What age is a Barred Rock Roo old enough to butcher?

[Hens_And_Chicks]

I have 4 BR Roos - One was hatched Nov 4 and the other three on Nov 28th - I don't need 4 roos - at what age are they large enough to butcher?

I have not had any luck selling them on Craigs List and I really don't want to just give them away after feeding them for 4 months.

 

[jvls1942]

get the ax out.

 

[TriciaHowe]

I heard 18-20 wks for "regular" type birds.

 

[Lanissa86]

I'd Say they are ready! Like the above poster said...

time to get that axe.

 

[Hens_And_Chicks]

Then I'm going to see mah Amish Lady - I don't need 4 roos with 15 hens. Two of them are decent - backyard breeder but nice enough for my son to use as a 4-H project this year.

Two of them are not Standard to the breed - in my opinion. The oldest Roo is a nice looking rooster but has a toe completely curled back - as do one of the younger pullets from the second hatch - same breeder. Another Roo has a very strange comb - it's spiked looking - not a straight looking comb but my son has claimed him so he gets spared from the ax.

I am keeping one of the nice cockerels and the other 2 will get butchered this week.

SAHM - very little extra cash - no room for pets, except for Spike - I'm not hatching any eggs from these Roos so there is no perpetuation of genetic defects going on here.

To those of you who have the means to allow all the extra non productive birds live life to death through the pet retirement plan, my hat is off to you.

I'm off to the store to buy some noodles... mmmmmmmmmm..... yum!

 

[Kim_NC]

We like to butcher standard heavy breed cockerels like BRs at 18-20 weeks too. At that age you'll end up with finished weights around 2.75-3.0 lbs and tender. You can cook them anyway you like - slow cooking not required.

Last night we made a salad with grilled chicken breast from boneless chicken breast, 19 week cockerels we butchered about 3 weeks ago. The meat was so tender you could cut it with a fork.

We prefer the smaller weights with the more tender meat. Well worth it to us.