Whats the best chicken and age to butcher and eat?

[cornfedhogedito]

So the processing has been done, and the birds are chilling out! I ended up doing my overly aggressive rooster, he's 3 years, the rooster that hatched November 22, last year and an old 4year old hen. She had weak bones compared to the other 2. The skin was the best on the youngest. My wife thinks that he will be a stew bird as he was fairly skinny. Haven't weighed them yet so not sure on the weight. I will say they all had really healthy livers, hearts and gizzards.

 

[jake and pippa]

We raised a number of breeds last year to compare the flavor. We probably let many of the males get too old, we raised them to 4-6 months, in general, but this is our general experience. Our favorites were Rhode Island Red, Speckled Sussex and Salmon Favorole, but many other tasty birds include Light Brahma, American Bresse, Bielefelder, Wyandotte and Marans. I do not agree that all birds taste the same. The Marans is moist and mild, the RIR tougher but super flavorful. We did not care for the Delaware, too mild, or male sex-links (we got a few freebies from a hatchery). We liked the Dorking, but it is a super slow grower. We definitely recommend resting the bird in the fridge for 1-2 days, and/or brining it O/N. Older birds benefit from a long slow cook. Coq au Vin is a classic French dish using a mature rooster. The older the bird, the stronger the flavor, but they do get tough, and need a long slow cook. Some chefs will hang a bird in the fridge for a week to age the meat.

This year we got more RIR, are raising some Marans and American Bresse, plus a few Sussex and are trying Basque hens. The Basque Hens are on the Slow Food Ark of Taste, but then again, so are the Cayuga Duck, which we think is OK, but not the best duck breed we tried.

 

[cornfedhogedito]

Jake and Pippin thanks good info, I am going to have to experiment with different breeds. This round and the next 2 birds were not planned on, put the cart before the horse! Wanted fresh eggs and ended up with too many roos and took in a couple of ladies from our older neighbor. Finally set up properly for the eggs and also a pen/run for meat production.

Will be cooking the 3 year old roo tomorrow!

 

[cornfedhogedito]

Okay! Sorry busy days, fixing this and that making this and that and getting the yearly fire prevention job done OH and stuff for my daughter's wedding in 2 weeks! So, you might say I have a full plate!! Also the oven broke the day we were going to cook the roo!

My wife cooked the guy slow and low in a SMALL counter top toaster oven. KEEP THAT IN MIND! So when the breast meat was done the skin was rock hard. The dark meat was still under cooked. The breast meat was tasty but a bit tough, but tasty. The skin and bones were extremely hard to cut, I sharpen the wife knives and they are scary sharp.

So, going forward from now on, all old birds will be boiled or pressure cooked. The 5 month old roo will be baked and I will post how it turns out, until then he is on ice in the freezer chillin out!! The part for the stove is going to take 8 yes eight weeks to get. New stove/company and parts come from Italy! Who knew, I sure didn't.

Hope this is some help!

 

[Molpet]

Okay! Sorry busy days, fixing this and that making this and that and getting the yearly fire prevention job done OH and stuff for my daughter's wedding in 2 weeks! So, you might say I have a full plate!! Also the oven broke the day we were going to cook the roo!

My wife cooked the guy slow and low in a SMALL counter top toaster oven. KEEP THAT IN MIND! So when the breast meat was done the skin was rock hard. The dark meat was still under cooked. The breast meat was tasty but a bit tough, but tasty. The skin and bones were extremely hard to cut, I sharpen the wife knives and they are scary sharp.

So, going forward from now on, all old birds will be boiled or pressure cooked. The 5 month old roo will be baked and I will post how it turns out, until then he is on ice in the freezer chillin out!! The part for the stove is going to take 8 yes eight weeks to get. New stove/company and parts come from Italy! Who knew, I sure didn't.

Hope this is some help!

yeah they need moist low heat.. I simmer the over 6mth, on the burner, in broth most of the time.
What kind of stove had the parts come from italy? I don't want to buy one LOL

 

[cornfedhogedito]

yeah they need moist low heat.. I simmer the over 6mth, on the burner, in broth most of the time.
What kind of stove had the parts come from italy? I don't want to buy one LOL

Stove is a Comercial oven 6 burner and oven temp range of 160 to 600 degrees Fahrenheit and made by Empura

 

[Hidden Ridge Farms]

Hey family!
I am getting ready to order chicks from McMurray. I was wondering, what are the best type of chicken ( Best tasting ). And also when is the best age to butcher them to eat them? Please help so I can order soon today! thanks

I purchased cornish crosses for butchering purposes last year. Considering getting more. That is the only thing they are useful for as they grow so fast, they have a lot of health issues. Sometimes they will even have heart attacks at a young age due to their high rate of growth. They are butcher weight at only 8 weeks old which makes them better than many dual purpose breeds as the meat will stay more tender. This is the same kind of chicken meat you buy at the grocery store. Mine dressed out at 5-6 lbs at 8 weeks.

A word of advice though with cornish crosses, you need to start rationing their feed at 2 weeks of age. I would only give them enough to fill their crop 3 times a day. Once they were 4 weeks old, they went outside in a chicken tractor and then I would scatter their feed on the ground so they had to scratch and hunt for it. If you offer them free food constantly, they can literally eat themselves to death.

As far as taste goes to me, nothing can compare to the cornish. I have butchered some of my dual purpose birds (and still do) when I get too many roosters in my hatches. But, due to the fact that the dual purpose take longer to get to butchering size, (usually about 4-5 months) the meat just isn't as tender. The dark meat on dual purpose chickens is noticeably darker as well due to the older age. Cost wise, you're about in the same boat. Since the cornish eat so much so fast, you will have pretty close to the same food cost with the slower growing dual purpose breeds. Cornish also forage pretty well too and their bodies grow faster than their feathering, so it is best raise them when it is warmer out as they cannot tolerate cold as well. They will literally have bald spots.

To me, the cornish crosses were easier to butcher (emotionally). Since I bought them strictly for that purpose, and because they drove me nuts with their eating habits, it was a lot easier for me to dispatch them. I get too attached sometimes to my dual purpose birds.

 

[Countrypickens]

I personally buy my first sets of chickens to breed. I keep 3 breeders and then I have an abundance of chicks without having to rebuy them every year. I butcher out at 10 weeks good weight and young tender. I keep my broody hens around until there natural lives are done. I try to add hens as I lose one.