Is my rooster still young enough to eat?

[CAChicks]

Our rooster has gotten very aggressive and we plan to cull him this weekend. This will be our first time to harvest one of our birds. This rooster is about 25 weeks old. Will his meat still be good enough to eat or should he just become stock? I have heard that older hens and roosters have stringy meat that most people just turn into stock. I just don't know what age they become "to old". Thanks for the help!

 

[Shadowhatter]

keep him part of your flock. he is not old enough to be eaten. sell him if you have to if he is really aggressive. if you want chicks then you could use him for that

 

[Outpost JWB]

It all depends on the size and the breed. I have butchered roos at 20weeks. I have also butchered them at 1 year and yes, they did not cook up well the older they get. Have to put all the older roos in the crockpot. Generally we butcher our roos at 4-8months-we have dual purpose birds. If you have meat birds though, you will want to butcher sooner.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

keep him part of your flock. he is not old enough to be eaten. sell him if you have to if he is really aggressive. if you want chicks then you could use him for that

Couple of issues with that advice - first an aggressive rooster should not be used for breeding, you want to breed the best of our flock - those birds that show all, or as many as possible, of the traits you want the resulting offspring to have -- a nasty attitude is not one of the things you want being passed down. Secondly, at 25 weeks, he is actually more than old enough for butchering and consumption - well past the prime age for many breeds.

OP - while he may not be right for certain preparations, there isn't an old, tough bird that can't be prepared in a nice stew, etc.

 

[Outpost JWB]

From our experience with butchering, 25 weeks is great, but like I said, depends on breed & size. I have butchered many pretty roos that I thought were going to be good breeders. Once they get aggressive, they don't turn nice! It only gets worse. What I was trying to say in my previous post is the older the bird, the tougher the meat. We have had to dig out the BIG KNIVES for our older roos because the meat is so tough. 25 weeks is perfect if you feel he weighs enough. And it will take stress off your flock, and you.

 

[Judy]

It's really a matter of personal taste. Some people prefer the hearty flavor and "firm tooth," and some don't want to eat anthing but Cornish X. The say the broth from an older bird can't be beat. The classis French dish, coq au vin, originaly called for a 2 year old rooster.

Have you read this?

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...rom-historic-chicken-breeds/0_20#post_3473262

 

[LindaB220]

Couple of issues with that advice - first an aggressive rooster should not be used for breeding, you want to breed the best of our flock - those birds that show all, or as many as possible, of the traits you want the resulting offspring to have -- a nasty attitude is not one of the things you want being passed down. Secondly, at 25 weeks, he is actually more than old enough for butchering and consumption - well past the prime age for many breeds.

OP - while he may not be right for certain preparations, there isn't an old, tough bird that can't be prepared in a nice stew, etc.

Quite right. But you can use him in a roaster with lid. 275 degrees for 2 1/2 or so hours. Low and slow. Older birds up to a couple of years can be done the same. I just saw this on another thread. 250 degrees for 3 1/2 hrs. A tiny bit of water added. Worth the wait.

 

[donrae]

No matter the age, any dp rooster is going to have more tooth than a store bought CX, unless you're butchering at 2 months. I've butchered a 4 year old rooster, put it in the pressure cooker 40 min and deboned the meat. Made a great pan of enchiladas

. Will you want to use this bird as a roaster? Probably not. Are there other ways to cook it? Yes, low and slow, and moist. Or pressure cooker.

 

[CrazyTalk]

keep him part of your flock. he is not old enough to be eaten. sell him if you have to if he is really aggressive. if you want chicks then you could use him for that

Keeping an aggressive rooster for chicks is a terrible idea. Aggression is mostly genetic.