6 months is still young and not yet a full rooster. The original coq au vin was peasant food and made with the older roosters. That is why the rooster had to soak in red wine for 24 hours to break down the fibres.

We have eaten 6 month boys and they are fine. Homegrown chook is so different to commercial raised ones, even the ones which a "free range" or "organic". They are stringier, darker in colour and have a lot more flavour.

Seperate him for a week or so if you can, so you can "fatten" him up a bit. Then make sure he has no food the morning of the day of dispatch. Best to have an empty crop, otherwise he is a bit harder to dress (the fancy term for gut). If you need more info on how to do it, pluck and gut, just ask

I reckon Nigellas Praised chicken is a good recipe for a young boy.

ETA: We named one of the first boys we ate, and we named him after FIL