OK first time on here, Rooster question

[digger455]

I got my first chicks on 4/7/2010, got 30 all together, 3 Cornisk rocks already in the freezer, dressed out at about 9.5 a peice. The rest are bared I gess you call them. I think one of these hens a RIR started laying 2 weeks ago. 1 or 2 eggs a day. I just got to first dozen. Anyway 10 are hens the rest are roosters. Yes 17 roosters, Getting nuts around here. I want to send some to freezer but when do I do this? Allgetting along ok right now. I want to eat them but am told by some to wait until they get to 7 lbs. Do not want tought ones. Help me out here.Thanks

Digger

PS. Will geting rid of roosters help get the rest of hens laying sooner???

 

[Indiana hens]

Butcher them asap and buy more cornish cross. More economical to feed

 

[booker81]

You can send the roosters to freezer camp whenever you want - the longer you wait, the more flavor, but the more care needed to cook them so they aren't tough.

Removing them won't change the hen's laying times, but will probably help keep them from getting beat up too much.

If you try waiting for 7lbs, you're going to be waiting a long time and have tasty chicken that should be cooked in the crockpot or stewed for a good long time.

This is a nice link about eating chickens that aren't Cornish Cross:
http://www.albc-usa.org/documents/cookingwheritagechicken.pdf

I'd go for the 14-20week fryer range, super flavor, just take care while cooking.

 

[Lotsapaints]

Takes from 20+ weeks for them to be ready to butcher and they need to age before you freeze them the ALBC has good links for cooking them the right way but if you just want fryers and don't care that they are not filled out anytime you want they are old enough.....IMHO that's too many roos in with the hens should be separated out and fed finisher they don't need layer...

 

[sourland]

Either kill them now as fryers or seperate them from the hens and allow them to continue growing. That is a serious overload on your hens, and can lead to physical damage.

 

[digger455]

Hey, Thanks for the feed back on this. I was just out there seeing witch one of them was going to be the lucly one, They better be nice to me now. My mouth is watering already. To tell the truth I have been told right from the start that I was going to loose some of them. Made it the whole way without looosing any. It my be hard to do. Oh well that is what I got them for. But they get to be friends. Old softie here and I am a retired pipefitter. Don't tell anybody. LOL. Thanks again

Digger