Roosters as meat birds?

[mrstillery09]

I've never raised meat birds, so sorry if this is a completely newbie question!

I was considering raising roosters for meat birds, instead of raising broilers, but I have a few questions.

If raising roosters for meat birds, at what age (on average) would they be ready for processing?

What would be the average weight you would get from roosters?

Because these roosters are older, how much different do they taste from broilers?

Anyone have any comparisons price wise raising roosters verses broilers? I know you can get roosters cheap, but I know you have to feed them longer.

And thoughts or advice is appreciated!

 

[JerseyGiantfolk]

Plain roosters don't grow as fast as broilers. The older the rooster is the meat won't be good, sometimes chewy, I'd butcher before 1 year, broilers can just take 6-8 weeks to grow and then butcher. (Which is a lot faster) I sold some Dorking cockerels and my friends used them for meat, (they were 8 months) they said it tasted perfect. I hope this helped some.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

The additional feed it will take to feed out non-Cornish cross roosters to butchering size will more than make up for their lower cost. You'll come out on the losing end of a deal like that.

If you're hatching your own birds then feeding out roosters for you own consumption is not a bad idea since you're going to get the males regardless. But ordering them just to raise out for meat will never be economically viable relative to what it costs to buy and raise modern Cornish-cross.

 

[mrstillery09]

Thanks so much for your responses! I had figured that even though they would be cheaper to buy you'd probably lose in the end on what you'd be feeding them. In this case I hope to be getting myself some cornish x sometime soon!

 

[oldrooster]

I know this is an older thread but I have seen some of the other members here intentionally buy roosters (or straight run dp birds for roosters) in order to get used to butchering birds first so when they get the crosses they know what to expect and have practice razing chickens.

 

[ScrumbleWood]

From what we've seen, the roosters forage extremely well, while the Cornish crosses just sit, robotically consuming only grain. We are a bit unorthodox in that we prioritize flavor as highly as minimizing cost. When cutting costs results in a loss of flavor, we will choose another route, so our observations probably only apply if the reader shares that general ideal. Predator security is critical in order to give the roos enough room to effectively forage (reducing grain cost). We've found that, given a secure, expansive free-range system, the roosters provide a superior flavor to the cornish cross breed. The jury is still out versus the freedom rangers, but overall we've been very happy with our flock of meat roosters. We're hoping to keep better statistics on grain consumption this year to provide more financial detail on the numbers behind this particular meat bird strategy.

 

[elizabethu42]

From what we've seen, the roosters forage extremely well, while the Cornish crosses just sit, robotically consuming only grain. We are a bit unorthodox in that we prioritize flavor as highly as minimizing cost. When cutting costs results in a loss of flavor, we will choose another route, so our observations probably only apply if the reader shares that general ideal. Predator security is critical in order to give the roos enough room to effectively forage (reducing grain cost). We've found that, given a secure, expansive free-range system, the roosters provide a superior flavor to the cornish cross breed. The jury is still out versus the freedom rangers, but overall we've been very happy with our flock of meat roosters. We're hoping to keep better statistics on grain consumption this year to provide more financial detail on the numbers behind this particular meat bird strategy.

 

[Perris]

hello @ScrumbleWood ! welcome to BYC

 

[oldrooster]

you all realize this is a zombie thread, one from six and a half years dead, right?

 

[Mosey2003]

Yes, this thread is 7 years old. I think this happens because for some reason pictures and threads get listed at the top or on the side as new ones, or are searched up.

If anyone currently wants to know though, the only way this would be cost effective is if you have the kind of pasture that will support the birds with hardly any additional feed at all. Otherwise they simply eat more than they're worth.