When to process Standard Fowl

[lauranickerson]

I looked high and low for a threat on this already, and there probably is one, but I can't find it: SO...

I have some roosters that will eventually land in my freezer. They are Black Sex Links (Yeah, naive me get them before I knew you could sex them by looking at them...and out of 8 birds, got 100% roosters.)

Anywho, so I plan on keeping the prettiest one(s), and eating the rest. I bought them mid-March from Tractor Supply. They've all got pretty decent combs and waddles now. No crowing yet, though I'm guessing it's very soon. One clucks loudly at me when I crow to them (yeaaaaah, I crow to them), like he hates it.

They vary in size a bit, too, so I'd start with the bigger ones. Just sick of having my feet picked at and challenged every time I go in the coop or run.

What's the general rule of thumb for this? I want to do it now because they're starting to show interest in the girls, but if I'll get a lot more meat by just waiting a couple weeks, I will.


All the barred ones are boys. For reference, the ducks are full-sized.



Jerks.



I plan on keeping this one, but just wanted to show how big their comb/waddles are...

 

[Elke Beck]

One of the ways I decide when to send the boys to freezer camp is whether they are bugging me or the other birds. Putting on another few ounces of meat is not worth another month of being annoyed. Bear in mind that black sexlinks are bred for egg laying, not meat producing, so you will never get a chunky carcass from these boys. They will be scrawny looking, but oh so tasty.

 

[lauranickerson]

One of the ways I decide when to send the boys to freezer camp is whether they are bugging me or the other birds. Putting on another few ounces of meat is not worth another month of being annoyed. Bear in mind that black sexlinks are bred for egg laying, not meat producing, so you will never get a chunky carcass from these boys. They will be scrawny looking, but oh so tasty.

So waiting probably won't do me any good, then, huh. Do you raise any birds for meat? If you do, what's your favorite?

 

[Elke Beck]

They are about 12 weeks old now. You could probably go another 4 to 6 weeks to get more meat, but it is not going to be a huge amount. What I would suggest is do a couple of the largest and see what you think of the carcass and quality of meat. If you like what you get, do the rest. If you would like to wait for a more meaty bird, then you need to decide how that weighs against keeping those birds longer. There is no right or wrong answer here, so no pressure.

I have raised the cockerels from batches of eggs my broody Buff Orpington has hatched, and this year I took the plunge and raised 5 Cornish Cross and 9 Red Rangers. all of them have been delicious, and even with the chicks my hen hatched being from production breeds, they had enough meat on them to make a good meal.

I do not have a favorite yet. This fall I am going to get dual purpose cockerels and try caponizing them to see if that is worth my while. We will see. The fun thing is that I can experiment, and even if it does not turn out perfect, the chickens still taste good.

 

[lauranickerson]

Yeah, I have a single Cornish X, but just have it with all the others. It's only about 5 or 6 weeks old now. It must be a slow grower because they say 6 weeks is the time to slaughter them, but I can't see this being even close to worth it. I got it and 7 other chicks from a lady on Craigslist, and the hatchery she got them from messed up.

I had Cornish X as a kid, but we slaughtered them at like 3-5 years old (if they didn't die first) because we begged our dad not to kill them. Then he burned them on the grill.

I'm considering getting a little flock of them when my housing status changes. Maybe just have a chicken tractor for meat only's, and the rest in the coop/run/free range.

Eh...it's all just ideas in my head at this moment. I do plan on hatching some of my own chicks, then eating the boys. Just determining whether I want to splurge on an incubator or just get a broody-type hen.

 

[Elke Beck]

the Cornish X I did were disgusting critters. They were dirty and piggy and pathetic. But they taste good.

The good thing about hatching a few is that you can almost always sell the females to help off set the cost, and the males go into your freezer. I have never used an incubator, so if you get one I will want to hear how it works for you.

 

[lauranickerson]

Yeah, I've heard Red Rangers are a little better. Never raised them before, though.

I'll definitely let you know. Hopefully I can find some sort of steal on Craigslist or something.

 

[Elke Beck]

Yeah, I've heard Red Rangers are a little better. Never raised them before, though.

I'll definitely let you know. Hopefully I can find some sort of steal on Craigslist or something.

The Red Rangers were good, but they mature early, so I had 5:30 a.m. crowing to deal with, and they were aggressive toward each other and occasionally me. I got pecked almost every day by the little boogers. One of them left a bruise that took a couple weeks to disappear. There are pros and cons to whatever you choose to raise. But in the end they are always worth it to me.

I am afraid that if I got an incubator I would be out of control, hatching way, way too many chicks. Having to rely on my hens going broody is a natural control on my chicken hoarding.

 

[lauranickerson]

The Red Rangers were good, but they mature early, so I had 5:30 a.m. crowing to deal with, and they were aggressive toward each other and occasionally me. I got pecked almost every day by the little boogers. One of them left a bruise that took a couple weeks to disappear. There are pros and cons to whatever you choose to raise. But in the end they are always worth it to me.

I am afraid that if I got an incubator I would be out of control, hatching way, way too many chicks. Having to rely on my hens going broody is a natural control on my chicken hoarding.

Yeah, you have a point there. I can already feel the hoarding kicking in. I scan Craigslist daily to see if there's any chickens for sale around me. Haha. So maybe I should just reply on nature, too. Though, I have been looking into getting a breed that goes broody more often, like silkies and brahmas and such.

 

[Liberty Nursery]

I think I might be a chicken hoarder, I was only going to have 8 chickens on a city lot, after I discovered that I was a master composter and odor eliminator (call me the poopmaster) I went nuts and now have 32 with 25 Golden Buffs on the way from Meyers. At least I have a big yard in a small city that allows chickens and neighbors who love free eggs. I read this thread because I have a few barred rock cockerels and one that is a crowing rooster that needs to become dinner. I have only butchered Cornish X White Rocks so far, the first time was traumatizing but I came out better than the bird did, the 2nd time was a breeze. This time I will be butchering a healthy looking happy rooster and I am afraid it might traumatize me again.