How old question.

[lakeshorenc]

What is the earliest you can butcher a chicken? I have a verity of 6 week old chicks that are bigger than quail. They are BSL, GSL and RIR's. Is there much meat on a 6-7 week old chick? I wouldn't butcher but a few and keep the others till they were 16 weeks. Right now I just have too many and either need to get rid of a few or butcher some.

 

[loverOFchickens]

The norm is 6 months for fast growing breeds.

You won't get much meat otherwise.

You could try to sell them??
I don't think you will get enough for one meal.

 

[saddina]

The answer is are they big enough for you? You can butcher young and eat them, it's not like picking an unripe tomato. Just think of it like quail, it'll take more than 1 to make a meal. If you can pick out roos, eat those first.