Should we butcher our rooster?

[Svyetii]

Hi everyone!

We just found out we have a rooster and we can’t keep him since we live in the city. He is a beautiful 13 week old cuckoo Maran. We are brand new to chickens in general, and are not huge meat eaters, but we do enjoy chicken from time to time. Given the breed, should we try to fatten him up and butcher him, or would the quality of the meat not be worth the effort of butchering? (I also know nothing about the process, so that will be my next area of research).

Thanks!

 

[Sussex19]

All our chicken that we eat comes from dual purpose breeds, if you keep them until around 18 weeks there's plenty of meat on them, but even now there should be enough to make it worthwhile.
People say that it can be tough, but that has not been my experience.

 

[Egg Snatcher]

Hi everyone!

We just found out we have a rooster and we can’t keep him since we live in the city. He is a beautiful 13 week old cuckoo Maran. We are brand new to chickens in general, and are not huge meat eaters, but we do enjoy chicken from time to time. Given the breed, should we try to fatten him up and butcher him, or would the quality of the meat not be worth the effort of butchering? (I also know nothing about the process, so that will be my next area of research).

Thanks!

If you feel comfortable butchering him I’d fatten him up and butcher him, like @Sussex19 dual purpose will be just fine to eat, or you could put him on Craigslist, the only down side is it could take weeks to sell him.

 

[Molpet]

Different ages are cooked differently.

Make sure to rest in refrigerator or on ice a couple days

 

[3KillerBs]

Nothing you do will result in meat like a Cornish X from the grocery store. Dual-purpose birds just don't have the genetics for it.

I *personally* give all my boys a chance on Craigslist, especially males of desirable breeds/colors who might be worth more than a good pot of chicken and dumplings. But if they don't sell, even the skinny ones are tasty when done up in the crockpot for soup, etc.

 

[Poultrybonkers]

I would just process it if you list him on cl someone else will take him to eat. Thats why Id rather feed my family with them as the cost to feed males for about 18 weeks is pretty pricey these days for me to just give it away

 

[3KillerBs]

I would just process it if you list him on cl someone else will take him to eat. Thats why Id rather feed my family with them as the cost to feed males for about 18 weeks is pretty pricey these days for me to just give it away

I don't give my for sale boys away.

Sometimes I sell a random male for $5 to someone who wants a male for whatever reason.

The desirable breed/color males go for the same price as the pullets and my proven flockmaster went for $20.

 

[Poultrybonkers]

I don't give my for sale boys away.

Sometimes I sell a random male for $5 to someone who wants a male for whatever reason.

The desirable breed/color males go for the same price as the pullets and my proven flockmaster went for $20.

I only ever sold a male once they tried chewing me down because they said they where gonna eat him my price was $20 for a splash wyandotte cockerel....they paid $20 as i was not lowering my price as if i was suppose to lower it knowing they where gonna eat it anyways, now i process extra males. I did give one male away last year as he was to nice to eat but those owners said he was getting a bunch of sex link ladies so if they ate him thats on them they did offer to pay for him but i said nah I cant forsee buying a male when theres so many free on cl. So i seldomly give away or sell males as most dont wanna pay for males and I cant see giving away free meat.

 

[3KillerBs]

I only ever sold a male once they tried chewing me down because they said they where gonna eat him my price was $20 for a splash wyandotte cockerel....they paid $20 as i was not lowering my price as if i was suppose to lower it knowing they where gonna eat it anyways, now i process extra males. I did give one male away last year as he was to nice to eat but those owners said he was getting a bunch of sex link ladies so if they ate him thats on them they did offer to pay for him but i said nah I cant forsee buying a male when theres so many free on cl. So i seldomly give away or sell males as most dont wanna pay for males and I cant see giving away free meat.

I understand.

I figure that if someone *really* wants to pay my "desirable breed" or even "proven flockmaster" price for a chicken dinner that's not my problem.

But once I set my price I don't negotiate.

 

[Ridgerunner]

should we try to fatten him up and butcher him, or would the quality of the meat not be worth the effort of butchering?

First is the quantity issue. They don't really "fatten up" but they have a fairly fast growth rate until maybe 5 months of age. Optimum can vary by individual by a few weeks. He is not going to be as big as the store chicken. By the time he gets that old he could be crowing and trying to mate the pullets, quite disruptive.

The quality mainly depends in how you cook him, which is very age dependent. When his hormones kick in and he hits puberty (which should be soon if it hasn't already started) the meat gains texture and flavor. The additional texture means you have to cook him differently so the meat isn't tough. You don't fry or grill him but there are plenty of techniques to cook an older bird and get tender meat. The hormones also increase flavor. Some people don't like it, some of us do. It can be different from the store chicken because those are butchered before puberty hits.

Some people butcher dual purpose cockerels as young as 12 weeks. There is very little meat there but it is before puberty hits. Maybe they aren't supposed to have roosters or even chickens at all so they don't want crowing to give them away. Or maybe they don't like the behavioral changes at puberty. Many people seem to butcher at 16 weeks, that's typically the earliest you have a decent amount of meat. I don't want to wait after 23 weeks, the growth rate really drops after that. I bake mine.

Some of us find it is worth the effort to butcher but some do not and either give them away or sell them. As you can see different people have different opinions on how to get rid of a cockerel if they decide to. Some are more attached to theirs than other people. I don't know what the right decision is for you. We are all unique and your decision should be based on your goals and desires, not mine or anyone else's.

Some people raise Marans specifically to butcher them, they are a good dual purpose breed. As far as butchering a dual purpose cockerel a Marans is as good as any other dual purpose breed.