Whats the best chicken and age to butcher and eat?

[LindaB220]

Caponize them.

If you do it in the next few weeks they won't crow and they meat will not get tough as they age.

Hey Roger

Where are you from? Do you caponize? Got my tools just no chicks big enough. Learning from Graphic Pictures of my day learning to caponize or something. Kassaundra's thread. Fantastic photos and learning procedure. Just wish someone near Shreveport La knew how and would let me watch.

 

[RogerShoaf]

I am in CA.

I found this group because I want to have the experience with dining on a capon.

I read about them somewhere and several months ago when I was working through a package of chicken breasts, I came to the conclusion that no matter how I cooked them they were the Styrofoam of meat.

I found where you could mail order a capon from Iowa, but that led to further reading and it seemed a reasonable proposition to grow a few in the back yard and see if the things I have read were true. In a small operation the ability to control the variables seem to be a viable option and I think I could handle the surgery and the end processing so I think I might give the project a shot.

I live in a farm town and know folks that work at rice mills and almond processing facilities, so I think I could get feed pretty cheap. There is no shortage of bugs in my back yard, so the whole concept seems doable and I am curious to see what it would taste like to have a fresh capon that was finished on a diet of locally grown rice and almonds.

I heard a story about one of the local guys that shot a wild pig that had been stuffing himself on almonds that had been shaken from the trees during harvest. He said that that was the best tasting pork he had ever eaten and the fat had a nice creamy color rather than the stark white usually seen on the edge of the pork chops.

In the end, I doubt that I will save any money, but the thought of sitting down to a nice festive christmas dinner with a "super chicken" on the carving board is an idea that sounds really good. I also what to try a really good tasty chicken cooked sous vide after being de-boned and stuffed with already cooked stuffing popped back into the oven to crisp the skin.

 

[LindaB220]

I am in CA.

I found this group because I want to have the experience with dining on a capon.

I read about them somewhere and several months ago when I was working through a package of chicken breasts, I came to the conclusion that no matter how I cooked them they were the Styrofoam of meat.

I found where you could mail order a capon from Iowa, but that led to further reading and it seemed a reasonable proposition to grow a few in the back yard and see if the things I have read were true. In a small operation the ability to control the variables seem to be a viable option and I think I could handle the surgery and the end processing so I think I might give the project a shot.

I live in a farm town and know folks that work at rice mills and almond processing facilities, so I think I could get feed pretty cheap. There is no shortage of bugs in my back yard, so the whole concept seems doable and I am curious to see what it would taste like to have a fresh capon that was finished on a diet of locally grown rice and almonds.

I heard a story about one of the local guys that shot a wild pig that had been stuffing himself on almonds that had been shaken from the trees during harvest. He said that that was the best tasting pork he had ever eaten and the fat had a nice creamy color rather than the stark white usually seen on the edge of the pork chops.

In the end, I doubt that I will save any money, but the thought of sitting down to a nice festive christmas dinner with a "super chicken" on the carving board is an idea that sounds really good. I also what to try a really good tasty chicken cooked sous vide after being de-boned and stuffed with already cooked stuffing popped back into the oven to crisp the skin.

Check out Youtube on cooking capons. Looks delish. A bunch of them.

 

[Anth]

If you slaughter a cockerel, is best to eat it straight away? someone told me to hang it like a pheasant? can anyone help, my cockerel is 21 weeks.

 

[CrazyTalk]

It needs to sit in the fridge for a day or two for the meat fibers to relax (unless you're pressure cooking it)

 

[XianStephanie]

I have an aracuana rooster. At what age can I butcher him? They're 14 weeks old.

 

[CrazyTalk]

Butcher him whenever you can't stand him anymore.

There's kind of a tradeoff - the longer you wait with non-meat-breed rooster, the better carcass you get (they're usually really skinny at this point). The problem is that the longer you wait the more obnoxious they get.


https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/195909/what-is-the-best-age-to-butcher-non-meatie-roosters

This is a pretty good thread (very old though) - there's a lot of discussion about how to physically check the bird.

 

[XianStephanie]

Thanks!

 

[Kelly1955]

Thanks for the post, I was definitely keeping my birds too long. I agree with your evaluation of the Cochin I was raising them back in the 80's and my oldest son says he wants them included in our flock next year. Problem is, I thought they were really poor egg layers compared to my Barred Rocks, and they ate more.

 

[Kelly1955]

Thanks for the post: The problem in my yard is that I never get bored with the roosters, their the best alarm clock ever, and they remind me of the old homestead. My neighbors not so much, At one time I had twenty different breeds from around the world. (never had Derbyshire Red Caps, though I really would love to have them). I always kept a rooster and four or five hens over winter, so the roosters would crow and answer each other all day long. I think at one point there may have been a petition circulating, but I had checked to ensure my land was zoned agricultural, (they probably should have done the same). I had to move to the next city for work, and so my poor collection had to move to the freezer. Now I'm back home, and am preparing a new barn with a glass coop for the roosters, because I am already up to six breeds in my first year. I'm hoping the glass enclosure will keep the noise of the roosters down a bit. The most beautiful bird I have ever raised was the Barred Rock rooster. His Crowing in the morning was loud but warm, he was the last bird butchered, his name was Bugler and I wish he could have lived forever. If you want a bird whose voice could shatter the buttons of your shirt, try a polish rooster. The folks on this site have really helped in my choice of birds and butcher time so thank you all. The first breed I purchased was my beloved Barred Rock, but unfortunately the artist who painted the stripes had a shaky hand and they look more like Cuckoo Marans.