At what age to harvest roosters

[BigBlueHen53]

I appreciate your wisdom and experience, Mrs. K. I may start my own thread so I can pick your brain. I'll certainly keep my eye on this one.

 

[Beer can]

You have time yet. I don't go by weeks every breed and every chicken/cockerel is different. I just go by when they start crowing, can't remember how many weeks but its always different (best at that time to cull cause they are the most tender even on the grill). Think around 12-14 but like Little23 said above it might be 20 weeks before they become probs.
I keep all together no separation. Then all the pecking order stuff is taken care of long before, no probs.
You never know the situation. I once had four roosters, two jersey giants and two red sussex with eight hens well past maturity with no probs fighting or overbreeding. One of the JGs kept things civil he was the boss .

 

[The Dapper Duck]

I think they could be integrated at this age. They shouldn’t really start trying to mate the pullets for a while. I used to raise my Australorps in one run of all ages. After they hit 4wks they got integrated and once the cockerels hit 16wks, about the time they started to experiment with crowing and had their full adult feathers, they went to freezer camp. Like people have said though, it depends on your breed and your individual birds. I would mix them but that’s always with the caveat that if some are causing problems, they get dealt with.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Freezer camp!

 

[TheRealWitwiki]

Curious, If i have to cull all 4 of these boys. How would it work if i waited until my hens are 20 weeks old, then brood another rooster , and at 8 weeks introduce him to the hens, essentially the girls being dominant over him, untill he grows up, what kind of rooster attitude/personality would that make for when he matures?

Clint Clint Clint
Calm down my friend. Don't turn this into a science my man. Your chickens are barely chickens at 7 and 8 weeks they are just getting used to their crazy new feathers. I say put them in all together now and keep an eye on things. If you have a few roosters not behaving then you can make a decision to get rid of them. You are stressing about it before you have even tried. Look I had same issue. Bought my RR at the tractor supply and got 3 roosters out of 12. To be honest they were great together. I gave 2 away because they crowed so loud I thought my neighbors were going to kill me. I highly recommend you keep at least one rooster especially if you let them free range. He will protect the hens with his life. Roosters are tricky I agree with the person who said it's a crap shoot. I got rid of mine today. We replaced him with a younger Rooster that is more mild. Actually it's his son. My boss hatched some of our eggs and raised them on his farm. He didn't want the rooster so I took him. We have young children and as much as I loved the rooster he was vicious and attacked people often. He was great at protecting our hens though. This new guy is a little wimpy but I feel more comfortable with him around the kids. Anyway have fun with your chickens and relax!!!

 

[aart]

I keep all the chicks together, then slaughter cockerels at about 12-16 weeks old....while they are still tender enough for the grill and before they start causing chaos.

 

[Little23]

I keep all the chicks together, then slaughter cockerels at about 12-16 weeks old....while they are still tender enough for the grill and before they start causing chaos.

What is your average weight at 12-16 weeks and are yours breed specific?

 

[aart]

What is your average weight at 12-16 weeks and are yours breed specific?

I don't weigh them.
They are a mix of layer breeds...Welsummer, EE, Marans, CCL.
There's not much meat on them, but that's not the goal.
Goal is to get rid of excess males,
and make good use of them,
when hatching replacement layers.
They sure are tasty all crispy skinned off the grill...
....and the grilled bones make a great stock!!

 

[The Dapper Duck]

What is your average weight at 12-16 weeks and are yours breed specific?

Most breeds are going to be just shy of their full potential at this age, except maybe for some some slower growing breeds. But they won't have developed sexually, which means the meat is going to be tender no matter the cooking method. I think 16wks is a good cutoff for anyone keeping a dual-purpose flock or mixed flock. Not every breed will make a heavy carcass at this age, but they are versatile and tender and it's right "before they start causing chaos," as @aart said.

 

[Mrs. K]

I do want to mention that the original poster has NOT raised these birds together, and his rooster chicks ARE older than the pullets. Just a couple of weeks, but that would make quite a difference in rooster and hen chicks.