[nuzuki]

I have a 17week old light sussex whos getting a bit noisey. We are going to get rid of him but I had a question about doing so. I hear you cannot eat an egg from a chicken that has been eating chick crumb as the ACS can be passed to the egg. Is it the same with the meat? Sometimes I add a pinch of chick crumb to their growers pellets does this mean I cant eat it due to the ACS thing?

Also do I need to let the bird hang for a couple of days or can i go straight ahead and pluck/prepare it? Im sure someone told me not to hang it in hot weather.

Any advice would be great

[JaK]

You need to make sure he hasn't eaten the chick crumb for at least a week. You really don't need to be giving chick crumb to growers at all.
Think about how you are going to cook him. He will only make a tiny roaster so it may be better to boil to make a good stock and use the meat in a soup or curry. If you choose to slow boil then you don't need to hang at all. No need to pluck either, just skin and slow boil/simmer.

[Casey76]

Jak, I think a 17 week old Sussex will make a good roaster, under the right conditions.

Nuzuki, as Jak said, stop giving the chick crumbs for one week before slaughter.

I normally pluck while warm (it is easier) then hang in a cool lace for 24 hours before gutting and dressing.  If you hang, you should leave the guts in, the meat will spoil quicker without the innards.

If it is warm where you are, find the coolest place you can (garage/basement etc) I often hung in an old fridge turned onto the minimum chill setting in very hot weather.

Whatever you choose, it will be better to let the meat relax for 24 hours between slaughter and cooking.

At 17 weeks, your cockerel will not be as tender as a supermarket chicken, so use a lower temperature, and cook for longer.  You can try roasting breast down, and flipping the right way up for the last 30 mins to brown the skin.

Good luck, and I'm sure you will never look at supermarket chicken in the same way again!

[nuzuki]

Thanks for the great replies. We can wait 3 more weeks if you think the meat will make for a better eating experience. We also have an old fridge in the garage. Should I use a special tool for plucking? Could I just use some pliers?

[Casey76]

As a dual purpose bird, the Sussex will continue to mature until about 26 weeks, though at this time they need more careful cooking.  any time between now and then will be Ok to dispatch.

Pluck the cockerel by hand, pull the feathers in the direction of growth to avoid too much tension on the skin.  You may need pliers to remove the primary wing feathers if you decide to leave the wings on - I usualy take them off, it takes too long, and too much effort - but if presenting the bird to "outsiders" i.e. not family I'd go to the extra effort.  If it is just for me, I don't waste my time.

Take care to remove the preen gland from he base of the tail once plucked.

When gutting, be careful not to rupture the gall bladder.  It will taint the meat if is spills inside the carcass.

[ANHBUC]

I culled two young light sussex bantams recently and used the breast meat for Chicken Chasseur and then used the legs for Cock a Leekie Soup.  They were very small birds but waste not, want not. 

[nuzuki]

Out of interest ANHBUC did you stop feeding them chick crumb before culling them? or were they already switched over to growers pellets? I had some chick crumb to get rid of before it goes off so thought it put a pinch in with the growers pellets.

[splash101]

Mine were off chick crumb at 8 weeks old

[kegs]

Here's a handy link for culling and a 10 step programme on preparing a chicken, with lots of photographs.

http://butcherachicken.blogspot.co.uk/2007/09/introduction.html

Don't forget to remove the food for some time before you cull.  I cull ours first thing in the morning so their crops are nice and empty. We ate a LS cockerel and he was delicious - chicken curry followed by chicken pie if I remember correctly.  Mmmmm 

[ANHBUC]

Out of interest ANHBUC did you stop feeding them chick crumb before culling them? or were they already switched over to growers pellets? I had some chick crumb to get rid of before it goes off so thought it put a pinch in with the growers pellets.

They were on growers pellets but had to wait as I had used flubenvet they were around 18 weeks old.  I don't get the chick crumb with ACS just in case my greedy layers sneak some of the food.

I do as kegs said and stop feeding late afternoon to cull first thing on the morning.  Make sure they have access to water still though.

[AlaninCarlisle]

It isn't the preparation that'd bother me, it's the killing

[frenchliving]

maybe Ive not had my chickens long enough to actually think about doing this! but it has made interesting reading!!! Good luck, I couldnt bring myself to do it personally but then I am a softie!!!

may give me an answer to what to do with the 2 cockerels that we seem to have surplus to requirements, but I cant even pull the head of a prawn!!!

[nuzuki]

Thanks for the replies and thanks for the link kegs. I was on a farm nto so long ago and we got talking about the chickens and next thing I knew it they asked if I would like to practise killing one. We grabbed its back legs and put it on the floor belly down. I made my fingers into a V and then bent them like a claw then placed them on the back of the chickens head at the top of the neck but below the head. She told me to pull thead whilst pulling the legs. I gave it a go and she said to do it harder. I did... to the point where the head actually came clean off.. It was a shock to me but it did the job

For those wondering ive had chickens for 17weeks now, these are my first lot of chickens I have ever owned.

We've decided to delay the culling 2 weeks or so so we can beef him up a little more and hope that his tail feathers come on a little more. We've had the idea of taking some nice photos of the house whilst the flowers are out and putting the cockerel in the forefront of the picture. He is a picture perfect cockerel possibly a very good example of a light sussex but sadly is too noisey. The other cockerel we have is a big docile cuckoo maran and although he crows its alot lower pitched and doesnt travels as far. We also have a hybrid cockerel, and 2 rhode island red cockerals. Out of interest the rhode island red cockerals are 8 weeks old and have been eating chick crumb. If I were to get rid of them in the next week what could I do with them in regards to meat, can I feed it to the dog? I might be able to hold onto them till 12 weeks if it made a difference to the amount of meat.

[ANHBUC]

I would put RIR cockerels on growers and leave the culling until they actually crow.  They should have enough meat on them for a meal by then.  If they are not allowed to freerange and chase the ladies they should bulk up quicker.  If you have other young cockerels crowing this sometimes delays the less dominant ones from developing and crowing (that is what happened with ours).

You might be better using a broom handle to do the deed.  I find it easier and you don't need as much strength.  I will be investing in a wall mounted dispatcher for the turkeys which I will then be able to use for chickens.

[kegs]

She told me to pull thead whilst pulling the legs. I gave it a go and she said to do it harder. I did... to the point where the head actually came clean off.. It was a shock to me but it did the job

Think you may have put quite a few people off with that description! 

It happened to us recently too but we didn't have hold of the legs so I now know where the phrase 'running round like a headless chicken' comes from!  (I needed a stiff drink that night to stop it playing on my mind!)

I agree with ANHBUC - when one cockerel is culled the next in line seems to find his voice and take over. 

Certainly keep the other cockerels a bit longer, put them on growers, and they'll make a tasty dinner (much too good for the dog).