My broiler started crowing???

[josytang]

So I have 15 Red Rangers, 9 of which are cockerels. They are at about 10 weeks of age and two days ago, I found out that one (possibly more) started crowing in the morning. And this concerns me. The hatchery (Murray McMurray) states that the Red Ranger takes about 12 weeks to mature, a time which I planed to process them. However, when a cockerel started crowing, does that mean he is already starting to develop sexually and I should process him asap? Does the meat quality drop immediately after a cock started crowing? Or am I just worrying too much?

 

[fisherlady]

He should be fine for a few more weeks... many folks don't process rangers till 15 or even 18 weeks and don't have a problem.
Almost any group of youngsters will have one who seems to develop young, but I don't think the extra 2 or 3 weeks should cause any trouble with quality.

 

[bobbi-j]

Oh my - I totally read the title of your thread wrong. I thought it said, "My brother started crowing..."

(Methinks it's time to get the bifocals adjusted.)