What would you do with your extra cockerels? Caponize?

[eatmorechicken]

Do nothing and let them grow into roosters

Give them away

Butcher them before they get tough

Learn how to caponize

Hire a caponizer or vet, if the price is very reasonable

So what would you do and why. I would have made these options a poll but I'm not a GFM. oh well. Also what is your interest level in caponizing. Is it worth your time, effort, and money?

For those who don’t know what a capon is, it is the surgical castration of a cockerel (young rooster)

Pros

Capons do not chase hens; no sexual activity
They are not aggressive (no fighting)
More docile and easy to handle
There meat is more fattened and tender than intact roosters
Capons are slightly larger than their intact counterparts when they are mature
Some breeds will display broodiness and foster chicks

Cons

Possibility of losing a bird during the operation
Slips sometimes occur (not fully caponized cockerel)
Some capons crow
They do not grow any faster than their intact counterparts

 

[DianeS]

What would I, personally, do if I had cockerels? Ones I'd had from the egg/day olds and I discovered were cockerels one day?

I'd probably just let them grow until I got hungry for chicken that tasted better than store-bought. Then I'd probably process them all in the same day - if I'm going to get the whole setup out and use it, it needs to be worth it. So somewhere between figuring out they were male and them becoming fully adult.

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

I would put them in the freezer, you'll be eating fresh, homegrown chicken that you raised yourself.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

This is a good question for everyone hatching chicks, it usually results in more cockerels than a person can keep. At first I would sell the extras for $5 apiece, then when my buyers spoke so highly of home-grown meat, it made me want to learn how to process them for myself. After I learned to process, I could keep the cockerels until they were about 20-24 weeks of age, and bring them to the table then. They are not at all tough at that age.

Recently I learned how to caponize, and have begun doing that to the cockerel chicks. It's not really that difficult to learn, and there's information on this forum & other places online to get instructions. I think I will continue to do this when time allows, otherwise I'll let them grow out intact.

 

[eatmorechicken]

So you would eat them. But when would you butcher, and is caponizing a likely option to let them get bigger but remain tender? Or does really matter to caponize at all?

 

[eatmorechicken]

This is a good question for everyone hatching chicks, it usually results in more cockerels than a person can keep. At first I would sell the extras for $5 apiece, then when my buyers spoke so highly of home-grown meat, it made me want to learn how to process them for myself. After I learned to process, I could keep the cockerels until they were about 20-24 weeks of age, and bring them to the table then. They are not at all tough at that age.

Recently I learned how to caponize, and have begun doing that to the cockerel chicks. It's not really that difficult to learn, and there's information on this forum & other places online to get instructions. I think I will continue to do this when time allows, otherwise I'll let them grow out intact

Ha! you answered my question before I could post it... your a quick typer sunnysideup. However, I believe that cockerels do get tough after about 15 weeks. They are definitely a different texture compared to store bought chicken. The leg meat especially will get tough and stringy. But they do taste much better than store bought chicken​

 

[Muscovies]

I would sell the extra's and slim it down to the one you want to keep.

Hope this helps

 

[HorizonSon]

Any roos not being kept for breeding, feeding and protecting the flock are processed for family consumption

 

[RainbowBirds_of_a_Feather]

Aloha,

I would eat them and or sell them to people to be eaten. Asians will buy them, trust me, I know because they always want to buy my "native chickens". Mind you they are just feral chickens that are caught and grown. They will even buy eggs from me as well. But butchering your own birds are better and saves you money at the grocery store seeing that you are putting so much into the hatching and feeding of your birds. As the saying goes:


I fed yah, now you going to feed me!

 

[Raven81]

i would try sell / give them away at a youngish age if that didnt happen i would eat them.