Rooster Chat

[lcertuche]

I'll mention that. Good idea!

 

[TheTwoRoos]

My black sex link cockerels (I had 12 at one time) were real brats when they were 3 months old. That's when they started 'feeling their oats', lol. Now I have 8 left and they are almost 23 weeks old and they are so much better. They still have their bratty moments but they are never mean to us but can be rough on the pullets. My girls are pretty good runners though, lol. Eventually they will all be going to freezer camp. I am considering keeping the one that seems to be the boss. 

Are they good roos?He is very docile but seems dominate.

 

[lcertuche]

One of my BSL cockerels really stands out, he is definitely the BOSS. I plan on keeping him last in case I decide to keep him. They are people friendly but this could change as they turn into roosters. My pullets generally stay away from them most the time. One or two will hang out with the boys for a little while (the little hussies!) during the day. I can't say yet if the Boss will be a protector of the flock or any for that matter. At 23 weeks old it is all for himself with every one of them.

 

[Amelia Egghart]

Hoping my boy is just being a baby about molting. He's acting really stressed though. I've posted on the behavior thread:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1135228/stressed-rooster-acting-crazy#post_17574753

 

[sebloc]

Just dropped our rooster off at a new farm a couple towns away. Hope he'll have a better life, considering he's upgrading from 5 ladies to about 80. He was one shiny, beautiful rooster, though.

 

[Victoria-nola]

Just dropped our rooster off at a new farm a couple towns away. Hope he'll have a better life, considering he's upgrading from 5 ladies to about 80. He was one shiny, beautiful rooster, though.

That's so great you were able to find him a productive farm location.

I have 3 cockerels I would like to place and I'm scared to advertise for fear they would end up in a cockfighting situation. If anyone has any thoughts about how to deal with that reality (I live near the Louisiana border and I know for a fact that cockfighting still goes on and that roosters put up for adoption sometimes end up as bait).

update: I asked here about what to do about our 4 young cockerels. We did get a bachelor pad established but it's already clear which cockerel (now rooster) we will keep. I'm having a hard time with the idea of eating the others and would like to place them but have fear about how to do that. I don't mind if someone else wants to eat them, but I don't want them to be abused in any situation.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

This is how I look at it. I don't like butchering and killing either. I don't eat meat, but my husband does. For my roosters that don't work out they get a quick death on our premises.

Rehoming can be stressful and as you pointed out sometimes abusive. Those taken to be butchered aren't always treated kindly. There are always too many roosters. Those not bought from the hatchery end up dead their first day. Mine had a few months of a happy life.

I feel I owe it to them not to put them through passing them to other people unless I know for sure they are actually wanted as a rooster, but even then I have no say in their future treatment, so I never rehomed or sell. I'd rather have the good clean death on my conscious as opposed to wondering what happened.

That's my take on it, no offense intended to anyone, I totally understand your dilemma.

 

[lcertuche]

I have way too many boys. I'm down to 8, but I know it's too many. All mine free range over a couple of acres. They don't fight too much and although I only have 7 pullets they don't really bother them much. The girls take off in the morning for the nearby wooded creek bank and the boys pretty well stick to the grassy areas of the yard. I plan on them eventually going to the freezer but as long as they are free ranging and eating very little in the way of grain (just enough to keep them friendly) and our table scraps. I'll probably just butcher them as we need them. So far we processed 3. I like the idea of food on the hoof but if I could lay my hands on a pressure canner I would go ahead and do them all. I like my boys but don't plan on keeping more than one per dozen hens (eventually) when my flock grows bigger.

 

[Victoria-nola]

This is how I look at it. I don't like butchering and killing either. I don't eat meat, but my husband does. For my roosters that don't work out they get a quick death on our premises.

Rehoming can be stressful and as you pointed out sometimes abusive. Those taken to be butchered aren't always treated kindly. There are always too many roosters. Those not bought from the hatchery end up dead their first day. Mine had a few months of a happy life.

I feel I owe it to them not to put them through passing them to other people unless I know for sure they are actually wanted as a rooster, but even then I have no say in their future treatment, so I never rehomed or sell. I'd rather have the good clean death on my conscious as opposed to wondering what happened.

That's my take on it, no offense intended to anyone, I totally understand your dilemma.

I read this to my husb and he really likes what you've got to say. This actually resonates with us quite a lot.Thank you.

 

[Victoria-nola]

I have way too many boys. I'm down to 8, but I know it's too many. All mine free range over a couple of acres. They don't fight too much and although I only have 7 pullets they don't really bother them much. The girls take off in the morning for the nearby wooded creek bank and the boys pretty well stick to the grassy areas of the yard. I plan on them eventually going to the freezer but as long as they are free ranging and eating very little in the way of grain (just enough to keep them friendly) and our table scraps. I'll probably just butcher them as we need them. So far we processed 3. I like the idea of food on the hoof but if I could lay my hands on a pressure canner I would go ahead and do them all. I like my boys but don't plan on keeping more than one per dozen hens (eventually) when my flock grows bigger.

I'm glad that's working for you. I'd had some hopes that our young cockerels could just coexist with the hens etc, but we had 4 constantly jumping our older hens and tag teaming. I just got completely upset by it. We both did, actually. And the hens quit laying and two went into molt, complete disarray and all routines and behaviors disrupted. So we've had to separate 3 of them into bachelor pad. And clip a wing so they stay put. I didn't realize how easy it is to clip a chicken wing until we were forced to learn how because the cockerels were flying out of their (tall) enclosure. Instant calm and happiness again in the hen's world once we did that.