I decided to raise some broilers last year after checking to make sure that I had someone to process them for me. A hunter friend of our's was going to take care of that in exchange for turkey hunting rights on our property. He bow hunts so our turkeys have been pretty safe since we've known him
. Well, he ended up working out of town, then bought a house, now I have a bunch of roasters (I guess that is what they should be called) and have to figure out what to do with them. Lined up another friend, but he just got talked out of it by his neighbor who has convinced him, my DH, and our roommate that the roos will be IMPOSSIBLE to pluck and just breasting them is the way to go!! My DH and roommate will have nothing to do with the processing so it would be up to me. I am capable of learning many things, and it looks like this just might have to be one of them. I think it would be disrespectful to dispatch them and waste them, but they are a Murray McMurray broiler mix and haven't been raised as pets per se so I can't really see them getting homes on craigslist. They were free range when they were younger, but most are now in a big dog kennel. A couple others that were being picked on are in another large pen, one BIG orange jerk is caged, and another is loose in the yard with the "other" pullet (who is really a pullet!). I have Bantam hens to protect so the loose boy cannot stay, but I may try to find him a home or learn to follow through on my plan on my own...I am undecided.
Okay, so that is the back story of why I have 20 something (I know how many I have, I just don't want to see it in writing) 7 month old roosters that the neighbors aren't going to miss. It makes no sense to me that it would be "impossible" to pluck these birds, but maybe skinning them would be easier and a better plan since they are older? That'd be LOTS of chicken and dumplings, etc, but that would be preferable to me to breasting them since that seems like a huge waste. I realize that by having them this long, it is a loosing proposition dollars wise, but at least I know that they were treated well. I also want to be sure that they are killed quickly and with respect so will not try to find someone on craigslist like others have suggested before this. I guess that leaves me. If they were your birds, what would you do with them? I read the monster thread on how to dispatch them, I am having a bigger struggle with the rest of the processing. I understand it would have been preferable to process these birds as cockerels, but I also know that older birds get processed on a regular basis on family farms. Any help at all would be appreciated, even if it is just which threads to read to learn. Thanks in advance....

Okay, so that is the back story of why I have 20 something (I know how many I have, I just don't want to see it in writing) 7 month old roosters that the neighbors aren't going to miss. It makes no sense to me that it would be "impossible" to pluck these birds, but maybe skinning them would be easier and a better plan since they are older? That'd be LOTS of chicken and dumplings, etc, but that would be preferable to me to breasting them since that seems like a huge waste. I realize that by having them this long, it is a loosing proposition dollars wise, but at least I know that they were treated well. I also want to be sure that they are killed quickly and with respect so will not try to find someone on craigslist like others have suggested before this. I guess that leaves me. If they were your birds, what would you do with them? I read the monster thread on how to dispatch them, I am having a bigger struggle with the rest of the processing. I understand it would have been preferable to process these birds as cockerels, but I also know that older birds get processed on a regular basis on family farms. Any help at all would be appreciated, even if it is just which threads to read to learn. Thanks in advance....