Butchering A Chicken For Christmas Dinner
25 Nov
“With the holidays coming, we were considering butchering a chicken for our Christmas meal. We’ve never done this before but I think you have to butcher before a certain age. Could you clarify this for me? Thank you for your informative newsletter” ~ Pat Rowland
Hi Pat, this is a timely question that I would be happy to answer for you.
It is true that the older the bird, the more tough the meat, so to get a tender bird you do have to butcher early.
Here are some guidelines:
Cornish crosses are broilers that are raised specifically for meat. They lay only about 80 eggs per year.
Most whole chickens purchased from the grocer are Cornish crosses.
If you are raising Cornish crosses, you can butcher between 6 and 12 weeks. By this time they will have put on enough weight to make a good meal, beyond 12 weeks they will probably just be adding unnecessary fat. Some fat is a good thing though because it adds flavor. (more…)


































