Earlier this year I got 20 straight run chicks. My plan for any extra cockerels was to wait till they're about 15 weeks old, then butcher them for food. This plan did NOT work, as the cockerels got extremely aggressive at only 9-10 weeks old, so we had to butcher them early and they had barely any meat on them. I really want to avoid this happening again in the future. The chicks I got this year were EEs, and I plan to hatch some of my own in the near future.
From my research on what to do with unwanted male chicks, most people either raise for meat or sell them. I did try selling my EE cockerels this year, to see if anyone was interested, but absolutely no one was. There are so many unwanted roosters around here, and I really doubt anyone will be interested in any of mine, especially if they aren't a pure breed.
I know some people cull cockerels as soon as they can tell they are males. A lot of people frown on that as a waste of a chicken's life, but I feel like that may be my only option. I also don't love the idea of spending so much on feed, if I most likely won't be getting anything from the cockerel.
I know this is a controversial topic. Any help would be appreciated.
From my research on what to do with unwanted male chicks, most people either raise for meat or sell them. I did try selling my EE cockerels this year, to see if anyone was interested, but absolutely no one was. There are so many unwanted roosters around here, and I really doubt anyone will be interested in any of mine, especially if they aren't a pure breed.
I know some people cull cockerels as soon as they can tell they are males. A lot of people frown on that as a waste of a chicken's life, but I feel like that may be my only option. I also don't love the idea of spending so much on feed, if I most likely won't be getting anything from the cockerel.
I know this is a controversial topic. Any help would be appreciated.