Never planned to eat my chickens, but...

[mrsruvi]

I am now 99.9999% positive i have a rooster in with my girls. I have had him up on craigslist for a few weeks, but no responses. i called the local 4h coordinator and no one is in the market for an EE roo. So now i'm slowly resigning myself to the idea of eating him. But i have questions:

1. Can you eat an EE roo? i mean it says its a "dual use" breed but still. it doesnt look like any of the chickens i see you guys posting (are yours mostly cornish?)
2. I am probably not hardcore enough to process him myself. Are there places that will do that for you? if so, how do i locate them? will they process only one bird or will the require more birds?
3. When did you first decide to do meaties? were you raised on a farm and thus more comfortable with the idea? are any of yours "back yard" meaties or are you all farm people?

 

[LilyD]

You can eat any chicken the only difference is how long you have to grow them a standard bird like an EE will have to go probably 20 to 24 weeks to get to an edible size so that there is enough meat to count.

We have a few places that process around here and they actually charge a per bird price of 3$ and there is no minimum so you should be able to find a place around you that does it. Most in our area are people who come to our homes and do it rather than us bringing the birds to them. Which works out better for us in the long run.

We decided to do meaties when we had three big scares for store bought chicken and eggs in a row in one year. If I am doing my own at home I can monitor the cleanliness of their habitat and can prevent salmonella poisoning for my family. Plus I know that they have had a good life and lots of roaming and a happy life before they head to freezer camp

Good luck.

 

[adgcountrygirl]

I don't plan to eat my birds either, but if I do have too many roosters, I'm not opposed to it. I reckon you can eat just about any kind of chicken. I figured meat or dual use birds were just bred to have more meat on their bones. I'd rather not have to eat any of mine. I've had them since they were 3 days old and they are pets now. If I ever do have to eat one though, I guess I'll have to pretend it's a wild turkey or some other bird I've hunted and cleaned. (or I'll call my father in-law to have at it!)

 

[Tiffrz-N-Kidz]

I ate an EE roo. He was delicious. Dressed at about 3 lbs 7 oz but once roasted, the meat made the best chicken salad I have ever had, and the broth from boiling the carcass was so thick it was like jello. Can you say, "Chicken Soup"? Yum!

There are most likely places around your area that will process for you. We have a place south of town that will do them for $2/bird. They will do 1 or 1000, they don't care. Check craigslist, or your local ag extention, or the 4H leader, or the feed store, or maybe ask around at a farmer's market.

I was raised in a middle class suburban home. Went to private school in a good sized city. Married and divorced two nice city boys. Now that I am happily single and in my 40's I am finally starting to get to think for myself. I decided to step out of the commercially raised chicken market when I started working in animal rescue and came across sites showing the horrible conditions that commercially raised chickens and egg layers live in. I was only moderately comfortable with the idea of eating my own chicken all the way up to and through the processing part. Driving home with 9 processed chickens in the cooler was the proudest I have felt about something I have done since I gave birth. They were in my back yard until Animal Control busted us, then they were at a nearby horse barn for their final weeks. I am planning to move to the country but it won't be to a 'farm' per se, more like a neighborhood where everyone has a couple of acres and raises some livestock.

You can do it.

 

[mrsruvi]

Quote:
Did he crow before you got him to the size you could eat him?

 

[bwmichaud]

It probably will crow before it gets to processing time. Most dual purpose birds do since it takes about 20 weeks to get to a decent size. It's usually an awkward crow because they haven't figured out how to do it yet. Try not to laugh at him though, it might hurt his feelings. Ha Ha.

 

[Tiffrz-N-Kidz]

I don't think so, but I have a main rooster, Pip, who does all the crowing.

I do know he was trying to get busy with the hens and my big rooster was not too happy with him. I think Pip would have done him in had I not sent him and the capons to freezer camp.

Pip did kill one of the capons that I think was not fully neutered, and that's what prompted me to do the deed with the remaining capons and the roo. Better a swift death and get some meat out of the deal, than to let him get pecked to death and waste the meat.

 

[jgervais]

Thanks for asking this question - it was exactly what I needed to know as well.
We really like our EE roo 'The Bishop Don Juan' but hes feisty at times lately and I think I am going to keep one of the Dorking Roos I have coming and I wont be able to keep him around the ladies... plus I saw him pull out some feathers (and eat them... odd) from my pretty little Buff Orp , so hes gotta go. And there isnt much of a demand for EE roo's here either. I see a couple already listed on craigslist.

I think I will also have some pretty big satisfaction cooking my own chicken as well.. I think he will be our 'practice' chicken to see if we have it in us to actually eat one. Now the question is, butcher it myself? or take him in? yikes!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I get straight run and most of my roos get processed the day after they crow regardless of size. They taste just like chicken.

 

[jgervais]

Whats the significance of crowing? Mine crowed at about 10 weeks, he seemed way too small to eat. I was going to wait until 16-18 weeks to process him so he's a little more 'worth while.'