[joyfull]

if you want them to eat look into getting meat birds but you will need a separate run and coop for them.

[pepsi100]

if you want them to eat look into getting meat birds but you will need a separate run and coop for them.

Why would that be ?

[Craigx]

if you want them to eat look into getting meat birds but you will need a separate run and coop for them.

Why would that be ?

I was just about to ask that lol

[Daamoot]

Thanks for pointing out youtube, there are many videos on there for all kinds of culling.  Think I'd prefer the brush method than cutting the spine.  Did you use an actual brush or a spanner like in one of the videos?

I guess you don't want to cross breed your laying and meat birds?

[pepsi100]

Either tht or you dont want them making friends, especially as a couple may not be there for long, those awkward questions "Were's Joe/Fred/Ethel/Freda gone ?"

[joyfull]

they often dont perch so can end up being pooped on and also they will hog all of the feed, your egg layers wont stand a chance of getting near it. Also as they get culled at a young age they would be on different food (chick crumb) for a lot of their time and then end up on finishers feed.

[conteasy]

A friend of mine kept Croad Langshans, big breed with nice large cream coloured eggs and an excellent bird to eat.  We had one of her cockerels one Christmas, weighing 10lbs.  Nice docile birds and not unnattractive.

If you have a skinny bird why not gut it and cook the lot, neck and all in a closed casserole or roasting bag? The meat will be reasonably tender and the remains make grand stock for soup!

[Craigx]

A friend of mine kept Croad Langshans, big breed with nice large cream coloured eggs and an excellent bird to eat.  We had one of her cockerels one Christmas, weighing 10lbs.  Nice docile birds and not unnattractive.

If you have a skinny bird why not gut it and cook the lot, neck and all in a closed casserole or roasting bag? The meat will be reasonably tender and the remains make grand stock for soup!

I couldnt get my hand inside lol...

Craig

[ANHBUC]

Well done.

I have a Welsummer cockerel to do tomorrow.  I will leave him to hang for 3 days before preparing him.  Not sure if I will pluck him or just skin him, it will depend on how much meat is on him.  He is so flighty when I go in his run as he sees me as top cockerel with the girls curtseying for me.      :blink:

[Debbieta]

It is lovely to hear that so many do make good use of their 'extra' chickens.  When I first started reading this forum (July 2011) there didn't seem to be much mention of the eating aspect of birds, let alone the whole business of culling and 'how to'.  It certainly makes me feel more relaxed about giving my birds a good quality of life, but looking at them in a slightly more eggs and dinner prospect.  However, I still love their endearing ways and character.
Well done Craig, good job done. We have (my daughter) culled ancona cockerals, but have rhode island red to go shortly which has plumped up nicely.  Trouble is hubby is getting attatched to his 'mate' and is beginning to think about keeping it (yeh right!).  There is only so many runs OH has time to make and I'll be needing this one in the not too distant future for breeding

[Sparkyrog]

I use to do it differently to you guys . I would get a batch from a local broiler farmer just before they were cropped ! then free range them for a couple of months on fattening pellets it never paid but the flavor and size of the birds was superb ,kill in November pluck warm then hang for 4 or 5 days depending on the weather ,then in the freezer they went  http://chat.allotment-garden.org/Themes/green-ornamental-pltry/images/post/grin.gif

[ANHBUC]

I use to do it differently to you guys . I would get a batch from a local broiler farmer just before they were cropped ! then free range them for a couple of months on fattening pellets it never paid but the flavor and size of the birds was superb ,kill in November pluck warm then hang for 4 or 5 days depending on the weather ,then in the freezer they went  http://chat.allotment-garden.org/Themes/green-ornamental-pltry/images/post/grin.gif

I thought they would be tough if you did them when they were over a year old.  How did you cook them?

[nuzuki]

Well done Craigx

The leg meat might have been darker as it was a maran, our first one we did was a maran and we noticed the leg meat was dark. We have done another since and the legs were pink.

Check out this chart, it tells you which birds make good table, layers or dual purpose.

http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html

[yaxley]

Well done the first one is always the hardest ..Good to see that there not going to waste and the best thing is you know what sort of life it had and what it was fed on ...

[Sparkyrog]

I use to do it differently to you guys . I would get a batch from a local broiler farmer just before they were cropped ! then free range them for a couple of months on fattening pellets it never paid but the flavor and size of the birds was superb ,kill in November pluck warm then hang for 4 or 5 days depending on the weather ,then in the freezer they went  http://chat.allotment-garden.org/Themes/green-ornamental-pltry/images/post/grin.gif

I thought they would be tough if you did them when they were over a year old.  How did you cook them?

They were not over a year old broiler farmers crop at 7 to 10 weeks so mine were never more than 5 to 6 months old at harvest