questions on processing chicken

[midnitesun]

I have about 20 Buff orps and BR roos that I have no use for. They're about 6 months old. And I thought about processing them..
Is this a good idea or bad?
I also have a year old RIR roo who needs to go. And thought about processing him. What do you think about him?
All my chickens have been free ranged since they were about 8 weeks old. I feed grain also.
I called a local processer, and was told that they were too old to be processed.

What do you think?

 

[TimG]

They're not too old to be processed. What meat they have will likely be very flavorful. You'll have to be somewhat careful about how you cook them to avoid tough chicken, but as long as you understand that, you should be fine. The one year old rooster will likely have to be simmered/slow cooked -- the stock that results will be great and the meat you get will be good for soups, chicken salad, gumbo, and the like.

 

[HEChicken]

I agree. I just did a BR roo a couple of weeks ago that was 5 1/2 months old. I roasted him and he was tasty and tender.

 

[Teach97]

Quote:
I think they did a very poor job of talking to you! The birds won't be good fryers probably but are great for stew birds...or boilers (not broilers)...as a previous person said they will make great chicken and noodles and chicken salad snadwhich and the like...

too old to process...why cuz they put up a fight and win! Silly people...

 

[midnitesun]

They told something on the line that their feathers are harder to get out than a chciken at 12 weeks...
None of my chcikens had any meat on them at 12 weeks...
as for cooking them, I only cook chicken SSSSSLLLLLLLOOOOOWWWWWW..

That the best way to cook them( I still haven't perfected my Great Grandmother's Fired chicken Recipe).

Now I wonder if I could find some one in my area to process them......Or at least show me how, and such...

 

[CTChickenMom]

There are many sites for processing chicken, youtube one of them. Kind of have to be choosy with youtube, some are not well done. Also, nothing replaces a good book. I really want to process my own chickens and eventually quail and turkey too (I've learned that turkey can be a handful when they get big).

The Deliberate Agrarian is a great place to start. He does 50-75 chickens every year.

 

[TimG]

One processor in my area has a policy of only processing white birds. I imagine their intent was to avoid the owner of a small flock who wanted a few old layers retired and focus more on those who raise larger flocks of Cornish Crosses. Better for them to have one customer with 50 birds to process than five with ten each. This processor also charges on a sliding scale based upon the weight of the bird.

Check around, perhaps you will be able to find another processor who is a bit more flexible.

 

[coltsdad]

Quote:
Be sure to scald them in boiling water before you pluck them .