when can i eat my roos?

[CANDLE98]

How old do my BR roos have to be before I can eat them? I hate them, they are way meaner than my pullets and they are only 4 weeks old! I just want to eat them and get it over with. i am thinking about having me some mini BBQ chicken!!! What do you guys think?

 

[Master S.M.C]

As soon as they reach full maturity, you can eat them because the'll have meat, but that breed of chicken is more popular for egg laying abilities.

 

[CANDLE98]

How long before they reach full maturity?

 

[Laskaland]

You've got a way to go, doll. Mine are just at a good spot to butcher, and they are 17 weeks. Took quite awhile to get them meaty enough to butcher.

Sorry for your naughty boys. I had good luck with temperment in mine

 

[bigzio]

Oh you bet minnie can work if that's what works for you?

I like 18 weeks, however if they aren't working out then maybe the worst one first then progress one at a time till you achieve your flock that works best and is alot of fun for you.

Raising and caring for the flock should be fun!

I don't tolerate the hens being abused, it can get out of hand quickly.

bigzio

 

[CANDLE98]

They aren't really mean to the girls, they just peck the crap out of my hands when i go to pet the other ones.

 

[jforsness]

Aren't they cornish game hen right now? Eat em!

 

[aberfitch]

just kick them! the will learn to avoid u

 

[cjstanman]

We butchered our two BR roos at 17 weeks. They dressed out at about 4 lbs each.

 

[dancingbear]

Quote:

Silly Rabbit! How could BR roos be Cornish game hens? Unless they changed both breed and gender...(not that the ones at the store are all actually hens, but they aren't Cornish game birds, either!)
They probably aren't that big yet, anyway.

CANDLE98, they're your birds, eat them when ever you want to!

I have some young mutt cockerels I've been waiting to eat, on the smallish side though. About 2 weeks ago I started adding distiller's grain to the feed to boost the protein. It's cheap here, so I thought I'd give it a try. Anyway, I think those boys have nearly doubled in size since I changed the feed. I was just noticing tonight how much bigger they are. You might give it a try, maybe you could harvest them a bit younger and still get a decent meal out of them. My layer feed is 16% protein, the distiller's grain is 25%, (and rich in oils from the grains) I mix them half and half for 20.5% protein. I feed free choice, keeping feed available at all times. (No extra lights on at night though) They seem to love it, egg production's gone up, and those younger birds are packing on the flesh. I think I've found my favorite feed additive.

Oh, I've also stopped giving them scratch. I give them some whole corn mixed with some black oil sunflower seeds everyday, as a treat. I feed about 3/4 of a large coffee can of corn, mixed with about 2 cups of the BOSS. This is for a total of 36 chickens, and 13 guineas, I scatter it all over so everybody gets a bit. It's the highlight of their day. Some of them climb up on the edge of the coffee can while I'm trying to mix it up.