How to cook the roosters I've culled?

[aoxa]

Personally I don't think breed (excluding cornish cross) has anything to do with tenderness or flavor.

The age of the bird and the activity of the bird is the main factor in tenderness. I've butchered numerous breeds of cockerals. If I butchered them before 14 weeks and kept them confined so they couldn't run all day they were fine cooked using any method. For me much past that age they were too tough unless cooked slowly.

The Cornish cross I've butchered up to 20 weeks still made good fryers. Tenderness IMHO is more a result of the birds activity than age. Why are Cornish so "tender" (personally I find them watery) for so long? Watch them, they do nothing but sit in front of the feeder and eat. They move around very little. Therefore, the result of using their muscles less is a much more "tender" bird.

It's been a few years since I've raised birds a fryers but I do prefer the Freedom Rangers over the Cornish Crosses.

I really wish people would stop stereotyping this meat bird.. If they do this, it is your way of raising them that makes them lazy, not the bird themselves

My free range meaties at 6 weeks.

You can see them at 12 weeks here. I haven't uploaded it to youtube, but my birds were anything but lazy. Most delicious chicken I have ever tasted. Very good flavour and the tenderness to die for.

 

[scooter147]

I'll be honest I've never seen Cornish x's behave that way. I have a 10x18 brooder house, just has human door on it. I've open the door at approx. 6-8 weeks of age (depending on weather) and they have the whole place to roam and they might venture out a bit, sit and eat some grass and that is about it.
I'm 51 years old and between my folks and I we have probably raised and butchered 5 thousand in meat bird in that time frame.

 

[aoxa]

I'll be honest I've never seen Cornish x's behave that way. I have a 10x18 brooder house, just has human door on it. I've open the door at approx. 6-8 weeks of age (depending on weather) and they have the whole place to roam and they might venture out a bit, sit and eat some grass and that is about it.
I'm 51 years old and between my folks and I we have probably raised and butchered 5 thousand in meat bird in that time frame.

I'll take that as a compliment.

I am very strict on their feed intake. Mostly for my wallet. I don't want to feed them 20 pounds to butcher each. Not with our feed costs what they are.

I restrict it to what they can eat in 5-10 minutes after 2 weeks old. They eat twice a day. In the morning and at supper. I soak my feed and it doubles in volume. They drink far less water that way, and saves me more money.

They are loose to free range at 2 weeks, so they forage most of their feed intake. As you can see in the video, no one is starving. They are highly motivated to eat, so if you take away the feed dish, they have no other choice but to act like chickens. Leave a food dish full, they will become zombie chickens who never move and eat until they can't move anyway.

If you can free range, next time try it that way. You will be pleasantly surprised at the efficiency of this hybrid meat bird. They can free range, and are the best foragers I have ever seen. Running around chasing butterflies and digging for grub. Really awesome to watch. I did hate feeding time, because they would eat so fast they would gasp - but run they did. Forage they did. Dust bathe they did. They were chickens.

 

[scooter147]

It was a compliment. They definitely look and act like a chicken does. It makes sense if limiting the food they would actually get off their fat little bums and go look for food. ;-)

It's just me know at home, kids grown, wife, well that's a whole other story. ;-).

I share an order of chicks with a couple people at work and maybe I'll get a half dozen or so Cornish to raise with my layer chicks and use your method. My layer chicks once that door is open and get over their fear of the big wide open outdoors are out the door first thing in the morning and don't come back til dusk.

Do you have an issue with predators?

 

[aoxa]

It was a compliment. They definitely look and act like a chicken does. It makes sense if limiting the food they would actually get off their fat little bums and go look for food. ;-)

It's just me know at home, kids grown, wife, well that's a whole other story. ;-).

I share an order of chicks with a couple people at work and maybe I'll get a half dozen or so Cornish to raise with my layer chicks and use your method. My layer chicks once that door is open and get over their fear of the big wide open outdoors are out the door first thing in the morning and don't come back til dusk.

Do you have an issue with predators?

Only issue with predators is this time of year when hawks are migrating and hungry. Haven't ever lost a meatie to a hawk though.. the hawks keep going for my small Rock chicks. If they don't go for cover when the roosters warn then... that's not something I can control. No ground predators this far. *knock on wood*. I have lots of dogs, but the hawks don't care about dogs.

I did raise these meaties with the layers. That definitely could have helped.

 

[chooks4life]

@scooter147:

Quote:
But, you see, the cornish cross is proof that genetics have a lot to do with tenderness and flavor.
Quote: Mine were active. So have been the others I've seen; in fact I've never seen a Cornish or Rock type bird sit in front of a feeder. I would think perhaps the hatchery you bought them from had crossed them with one of those heavy duty meat breeds. My experience has been than birds subjected to forced inactivity are no more tender than a bird that enjoyed its life.

But obviously your experience has been different. Each to their own.
Quote: When you say "numerous other breeds" does that exclude any mongrels?

@kynewbchickie:
Quote: You're welcome. All the best.

@rosiekitty94:
Quote: Yes, though I have no verification for it personally. I've never owned a purebred or crossbred wyandotte. But people who do own them and eat them seem to be pretty happy with them.

 

[donrae]

Pressure cooker all the way.

We butchered two roosters today, one a barred rock about 18 months old, and one a home hatched black sex link who was I think 4 years old. Pellet gun, hang from tree, bleed out, skin and gut, rinsing with cold hose water, to the kitchen for quartering and final cleaning/lung scraping. Into the pressure cooker with water (wanted to use wine but none in the house), seasonings. Brought up to pressure, bird cooked for 25 min, cooled, shredded, put into the best chicken soup for dinner. No plucking, resting, brining, slow cooking, etc. Bird went from live to eaten in like 4 hours total. The rest is in the fridge for enchiladas tomorrow night.

 

[DStewart PDX]

Wow! How many pounds of pressure?

 

[donrae]

15lbs pressure. I love my pressure cooker, it's just a Presto from Wal-Mart or Bi-Mart, it was I think under $30. Best kitchen thing I've bought!

 

[kynewbchickie]

You've convinced me to buy a pressure cooker.