What to do With MALES INCLUDED FOR WARMTH

[TXFarmFun]

I just got my shipment in of chicks and there were 10 males included for warmth, this was double my order as I only ordered 10 chicks to begin with. My question is what to do with the extra males??? the idea of 10 roosters crowing every morning just isnt gonna work. Also the 10 males are white leghorns and i need to figure out which are the males and which are the females... thanks

 

[BeckyLa]

I would just leave them to grow with the others for a couple of months. Let them get some size and feather out then decide if there are any you want to keep. This will also allow them to have enough size that someone else would be more likely to take them. Also, during this time, I'd be checking out things like flea markets (where you could sell them), freecycle in your area (so you could give them away), or think about butchering them for your own stewpot. Depending on where you live, you could checkout local farms who might like to have them. I've read about farms that keep only roos around for bug control but don't want the hassle of eggs to worry about.

 

[eichenluft]

My initial "chick group" was 25 - and turned out to be pretty much 1/2 roosters. I would have just kept them - but they started crowing - REALLY LOUDLY, in the middle of the night. I thought chickens were supposed to sleep at night - nope - once my roosters started crowing, I'd hear them at 3 am, 2 am - anytime during the night. And if I could hear them - I knew my neighbors could too - especially the neighbors on the back side of my farm closest to the barn (and on the chicken-side too). So I had to place my roosters - put an ad in the paper and on the internet (didn't know about this site) and got no takers. The farmer where I got my chicks didn't want them - I can't kill anything that I raised and fed. Really I can't kill anything.
So finally I had to do something - they were really going to get me in big trouble with my neighbors. I already have a boarding kennel here, and am very careful to get the dogs in before it's too late to cut down on barking at night -
The guy that I buy hay from had a neighbor who he said would want them - to eat. I reluctantly agreed to give them to him - he came and got them, I made him promise to kill them humanely. I felt bad about it, but don't know what else I could have done with the roosters. I kept two, who have since died from "stupid chicken syndrome" - jumping into the dog runs when the dogs were present. (my dogs don't bother the chickens, I guess unless they jump into their kennel and then probably run around like chickens do in a panic)

Now I need a rooster, but I'll probably have one in the 3 chicks that just hatched under my broody hen.

molly

 

[speckledhen]

If you meant which of the warmth chicks are female, well, the chances that any of the warmth chicks are female are fairly slim, but they do occasionally make a mistake in your favor. Maybe it was just your wording. Did you get straight run or pullets for your ten?

 

[TXFarmFun]

I got 9 pullets and 1 roo for my ten, im just wondering how tell the one pullet leghorn from the ten males inlcuded for warmth.. im gonna place an add in a month or two at the local feed store and see if i get any takers for the extra males, thanks for the help everyone!

 

[speckledhen]

Oh, I get it. Your 10 were Leghorns as well. I'll have to defer to someone else on that since Leghorn pullets have large combs, too.

 

[TXFarmFun]

Well..close but i ordered 5 golden lakenvelders (4 pullets 1 roo), 4 rhode island reds (all pullets), and one white leghorn (pullet), so ive gotta pick out my one leghorn pullet from the other 10 leghorn males!

 

[speckledhen]

Good luck with that! You may have to hang onto them for awhile to tell.

 

[Sharisr32]

I am taking the 6 RIR roos i got in about 4 weeks to be chicken dinner
i can't use them for anything else

 

[lively Bee's]

I have found you can get 3 - 5 bucks out of them at the flea market.