What about the roos

[phasianidae]

I raise my roosters to around 20 weeks and then eat them.

 

[briteday]

We've also posted on Craigslist once we've set eggs so that anyone who raises reptiles, and would be interested in live food sources, can purchase our roo chicks. We sell them for $1 each and never have a problem getting them gone. Reptile people generally prefer chicks that are just a few days old at the most. But for the most part I do sexlinks so I can tell when they hatch.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Quote:
Those birds are a special hybrid, made by breeding Cornish to White Rocks (I think) and the chicks don't breed true. The parent birds are back at the ranch breeding & laying fertile eggs. All the eggs are hatched, all the chicks are raised for meat. The parents are carefully selected stock that produce chicks who grow at an incredible rate, in just 8 weeks they are big enough to eat.

The females might be slightly smaller than the males at that age, but not enough to make a difference. I guess it's like the turkeys that are raised for meat, the bigger ones you find at the store are probably the toms, the smaller ones the hens.

I don't know if they're sexually mature at that age, if they would lay or crow or try to mate. Or maybe they're really just big beefy chicks, not sure if they're male or female yet. They're all processed together the same way.

There was a great article in Backyard Poultry extolling the excellent quality of older laying hens as meat for soup or stew. The article said that older birds have a rich flavor many of us have never tasted, being used to eating these really young chickens instead.

 

[phasianidae]

Quote:
Those birds are a special hybrid, made by breeding Cornish to White Rocks (I think) and the chicks don't breed true. The parent birds are back at the ranch breeding & laying fertile eggs. All the eggs are hatched, all the chicks are raised for meat. The parents are carefully selected stock that produce chicks who grow at an incredible rate, in just 8 weeks they are big enough to eat.

The females might be slightly smaller than the males at that age, but not enough to make a difference. I guess it's like the turkeys that are raised for meat, the bigger ones you find at the store are probably the toms, the smaller ones the hens.

I don't know if they're sexually mature at that age, if they would lay or crow or try to mate. Or maybe they're really just big beefy chicks, not sure if they're male or female yet. They're all processed together the same way.

There was a great article in Backyard Poultry extolling the excellent quality of older laying hens as meat for soup or stew. The article said that older birds have a rich flavor many of us have never tasted, being used to eating these really young chickens instead.

Except that cornish rocks are more than a cornish roo and a white rock hen. Its at least a 4 way cross with specific strains of Cornish and Rocks. I am assuming they have also bred their cornish parent stock to be single combed, In all the cornish x pics I have seen, I have only seen one pic that I saw a pea combed bird in. Yes, old hens do have a lot more flavor than a 8 week old broiler.

 

[Eveemg]

We have had 2 roosters in the past Oggy a sussex x he was the loudest i have ever heard but sooo friendly neighbours did however complain so he went to live with my mother in law then we had Lucky he was a rescued broiler the biggest chicken i had ever seen but as he became older became aggresive and attacked my son so he went to be a stock bird for my dads friend i hope the 4 eggs i have are not roosters or they may end up as chicken pies! its sad really but no-one in my area is willing to rehome a rooster hence why many are dumped on roadsides and left to fend for themselves x

 

[Eveemg]

Quote:
Those birds are a special hybrid, made by breeding Cornish to White Rocks (I think) and the chicks don't breed true. The parent birds are back at the ranch breeding & laying fertile eggs. All the eggs are hatched, all the chicks are raised for meat. The parents are carefully selected stock that produce chicks who grow at an incredible rate, in just 8 weeks they are big enough to eat.

The females might be slightly smaller than the males at that age, but not enough to make a difference. I guess it's like the turkeys that are raised for meat, the bigger ones you find at the store are probably the toms, the smaller ones the hens.

I don't know if they're sexually mature at that age, if they would lay or crow or try to mate. Or maybe they're really just big beefy chicks, not sure if they're male or female yet. They're all processed together the same way.

There was a great article in Backyard Poultry extolling the excellent quality of older laying hens as meat for soup or stew. The article said that older birds have a rich flavor many of us have never tasted, being used to eating these really young chickens instead.

Many in the uk are eaten at 8 weeks but fed so much rubbish in the feed it fattens them up so quick cusing skeletal disorders, our broiler was one that escaped the catchers his legs were terribly deformed due to the amount of weight he had to put on so young they did however straighten up x

 

[Terri O]

I put my roos in the bachelor pad. I love how they look and they get along surprisingly well! If I have people that call for roos I will sell them for meat. Once you get a "following" and are known to have birds for sale you should have no problem selling them--either for cultural celebrations or just for meat. T

 

[nifftiness]

Out here people dont want Roosters unless their free. We have had problems with mean Roosters and when that happens I have my DH do the deed and then if were not going to eat it my dog does. I didnt know till i read this site that dogs can eat the hole chicken so long as its not cooked. If the roosters not grown out enough, not meaty enough for the time to process it then after he kills it it goes to our dog fully feathered. I had a hard time with that at first but it seemed better then wasting and cuts down on dog food from time to time, and is good for the dog to!

 

[JustAChickenLittle&More]

So...how old are the roos when you have them processed?

 

[darkmatter]

Quote:
Yes, I eat my surplus Roos at times, otherwise I cull them. I keep 2 to 3 Roos for my flock and find that having an age progression of the Roos prevents fights and over harassment of the hens. The oldest Roo keeps everyone in line and the younger ones are "installed spares" in my Mutt breeding program for a landrace ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landrace ). My methods may not sit well with the "pet chicken" crowd, but I'm a utilitarian chicken owner----my chickens provide eggs, meat, fertilizer, bug patrol, and garden clean/glean up duties. (See my BYC page for pics of my setup). To each their own, I confess, I don't fully understand the Artsy-Craftsy backyard playhouse pets, but I won't criticize their methods if they don't criticize my traditional old-school methods----and I'm talking old-timer homestead, not the modern production techniques.