Ideal dressed weights for chicken

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

When raising meat birds, what dressed weight do you shoot for? Last time, our CX birds were 6.5-8.5 lbs. dressed, and they were pretty huge. Not complaining but I'm not sure if I need THAT huge. However, I also don't want to process too early and have scrawny chicken pieces (thighs, breasts, etc.), or a chicken that can't feed a few people when roasted whole.

For you, what is the minimum dressed weight you shoot for if you want a decent-sized, but not gigantic, chicken?

 

[Isadora]

4 lbs. That's on the smaller side for my family (6 people) but it makes a great rotisserie sized bird.

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

4 lbs. That's on the smaller side for my family (6 people) but it makes a great rotisserie sized bird.

Okay! So that's about a 5.5 lb live bird, correct?

 

[Isadora]

Okay! So that's about a 5.5 lb live bird, correct?

Yes

 

[imacowgirl2]

I shoot for 7+ lbs dressed, because I’m in the minority and feeding 7 voracious wanna-be carnivore mouths at the supper table…you’d think a vegetable would kill them the way they act. If I have a 6.5-7lb bird or larger, I can get by with one bird for a meal, but if I’m down around the 5lb range I have to use two birds or I get a lot of complaints.

 

[JeffPr]

I’m in the minority and feeding 7 voracious wanna-be carnivore mouths at the supper table…you’d think a vegetable would kill them the way they act.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I shoot for 7+ lbs dressed, because I’m in the minority and feeding 7 voracious wanna-be carnivore mouths at the supper table

Are some of your serving pieces the back, neck, gizzard, heart, and liver? It may be too late for you but Mom started out serving all of the chicken. It's what the five kids grew up with so we just accepted those were normal pieces of chicken.

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

Thanks everyone. It's just two of us at my house so we don't even eat one whole bird at a time right now haha. So maybe I'll shoot for the smallest bird being in the 4-5 lb. dressed range, and if some are bigger, that's good too. I just had nothing to base this on as I've only processed chickens once, so I appreciate the input.

Last time I raised my CX to be huge, but this time I'm trying to go for a more "modest" (if CX can ever be considered that) sized bird. My first time, I fed 20-22% protein for the first few weeks and then 18% for the remaining weeks. They got huge. Minimal leg issues, but certainly a bit of lameness by week 8, and one of the guys' face had a purple hue in the last day or two, which I now realize means heart issues. So this time, I'm experimenting with 18% protein from start to finish. They were WAY behind my last batch in weights, up until last week. They seem to be catching up a bit. And this group is much more spry and mobile. So we'll see if this experiment is worth it or not in the end. If I were going for that jumbo-sized bird, probably not because it would take a while, but I'm not shooting for that this time.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Are some of your serving pieces the back, neck, gizzard, heart, and liver? It may be too late for you but Mom started out serving all of the chicken. It's what the five kids grew up with so we just accepted those were normal pieces of chicken.

I've got an honest question, don't judge, please. The neck and back taste like the rest of the bird, right?

 

[Ridgerunner]

I've got an honest question, don't judge, please. The neck and back taste like the rest of the bird, right?

Yes. It's all chicken meat. The neck is dark meat, the back can have some light and some dark. The gizzard and heart are kind of stringy dark meat, they are working muscles. The gizzard has a tough layer on it, you need to peel that off.

The liver has its own texture and flavor which many people don't like. Personally I like the liver as long as it is not overcooked. The day that I butcher my lunch is usually fried liver.

Dogs generally love liver, heart, and peeled gizzard.