Light Sussex - what’s a good age to dispatch and eat

[Lisa Weaver]

Hi there.

This year we decided to try and raise some birds for the table. I hatched a dual purpose bird (the Light Sussex) and I wondered what people’s thoughts were on what age you should slaughter for the table?

I have totally bamboozled myself as there seems to be so many different opinions and also factors to consider with the risk of slaughtering too late causing tough birds.

We were hoping to roast the chickens if this has any bearing. Do we go by the age or do we go by the weight when to slaughter?

Ali, there doesn’t seem much out there to inform me as to what weight they should be before they go?

Any help much appreciated ??

 

[dinosaw]

If you want to roast and don't want a tough bird then you are killing at 6-8 weeks, in the case of the Sussex that will give you a poussin.

Otherwise you are going to have to work pretty hard to lessen the toughness by pot roasting and then grilling if you want the skin crispy. Sometimes you can get away with sticking an orange in the cavity and it produces enough steam when you roast to soften the bird but I have always found it a bit hit and miss. I don't bother roasting excess males, I grow them to 12-16 weeks and make a nice curry or stew.

I think as with a lot of chicken based stuff there is a lot if misinformation about "dual purpose birds". They were dual purpose because you would get two or three laying seasons out of the hens and then send them to market, while the cockerals would be grown on to almost full size (between 12-16 weeks) before being sent to market. In the past people preferred darker meat and were more likely use chicken in pot roasts and stews.

 

[Lisa Weaver]

Oh ok thank you ? well have missed the 6-8 week mark as they are 12 weeks

 

[dinosaw]

Well if you are going to eat them anyway, they aren't going to get any tenderer so I would kill one now if you want to roast and then at least you will have a benchmark for next time.

You never know, you might think it is ok, I'm just conscious that most people who haven't eaten their own chickens are going by what they would expect from a supermarket bird which is six weeks old and has hardly moved during that time. Even a six week old home raised bird won't be as tender by comparison but will certainly be tastier.

Here are a couple of photos of meat from an 18 week old Araucana cockerel, before and after cooking, I think I just stewed him in some gravy for a couple of hours and he was lovely and tender. As you can see this amount of muscle is never going to roast and not come out dry.