Sussex Ready for Butcher?

[discoveregg]

This is my first time having chickens butchered and I need to make sure I'm doing it at the right time. I have 3 Sussex Roos which are 16 weeks old. They have been free ranged and supplemented with grower feed (nonmedicated). There is a local lady who butchers for $2.00 per bird. It seems to be a good price for the labor and time involved, yes? This is a trial for us to see if we like the taste of fresh chicken...
Do I need to worm these birds first? Or do anything else prior to butchering?

 

[Illia]

Worming them now won't do any good if you feel like butchering them soon.


Personally I'd butcher them later, 16 weeks won't get you as much as 20 weeks could get you. If you don't want to do it yourself, yes, I'd go with the lady.

 

[discoveregg]

Thank you Illia. Yes, I will wait for 4 more weeks, not a problem. These birds look so BIG but I know they're mostly feathers.
The lady who was going to butcher the birds may not be butchering them after all. Apparently she's going out of the country for awhile. I'll look for somebody else, I've never butchered anything. But someone is offering poultry butchering classes this spring, I will sign up for them.