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

[RHRanch]

I think it could be a money maker just about anywhere... Here in California you can see that she says the classes get full fast. I don't eat or process my chickens, but I even thought about taking the class, just so I would know how to do it if I needed to.

BTW I sell extra roos - and they usually go to latino families and I know they are processed by the end of the day. I personally have no problem with that.

 

[CowgirlPenny]

I have never intentionally gotten a rooster. I seem to end up with them though. First we got two chickens at the flea market to start out....both boys.

Then I ordered 12 pullets from a hatchery....all girls.

Then a few more here and there....all girls too.

Then I wanted to get a few bantams. No hatchery had them in stock but a local feed store did. They were straight run. My friend and I took a chance and got 8 SURELY each of us would end up with atleast one girl...ALL boys. So now I've stuck with three roosters when I can only keep one. One is a fullsize rooster, we will send him to freezer camp.
But that leaves two bantams. One I will keep. The other, I do have to rehome. I would never dump a rooster out, give them away or anything like that. It's my job to find a home for him or he WILL go to freezer camp. He is not a pet. He is not even really tame. But if he can serve his purpose in life at someone else's farm, then so be it. This is the same reason I will not let my hens go broody. I do not want to deal with 'what to do' with the boys.

 

[Beekissed]

I think it could be a money maker just about anywhere... Here in California you can see that she says the classes get full fast. I don't eat or process my chickens, but I even thought about taking the class, just so I would know how to do it if I needed to.

It's not a bad idea. It's always better to have the knowledge and not need it then to need it and not have it!

 

[Engteacher]

Quote:
Two people I work with have asked me to teach them how to process their birds, so I've had two sessions in the past two months. Both people have found it sobering and difficulty, but important to do right. I can't say I enjoy it, but once a teacher always a teacher.

 

[Beekissed]

I love teaching practical, hands-on type things! So much easier to demonstrate and have the student apply the knowledge right there instead of teaching from a book.

 

[kemclaughlin]

When we decided to get chickens this year, we knew we could not have roosters, and I spent a lot of time researching and planning. I put in an order for exactly what I wanted from the hatchery. Then, our local feed store ran a sale of straight run chicks for 79 cents each. I went just to look and impulsively bought 8. We lost two and all of the other six were roosters. We had a plan for them that fell through, so we had to rehome them. We got lucky and found them all homes with flocks, but I KNOW that we got lucky. I totally learned my lesson, and I will NEVER do that again. While I would be willing to process them, my kids are basically city kids and would not handle it well.

I had thought about how fun it would be to hatch eggs under a broody hen, but then I really thought about it and I am completely unwilling to do that. Because I learned my lesson. So if I get a broody next spring, I may buy some pullets to put under her and see if they take, but I am fully prepared to brood them myself if they don't, and I am only risking getting a rooster accidentally and it's probably not all that likely. I do love my girls and a few of them have earned names, but I am fully prepared to take the steps necessary if one gets injured or sick.

This is an excellent thread, and I am so glad for the wisdom posted here. I agree that everyone should read it.

 

[spiritdance]

Quote:
She's your friend, so of course you are the best judge of the situation, but from my perspective, if she's not prepared to step up and Take him, It's not her place to object to his usefulness as food. I'm a firm believer in "putting your money where your mouth is."

 

[cafarmgirl]

Quote:
I agree with this completely. I get really tired of posts where someone is shock, astounded, outranged that the free buffet that they left out got eaten by a predator! Then instead of people being straight with that person, they get consoled and told to hunt down the dastardly beast that killed thier birds - that they left unprotected or inadequately protected. Often this happens to the same people over and over again. IMO, these kind of chicken owners fit into the "irresponsible" catagory, too. I don't like all the excuses about it, either: "its too expensive, i don't have time, blaj blah blah...) Sorry - rant. lol

Couldn't agree more, took the words right outta my mouth! It is no different then leaving a cheeseburger in the yard with your dog and then getting mad when he eats it!

And Beekissed, you are right about breeding and breeding if you don't have a plan for the roo's. When I got my 9 year old son his first chicks I was not thrilled when one turned out to be a rooster but we kept him anyway, managed his "roosterishness" and he has a home here for life. It's also the reason why I do not let my broody hen hatch eggs even though my son always wants too. We don't need more chickens, I don't care to slaughter my own and I don't want to deal with getting rid of roo's.

 

[Beekissed]

The expression of "chicken math" just never had any meaning for me, then I caught on to what people were meaning by that....indiscriminate breeding, buying, hatching, incubating of chickens until they have too many. Can't stop at just a few, must have more. Really want that fancy breed that I saw in the pic on the forum or the one that lays a certain color of eggs so I'll have all the different colors.

Nothing wrong with wanting more chickens or even a wide variety. Nothing at all wrong with that!

Except....when the breed you want doesn't thrive in your climate, with your husbandry methods, with the larger birds in your flock.

Or that you have so many you can't provide adequate space for good health and life...and we start reading posts about feather picking, cannibalism, poor health from overcrowding.

Or you get unexpected roos, birth defects, etc. that need culling and you cannot do it. Then the posts start coming about "HELP" and "What should I do?" There is no problem with asking questions either...that is why the forum is here.

But to ask questions after the fact and show no signs of stopping the behavior that got you to that point? Seems senseless and needlessly cruel to keep bragging about chicken math and how one is addicted to incubating if one cannot handle the mistakes that come out of the incubators.

 

[ozark_chickies]

Quote:
Yes I can say we gave it careful consideration.We talked it over before we ordered birds, and decided on dual purpose chickens. We have culled 8 roosters, two I gave away 6 we butchered. It was sad to do, but they were raised with kindness, and had they best life possible.