is a 9 month old rooster too old to eat?

[5th lake chick]

If I can't find a home for my rooster is he too old to eat? My husband thinks so.

 

[Vamvakas]

No, anything under 1 year is fine. Try slow cooking the rooster if your afraid of smelly taste. My grandma used to eat old hens and roosters but slow cooked them.

 

[Frost Homestead]

definitely not too old. put him in the crock pot YUMMM

 

[missnu01]

I ate a rather old hen that had stopped laying eggs, so pretty old, and she made some super delicious chicken and dumplings, but I did leave her simmering in the crock pot all day and then most of the next day too.

 

[AlienChick]

Chicken stew!
The best!
My last batch of roosters were about 10 months old when we processed them.
So delicious!

 

[missnu01]

Now we have a rooster now that I wouldn't eat him...he looks like a dinosaur, and he is so slow and he just looks really really old...even his crow is creaky and old sounding to me. We got him "used" off of craigslist, but he is surely a card...Lol. He looks like all the roasting, or crock pot time in the world couldn't make him easy to chew...perhaps turn him into jerky...I bet He would make delicious jerky, since I picture his meat being halfway there already...Lol. Stringy and tough tough tough.

 

[AlienChick]

Now we have a rooster now that I wouldn't eat him...he looks like a dinosaur, and he is so slow and he just looks really really old...even his crow is creaky and old sounding to me. We got him "used" off of craigslist, but he is surely a card...Lol. He looks like all the roasting, or crock pot time in the world couldn't make him easy to chew...perhaps turn him into jerky...I bet He would make delicious jerky, since I picture his meat being halfway there already...Lol. Stringy and tough tough tough.

 

[Vamvakas]

Now we have a rooster now that I wouldn't eat him...he looks like a dinosaur, and he is so slow and he just looks really really old...even his crow is creaky and old sounding to me. We got him "used" off of craigslist, but he is surely a card...Lol. He looks like all the roasting, or crock pot time in the world couldn't make him easy to chew...perhaps turn him into jerky...I bet He would make delicious jerky, since I picture his meat being halfway there already...Lol. Stringy and tough tough tough.

The chickens/roosters today is ancestors from a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

 

[missnu01]

He's a terrible rooster when it comes to watching the hens...He does breed them oh so carefully. He doesn't let any other roosters breed "his" hens, but has the other roo watch out for everyone. He also doesn't allow any fighting amongst the chickens at all. He's like the peacemaking grandpa of the coop. He makes introduction of chicks and hens totally easy and awesome...he's not happy about adding grown roosters, but he deals well. He also keeps any other roosters from attacking me. So I will not be killing him...he is hilarious, but in the event that a rooster comes along that stops fighting and watches the hens I might just eat him...but really the fight stopping thing is invaluable...And it makes you feel great when a roo gets a little cocky and gives you a run and then they are eating dirt from the big roo...As long as he never decides to start flogging anyone...but I have a very boisterous 3 year old that goes running through the yard screaming like a mad man which flusters the big roo none at all. He doesn't even get upset with the dog...Lol. He's just a laid back guy, which is good cuz check out these spurs...






You can also see his age in his feet..

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

Your rooster is not too old to eat. There is a great article on cooking heritage chickens that talks about different cooking methods for different ages of chickens. The article points out that the old song goes "We will kill the old red rooster when she comes". The celebration called for the old red rooster, not a younger hen. Mature rooster is the key ingredient for the classic French dish "Coc au vin" (or cock in wine). I had to butcher my rooster because he was a jerk and a bully and made Coc au vin for the family. It was delicious. Most modern recipies are adapted to use the mushy grocery store chickens, but if you include "mature rooster" in your recipie search, you should have some luck.

Here's the article I mentioned: http://www.albc-usa.org/documents/cookingwheritagechicken.pdf