Chicken Flock Removal

I work at a college and am a student. We have a flock of currently about 150 and in a little over a year we're going to have to replace them due to age. I would like to know what other people are doing after you get rid of the chickens. Our school bought them under the title of Lab Chickens, so we cannot sell them for meat. What is a good way to get rid of them with or without killing them that would either help our community and/or make us some money.

Thank you for your advice!

Craigslist is where I found my chicks being Givin away and sold

Are they actually Lab Chickens? Or were they just kept by the school as an "experiment"? I understand not being able to sell them AS meat birds. But, to be frank, once they're sold it's not your problem. I agree with Craigslist as a good place to list them. Just be clear about their history so that the buyer knows what they're getting.

PapaBear
http://www.nocluckingaround.com

What kind of birds are they? From the ages you're talking, I'm thinking layers of some sort.

I'd simply advertise them for sale. Honestly, folks will literally crawl out of the woodwork to "rescue" those poor, defenseless little birds that have been so cruelly used as lab animals and are now being carelessly discarded...said of course with all the sarcasm I can muster. But that's what the current mentality is...no one buys or purchases an animal anymore, they all want to "rescue" them.

I let folks "rescue" hens of that age for $10-15 each . And I sell out every year.

I advertise on Craigslist, and a little bit on FaceBook. Free, easy to use, and I reach enough folks I sell out.

In Georgia my first thought was to talk to your county extension office, but I had second thoughts. There may be a way you can keep them alive and even make a little money off of them. But there may be issues with how those “lab” chickens were used. If you were doing stuff for a sponsor that paid the college or paid at least part of the expenses there may be something in the contract between the sponsor and the college that covers this. The University of Arkansas up the road has one of the best poultry science departments in the country. They often do work in conjunction with major poultry companies, their main campus building is named after a Tyson. There are some pretty strict rules on what can and cannot happen with those chickens and eggs.

There may be legal liability issues since they were called “lab chickens”. This is not like you as an individual could be the only one facing criminal proceedings, you may be putting the college at risk, both for bad publicity and for monetary damages. I don’t know how they were associated with that college, but my first stop would be to the college’s legal representative.

Obviously I have no idea what the relationship is between those chickens and the college. I may be going way overboard but I’d hate to see you get into legal problems or in bad with that college. I’d check out the legal aspects before I did anything and involve the college or at least the professor is one is involved.

They're Red Star chickens and the college 100% paid for the start.

chickens are often the basis of animal food. Perhaps you have a local raptor refuge, that will take the birds.

Also, you might consider, if this is an ongoing project, that you really don't have to cull all 150 head at one time. Some of them should be culled earlier, and some could easily be held longer than the so called "right time" to cull a spent layer.

I agree with the above posters, you will be able to sell many to people who want egg layers, but do not need high production to make it work.

MRs K

Curious about this 'project'.
Why was it started, what is the goal??
Were birds purchased as day old chicks?
What's the 'who and how' of the bestowed label 'lab chickens'?
Were they exposed to something that would make then truly inedible by 'man or beast'?

If you are at a public university, then the birds are the property of the state government, and there are strict regulations about how state property can be discarded. Usually, the only legal option is via public auction. Better run this one by your university's administration before you start making any plans.

AUChickenGal said:

If you are at a public university, then the birds are the property of the state government, and there are strict regulations about how state property can be discarded. Usually, the only legal option is via public auction. Better run this one by your university's administration before you start making any plans.

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The above is how we (a public university) legally sell fish, goats, sheep and cattle and their products. We do it fairly routinely. All monies then transferred to departmental funds. Such animals must not have been exposed to legal chemicals (antibiotics / anesthetics / pesticides) within the time frame that is not legal to sell. Some exposed to chemicals not approved for consumable livestock can not be sold for the purpose of consumption.