Turning Roosters Into Meat Birds?

[HuertaFarm]

We are new to managing our flock and have amassed about 40 some birds (a mix of chicks and adults and in-betweens). So far we've had pretty good luck with all of our chicks turning out to be pullets, but this last mix of marans that's growing out looks to have about 5 roosters. We already have two very strong willed and very 'rude' roosters that do not take kindly to each other and right now have their own separate flock of ladies to mingle with. I don't need any more roosters and don't think anyone in the area needs them either.

Do any of you fatten up your extra roosters and eat them? If so, what age is the best to kill and eat them? And do you start giving them meat bird feed to plump them up? We do not raise any chickens that are meant to be meat birds, we just have layers so I'm not familiar with this side of raising chickens. Any advice is much appreciated.

 

[restinpeacenyla]

a good age would be 5/6 months..? This is not coming from a profesional as I don’t do the butchering!

 

[HuertaFarm]

a good age would be 5/6 months..? This is not coming from a profesional as I don’t do the butchering!

That is the general age range I keep finding online.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

We butxherbwhen they start crowing and just use them for soup

 

[restinpeacenyla]

That is the general age range I keep finding online.

you dont really want to butcher them when past 7 months, they will taste quite bland and tough

 

[Alaskan]

you dont really want to butcher them when past 7 months, they will taste quite bland and tough

I don't find that to be the case.

We butcher at whatever age works for us... so from 4 months to 2 years or even more.

The key is that modern poultry recipes are made for the mass produced chicken meat which is WAY different from what you raise. Mass produced chicken is super young meat.

The older the meat the more careful you have to be with the temperature at which you cook.

If you are making soup, and the water boils, then that is TOO HOT, and you have turned the meat into shoe leather!!

Low and slow is what you need.

Any cooking method will work, LOW heat, and something to help it stay moist, is what you want.

And no, we do not use broiler feed, or special feed. With chicken we don't bother with any specific kind of feed, and we do zero fattening or whatever.

 

[Ridgerunner]

You might be better off posting in the meat bird section on here. This kind of question comes up all the time, here is one sort of related that started yesterday.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/first-time-raising-for-meat.1395184/

You'll find a whole lot of us eat our chickens, some just cockerels, a few like me eat cockerels and pullets. Some raise meat birds, Cornish X or Rangers. Some of us raise dual purpose. Dual purpose are different from Cornish X or Rangers.

There is no set age to butcher dual purpose chickens, we all have our reasons to butcher them at different ages. There is no set way to feed them. Some people do feed them special. I raise them with my dual purpose flock until I'm ready for them to go to the freezer.

There is no set way to kill them, often the hardest part for someone just starting out. There is no set way to butcher them. I cut them into serving pieces and use other parts for broth. Some people leave the carcass whole. Any chicken of any age can be made into a gourmet meal, Coq au Vin is how you turn an old rooster into a special meal, one several years old, not just 7 months. You have to alter how you cook them based on their age but you just have to know what you are doing.

I suggest you go to the meat bird section on here and start reading. If you have a question ask it, either on an active thread or start your own. We'll be glad to help you out and welcome you to the group.