When to butcher black sex-link birds?

[cassiadawn]

I'm wondering at about what age I should be considering butchering some of my Red Rock (black sex-link) hens. My husband and I got 12 chicks at the end of April with the intention of only keeping 3 or 4 over the winter, and butchering the rest for meat (we got only hens just to make sure we didn't end up with 2 roosters and 10 hens, or something like that

)

The hens are about 13 weeks old now, and they're starting to look pretty decently filled out. Should we wait until they start laying, or is it better to butcher them before then?

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Gee, I really have no idea. I myself wouldn't butcher a point-of-lay hen, especially a good layer like a BSL. I've butchered Cornish X hens at 8 weeks, but I never hoped to get eggs from them.

Where do you live? Is it difficult to keep chickens there through the winter? Could you instead find buyers for the hens you don't wish to keep?

I've butchered BSL cockerels at around 20 weeks, they get nice & meaty and are certainly worth eating. But I haven't heard of folks butchering dual purpose hens at such a young age, right at the start of their laying careers.

 

[daisy_dukers]

You would probably be better off selling them depending on the market price around your parts.

 

[cassiadawn]

Well, we got the Red Rocks with the intention of eating some of them - we might have gone with a laying breed specifically rather than a dual-purpose otherwise.

The tractor they're in now is definitely getting a little small for them, we started out with the intention of butchering most of them when they reached full size. We're raising them to have clean, pasture-raised meat and eggs. Even if that hadn't been the idea all along, I've seen point-of-lay hens advertised around here for around $6 each... for that, I'd much rather be eating them!

Keeping them over the winter isn't an issue - we're going to have to build an insulated coop for the ones we're keeping anyway.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Quote:
With that in mind you could have ordered your chicks straight run. It would have been cheaper per cheeper and you would have had the heavier, meatier roos for eating.

...I've seen point-of-lay hens advertised around here for around $6 each... for that, I'd much rather be eating them!

Where DO you live anyway? That's an insultingly low price! I agree, I'd rather eat them than sell them for that price. But it still seems a shame to me to butcher a young layer. Her meat will make just a few meals, but her eggs would make so very many more, and then you could still eat her. And BSLs are supposed to be good layers. I have one from McMurray, she's over 5 years old and still beautifully glossy and laying.

Maybe you could post an ad on the Buy/Sell/Trade section here, or look in the Where Am I/Where Are You section to see if there are any BYCers in your area who would give you a better price.​

 

[cassiadawn]

I'm in Saskatchewan, Canada. I just checked kijiji for my area, and there are ISA Browns ready to lay end of August for $6.75, and 16 wk old laying Leghorns for $5.

This is our first time with chickens, and we didn't want to 'risk' ordering straight run and possibly ending up with only a couple hens. I believe it was only about $7 more to get all pullets vs. straight run. The tractor's really not big enough for all of them anymore (and crazy heavy as it is!) They aren't picking on each other at all, but they sure do a number on the ground in a day! We also don't have time to put in a winter coop until this fall.

Next year, if all goes well this year, I'll probably get 12 cockerels of some sort and run them in a lighter tractor. My layers can then go back into the heavy, nest-box-enabled tractor.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Maybe after doing the math on cost of ordering chicks and the weeks of feed & care, it might be more economical for you to buy these $6.75 hens and cockerels that must cost about the same or even less. Or perhaps you could find someone selling started chicks for the price you got your hatchery chicks. That way you can know for sure the sex of the birds.

I wish you all the best & great success with your first flock, and comfort & endurence for your winter.

 

[codybird]

Point of lay birds go for about $12.00 around here.

 

[barrybro]

I butchered red sex links at 13 weeks. They were a little skinny. I would hold out until at least 16 weeks.

 

[antlers]

The point is the original poster bought them with the intention of eating some. Nothing wrong with that. Economical ? Likely not but I doubt many of can honestly say it cost us less to raise our own meat than we can buy it at the store for.

I raised straight run sex link last year and ate the roosters and a few hens. I butchered at about 16 weeks. Past that you are not going to get much growth. Additional feed will just go into fat or future egg production. They will not be real meaty but they will taste good and you will appreciate what you get.