To eat, or not to eat, that is the question....

[Martlet]

My replacement flock has a rooster or two in it, apparently. I've raised them all together and they're now about 13 weeks and I'm deciding what to do with them. What's a good age to cull a young Easter Egger cockerel?

 

[redsoxs]

If I invested 13 weeks the answer is: EAT! They are a pretty small framed bird so you're never going to have a real big amount of meat, I think maybe 16 weeks...so he's a little bigger but not yet overly tough. Of course if he's destined for a crockpot of chicken and noodles, any age is good.

 

[aart]

Definitely eat!

I put them on the grill between 13-16 weeks, for that crispy skin goodness.....
....no, not much meat, but the grilled bones make a killer stock.
Anything older than 16 weeks, they go into the stew pot.

Have you harvested birds before?
No matter what cooking technique planned, always 'rest' the cleaned carcass in the fridge for 48-72 hours before cooking or freezing to allow rigor mortis to pass, or it may be too tough to eat no matter how you cook it.

 

[Martlet]

Definitely eat!

I put them on the grill between 13-16 weeks, for that crispy skin goodness.....
....no, not much meat, but the grilled bones make a killer stock.
Anything older than 16 weeks, they go into the stew pot.

Have you harvested birds before?
No matter what cooking technique planned, always 'rest' the cleaned carcass in the fridge for 48-72 hours before cooking or freezing to allow rigor mortis to pass, or it may be too tough to eat no matter how you cook it.

I haven't. I do have a batch of broilers plumping up, though.

 

[aart]

Quote: There ya go then! Just do the cockerel(s) along with the broilers.
Butchering can be hard the first few times, but the worst part time wise, IMO, is the setup and cleanup.....best to do as many as you can in one session.