I do all of it myself...why I hate the cleanup part, I'm bushed by then.

 

[Ridgerunner]

It does take strength to skin an older cockerel or rooster even with a sharp knife where you cut a lot of the connective tissue. Younger cockerels, say 16 weeks, or pullets even several months old are a breeze comparatively.