When to process mutt chickens

[maus]

Right now they are 6 weeks old and unsexed. They are a mutt mix of barred rock and cochin/brahma mix. No one wants them, so I guess I will eat them.

 

[wynedot55]

you can process them at 16 to 18 weeks.

 

[greyfields]

I bet they'll get there closer to 12... but Brahma's are rather slow growing.

 

[bheila]

Not sure about the Brahmas, but we butchered our Barred Rock roosters at 20 weeks and they were yummy....tender and juicy. I cooked them in the crockpot.

 

[HobbyChickener]

That is what we grow to eat and we process at 14-16 and no more at all than 18. We generally have good tender birds.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

I've processed as late as 20-22 weeks and still had good meat. I keep the meat birds more confined, in tractors or small pens. I'd even give them recliner chairs, big-screen TVs and remote controls so they'd be more sedentary and less tough, but they'd only just poop on it all.

So many folks have told me about how tough or stringy their home-grown chickens have been but I haven't encountered that yet. Perhaps it's because I keep them confined, or let the carcasses rest in the refrigerator a few days. I also usually slow-simmer them over low heat for a few hours on the stove with some fresh herbs, then pick & separate the meat to freeze. I don't have to really pick, the meat just melts off the bones.

I guess I should start weighing these birds to see if they really gain much between weeks 16-22, perhaps it's not worth it to keep, feed, & listen to them for so much longer. But it's good to know that if you're too busy to butcher so early that doing it later shouldn't affect the taste/texture so much.

 

[greyfields]

I think the issue being overlooked here is he's doing mutts, which at some level are hybrids. They will grow faster than purebreeds.

 

[chickenannie]

My Buff Orp roos were butchered at 20 weeks and were very tender. Roasted them in the oven -- didn't use crockpot at all.

 

[SueNH]

My mutt roosters grow no faster than their purebred counterparts. All have been a mix of standard brown egg layers of common types. Not a lot of meat on them compared to the cornish meat mutants.

 

[MissPrissy]

If you want a fryer do it closer to 12 - 14 weeks.