how old is too tough?

[Egghead_Jr]

You can still eat roosters that are 1+ years old, but as others say, they get though and chewy. We boil our roosters and then dice the meat across the grain. It works really well in soups, chili, and chicken salad.

Never let stock pot get to a boil. Simmer at best or your meat will be tough. Crock pots are easier to use but once you know your stock pot and stove maintaining a low simmer is easy enough.

 

[Mosey2003]

One more question that came up. Let's say our hen ends up with something that I am forced to cull her early- prolapse is what came up in conversation- is there any reason I can't eat the meat from that?

Depends on what it is and how soon you catch it. Prolapse or eggbound or ascites, I would eat if caught early and the carcass looked normal. Anything that just looked "sick" I wouldn't.

i don't mean to sound like a wet blanket but my experience so far with dual purpose has been kind of dismal to the point where I have given up on eating them. instead I rotate them out based on laying performance and temperament, a few a year, in part because my kids always seem to want more chicks in the spring. The extra birds go to friends who free range and frankly, need a steady supply because they always lose some to predation. our dual purpose birds have always ended up on the light side, at least compared to our CX, I think I've become spoiled a bit by CX but it's also a practical matter, it's a lot of work to process birds that don't amount to much. once I realized how light dual purpose are, I changed my approach and decided to grow fryers and focus on making their life a good one, albeit short, and reducing the stink and manage their health in a variety of ways that result in a decent experience for me as the keeper as well as a decent tasking bird. I produce about 70 meat birds a year, resulting in roughly 300+ lbs of meat for our family of 4. I can't even imagine how many chickens I'd have to grow to net that kind of meat production.

I just got some true heritage Barred Rocks, so I'm going to be interested to see how those cockerels butcher out around 16 weeks. I agree that especially lightly bred DP birds just aren't that super for eating, but I don't mind making tons of stock for the freezer, and if I'm going to breed, cockerels are going to happen. Same thing with the layers, I'd rather eat them since I spent all those years feeding them, anyway. But I wouldn't specifically go out and buy DP birds for the sole purpose of eating them.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

If you plan to grill or broil them your target age of cockerel culls should be 12-14 weeks. 16 weeks would be too tough for broiler but there to 18 weeks is good age for frying.

There's a good article on age of bird and traditional cooking methods:
https://livestockconservancy.org/images/uploads/docs/cookingwheritagechicken.pdf

 

[Beer can]

I really like the Sagitta that I get from the local Ace Hardware. You fill out the order form, the hatchery delivers the chicks to the store 2 weeks later and you pick them up there - no mail service for those babies. My roosters were about 5 pounds each after butchering. Alot of meat on the thighs and legs, decent breast.
There is no way that a dual purpose will ever match broilers for meat and speed of putting on weight.
My broilers were raised with the layer chicks so they were active and healthy. I had one that could fly - for about 2 feet and about 4" off the ground, so more of a wing assisted leap, but hey, she tried.

Those Sagitta's sound like a nice breed, Dunlap hatchery has them.
Our Ace hardware doesn't sell chicks but we do have a local feed mill that does the same. Have a order form, buy what you want and then pick up. They do two orders one early and one later. Nice you don't have to worry about dead chicks, you get what you pay for. And your not buying them out of a bin like at TSC. I've only ordered once through them , 15 RIR's, I'm pretty sure they were production reds cause they were the most egg laying machines I've ever had, I've had comets and other sex links didn't compare to those reds was swimming in eggs didn't even slow down when they molted. Two, two and a half yrs later though they were soup pot chickens.

 

[Beer can]

It's a noble cause and I didn't want to sound too discouraging but I consider myself to be that kind of person who would go the extra mile if it were worth it as a good homesteader but I was shocked at how light they are, even after 24/7 open access to store bought layer formula. good luck with your efforts, if you find an exceptional dual purpose breed you are happy, and that doesn't eat you out of house and home, please report back down the line, I would really like to know if there is an efficient yet satisfying alternative to fryers for folks!

Just my opinion, best DP is naked neck turkens, lay great and make a decent meat bird. A lot of feed goes into feather production, NN's don't.

 

[Farm life101]

If your weird and crazy like most of us chicken owners are lol you will get to attached after a year and won’t be able to slaughter them. Or maybe that’s just me. Hahah lol

 

[Beer can]

But that means butchering and canning in the same day.

That's why I just pressure cook them. Process and freeze, pressure cook as needed. Only benefit to canning (same thing, but you don't have to de-bone when just pressure cooking) is freezer space (We have a big freezer) and the worry about a possible electric failure. Canned chicken is shelf stable for many many yrs, no refrigeration required, and yummy. Takes more work though and buying jars, still have storage space just no cost after. You can even pressure cook frozen birds, still only takes 20mins, with out 4qt cooker though larger birds frozen I have to cut the ends/knuckles off their legs to get them to fit/top on.

 

[Beer can]

If you plan to grill or broil them your target age of cockerel culls should be 12-14 weeks. 16 weeks would be too tough for broiler but there to 18 weeks is good age for frying.

There's a good article on age of bird and traditional cooking methods:
https://livestockconservancy.org/images/uploads/docs/cookingwheritagechicken.pdf

I don't go by weeks, I'm sure it's about the same weeks, when I hear cockerels just starting to crow, it's time, still good and tender on the grill or broiled.

 

[Boonie Stomper]

it's never too tough to get some use out of even the oldest chicken...

especially if you have certain pets!

 

[Beer can]

If your weird and crazy like most of us chicken owners are lol you will get to attached after a year and won’t be able to slaughter them. Or maybe that’s just me. Hahah lol

Nah, your not weird or crazy, I don't think we take any pleasure in it, just get it done cause spending $$ on feed and knowing if we don't, not only will be spending $$ on feed but we'll also be spending $$ on buying chicken from the store. Just doesn't make sense.
IMHO.