There's a great thread here in the Meat Birds section titled "How to caponize a rooster Warning Graphic Pics" (I can't make a link to it) that has a lot of great info, I bet you could learn enough from that to give it a try. Especially since you'll soon have plenty of lil' cockerels to try it out upon.
I've been processing whatever roosters I have available to me, and that's mostly been home-grown mixed-breeds or standard breed "packing peanuts" from other people's orders. I feed them chick starter until about 10 weeks and then give them the less expensive layer pellets until they're butchered, usually around 18-22 weeks. I also let them run around the yard hunting up their own food and they're the first to get the table scraps or other free food finds. I haven't calculated their cost, but they usually finish around 3-4 pounds. I usually simmer them slowly in water with herbs & onions unti their meat melts off the bones, then pick & separate the meat for storage in packets in the freezer. Then it's used in dishes that stretches the meat further, like soups, stews, chilis, pasta salads, etc.
Again I'll tell you, I sure wish we lived closer so we could learn to caponize together...
I've been processing whatever roosters I have available to me, and that's mostly been home-grown mixed-breeds or standard breed "packing peanuts" from other people's orders. I feed them chick starter until about 10 weeks and then give them the less expensive layer pellets until they're butchered, usually around 18-22 weeks. I also let them run around the yard hunting up their own food and they're the first to get the table scraps or other free food finds. I haven't calculated their cost, but they usually finish around 3-4 pounds. I usually simmer them slowly in water with herbs & onions unti their meat melts off the bones, then pick & separate the meat for storage in packets in the freezer. Then it's used in dishes that stretches the meat further, like soups, stews, chilis, pasta salads, etc.
Again I'll tell you, I sure wish we lived closer so we could learn to caponize together...
