A CALL OUT for responsible pet ownership! Unwanted roos, ducks, etc.

[Beekissed]

Not to ruffle any feathers

.... but isn't it a little unresponsible to breed these animals in the first place if you have no contingency plan in place for which to apply your surfeit of unwanted offspring?

I only mention this because this is a question/dilemma that is often asked/faced here on BYC: What to do with unwanted roos? What to do when I hatched out 7 and I can only keep 3? I only wanted hens but now I have all these roos!

If one is using their animals for a food source, this never seems to come into play but it seems to come up quite often when these animals are viewed as pets. If they are indeed pets, then shouldn't the same rules apply that society seems to apply to cats and dogs? Spay or neuter, which in this case is difficult. So, the answer would seem to be stop getting breeding pairs...buy drakes only or hens only.

Hatching your own for the sheer pleasure of hatching and having ducklings? Then take utmost responsibility in this plan and have a definite destination for your unwanted drakes. A final destination.

Ordering a straight run because you feel it is more humane than all those roo chicks getting destroyed at the hatchery? How is that any different then rehoming them on CL? Are you certain, when they are gone from your care, they are being treated humanely? Dying humanely?

I know this won't be a popular view but I look on this new fad of keeping chickens as pets quite the same as all the other fad pets that people seemed to flock to~pun intended~ over the years....with just as little in mind for the animal's future.

Remember when 101 Dalmations came out and everyone wanted a Dalmation? The shelters were full of Dalmations when people found that they didn't make good family dogs. And miniature livestock of any kind....cute but not practical and now you can't even give one away. Pot-bellied pigs? They get big...and their pigs. I see them at the shelters now and for free in the ads. Ferrets are now in rescue centers and so are many, many pet breeds of rabbits. Now I see chickens and ducks getting "rescued"?

We used to eat those...no need to rescue your Sunday dinner.

Doesn't anyone see the trend here? New fad, new pet, popular to have, no one prepared for the realities of dealing with said pet and now we have problems surrounding that species that we didn't have before.

I suggest we stop the madness and breed responsibly...or not at all. Leave the breeding to the hatcheries or to those who know exactly what to do with their excess...and that "what to do" doesn't develop a glut on society of unwanted animals. Keeping poultry shouldn't be this stressful and fraught with agony over the welfare of "unwanted" animals....if you won't want them, don't get them. If you can read, you are sure to know that roos can be aggressive. Don't get one, or learn how to deal with it BEFORE it becomes a problem to you and your family.

For the record, this isn't a rant. It is sound advice for those who find theirselves entertaining the thought of keeping poultry or waterfowl for pets. Please, please study the animal before jumping in. Please, please devise a sound plan for this animal's life, shelter, feeding, breeding, health and death.....BEFORE you buy, accept, hatch a bird. Treat this like any other pet purchase/ownership and be responsible.

Another thing to keep in mind: An animal killed humanely for food or to remove it from causing other people or animals misery is an animal that is not going hungry, suffering illness, predation or dying of weather exposure. It was here and happy and now is gone and not suffering. Be strong enough to know the difference and to take that ultimate responsibility for the animal that YOU created, bought or accepted as a gift.

 

[Stacykins]

What about the people who order 'only' pullets at the hatchery and get roos since they are only 90% guaranteed to get pullets. What do they do if they don't want/can't have a rooster?

I know my plan for excess roos is the supper table. I actually ordered a group of cockerels from a hatchery just got that purpose. Pretty easy, just don't make friends with food.

 

[dainerra]

Quote:
I think that is a bit different. After all, they did what they could do to insure they only got pullets. Of course, it's always good to heave a backup plan. Ours is the dinner table as well.

 

[mikensara]

I purposely got pullets knowing I might get a roo for my flock and I did so I was happy. I plan to expand to have meat birds next year. In upstate ny where we are there are several amish families and farming families that will take your excess roos and they will either use them for flock protection or their dinner plates. My aunt what she cant get rid of sends them off to auction when she culls her sheep herd. There are options sometimes it just takes a little work to find one.

 

[Beekissed]

Knowing that is a possibility is knowing you need a plan for that unwanted roo(s). That is the chances one takes when dealing with raising chickens....there is always a chance you will get a roo.

Take responsibility for that chance before you ever purchase anything. Make a responsible decision based on the future of that animal and not your own wishes...it is called stewardship and man was charged by God to exercise this over the animal kingdom. This did not mean man could exploit animals for their own pleasure. It meant care for, plan for, and manage their good life as it was entrusted unto you. This did not mean man could not kill the animals for food or for clothing...it meant it was to be done with planning, reverence and careful consideration.

Can you all say you gave careful consideration before you obtained your flocks? If so, these dilemmas should never give you a moment's pause! You will have already read about the subject, planned for what you will do and follow your good plan to insure the good life and good death of the animals you propose to love.

Everyone makes mistakes....and it behooves you to learn from yours and other's mistakes so it won't happen again. On this forum it is happening nearly every second of the day.

 

[Lil'ChickFarm]

I know people who scout CL for males and butcher them.
I only hate to see ads on CL for males that the requirement is that they go to a "GOOD" home, meaning one that will let them live a long life.
It is very hard to butcher a bird that you feel attached to.
This is poultry and some of us are farming for food and for enjoyment.
I have butchered a little, but I chose to give my three baby males back to the farm that gave them to me and let them butcher them.
I don't think there there is an over population of male chickens that are suffering, do you?
If there is, then that is an unfit animal owner period, not just someone who is not being responsible about males and breeding.

 

[Beekissed]

Not just male chickens....just chickens in general. How many posts have we read about "rescues" involving poultry that we have never read before? How many pics of mangled ducks left to fend for theirselves on some pond or lake? How many roos that just show up on someone's property? Do people think they just migrated and that is where they landed?

I know times have changed and this is the world today...thoughtless people living in the moment. But this post is urging that we people who love to raise, eat and share information on these animals spread the word that it is a big responsibility and that it is nothing less than thoughtless to not go into this armed with information, having a good plan and being strong enough to care responsibly for these animals. The information is all here and there is NO excuse to not know it any longer.

 

[darkmatter]

Had a neighbor that liked my chickens and started a coop of his own. When he had more Roos then he wanted he asked if I would take them-------sure I said. I practice bio-security and had no intention of mixing these Roos with my flock. Later that day he came over and was "miffed" at the six Roos he gave me were on the BBQ. (they tasted fine to me)

 

[Beekissed]

My sister did the same thing to me. She incubated chicken and turkey eggs and had a big excess of birds and she won't kill anything. She wanted me to take them and I told her the only reason I would is to kill them for food. I made sure she knew without a doubt they would end up in the freezer. She gave them anyway. The next morning she called and asked if I had killed them. When I replied that I had she became quite tearful and said she had been up all night hoping I wouldn't kill them after all!

What in the world did she think I would keep six roos and 4 tom turkeys for??? It has been five years and she still will bring this up in conversation and call me a killer! because I killed her birds. She makes it sound like I snuck over to her property and massacred her flock! She tells anyone within hearing that I am a killer.

Now, tell me....who is the real killer here? The one who ended the bird's life in a humane manner and then used it for food~ or the one who created it thoughtlessly and then did not want it?

 

[LadyinRed]

I personally LOVE extra roo's!!! On the grill.. In the pot.. In the oven.. I just love them so much I could eat them right up!

When I occasionally do rehome a roo yes. I want it to have a great home. An excellent home. Right up until the point that they are butchered. They should be treated with love and care every step of the way. A happy rooster is a tasty rooster IMO!!!