"culls?" What to do with them?

[catwalk]

I agree with OP in that substandard birds should not be released out into the gene pool. I also agree with Junkmaninme. It seems a little selfish to deny others a really nice bird because you are afraid they might enjoy it too much. We all got birds from others, without the stipulation that we are not to use them for gain. I think that if you have a SQ bird that you don't want, sell it as a SQ bird with your blessing. Put an ABA band on it so others can trace it back to you, as a sort of advertisement. If the fear is that someone will profit at your expense, sell them far away from you, so you aren't your own competition. Make a deal with someone in another state who owns another breed: he sells your birds and you sell his.

 

[thecochincoop]

Helping kids get started would be my first pick, but where to start? I asked about my niece's 4h group and she was the only one that had chickens. Males are more than likely going to have to be culled I think, just because of no demand for them. I'm not really trying to be selfish here, but when you sell them cheap around here people just take them out to flea markets and jack up the price. I want them to be cared for, shown, or be nice pets, not just something to make a quick buck off of. I have invested a lot of time and money into my breeding program and want them TRUELY enjoyed that is all. There are just a lot of people out there that are more concerned about a buck than improving the breed and I would like to keep from helping out those kind of people if at all possible. I hope this all makes sense. If anyone here knows of any 4h kids near the Cincinnati area then send them my way and I will be glad to help them out as long as it is something that they really want to do. I didn't really mean to make this such a huge discussion, but I'm trying to weigh my options before hatching time comes next year, that is all.

 

[HeelerDawg]

EAT 'EM!!!

The local chicken sales around here are so full of "junk", mixed up chickens, it's a waste of time to go out to them. Having culls from a specialized breeding project is one thing, but so many people will breed just any kind of chicken, not even attempting to improve the breed. That frustrates me if you can't tell.

 

[chickenwhisperer123]

Quote:
Some people think it is FUN to see what they breed or 'make'. They actually ENJOY it, and there is nothing wrong with that.

That frustrates me if you can't tell.

 

[HeelerDawg]

Quote:
Some people think it is FUN to see what they breed or 'make'. They actually ENJOY it, and there is nothing wrong with that.

That frustrates me if you can't tell.

You're exactly right, it's a free country and you can breed your chickens any way you want too. Some of us, including myself, choose to improve existing breeds by the standards. But if you're one of them people who "enjoy" seeing what you can "make", take full responsibility of them and do not dump them at the local chicken sale after you have seen the result of your cross breedings.

 

[thecochincoop]

Quote:
Some people think it is FUN to see what they breed or 'make'. They actually ENJOY it, and there is nothing wrong with that.

That frustrates me if you can't tell.

You're exactly right, it's a free country and you can breed your chickens any way you want too. Some of us, including myself, choose to improve existing breeds by the standards. But if you're one of them people who "enjoy" seeing what you can "make", take full responsibility of them and do not dump them at the local chicken sale after you have seen the result of your cross breedings.

These cross breeding would make nice egg layers, birds to eat, or pets though if you are looking for "just a chicken". They just aren't going to bring a good price.

 

[millebantam]

Quote:
So, if I'm understanding this correctly, other people in your area can sell YOUR chickens, but the same people who are buying them from other people won't buy the very same chickens from you?

 

[thecochincoop]

Quote:
So, if I'm understanding this correctly, other people in your area can sell YOUR chickens, but the same people who are buying them from other people won't buy the very same chickens from you?

ok you lost me there. I guess your talking about I should take them to swaps and stuff. I don't want to be taking them places and exposing to illness. I'm not going to be keeping them that long either. I'm talking about getting rid of birds that are 4 weeks old or younger. I don't do a lot of advertising either

 

[TK Poultry]

you could sell extra eggs only hatch so many and then sell eggs.......... the people who buy the eggs will or should know you cant promise what the chicks will turn out like then the buyer of the eggs will have this problem not you

 

[millebantam]

Quote:
So, if I'm understanding this correctly, other people in your area can sell YOUR chickens, but the same people who are buying them from other people won't buy the very same chickens from you?

ok you lost me there. I guess your talking about I should take them to swaps and stuff. I don't want to be taking them places and exposing to illness. I'm not going to be keeping them that long either. I'm talking about getting rid of birds that are 4 weeks old or younger. I don't do a lot of advertising either

Sorry that I lost you there. I'm honestly not criticizing, I'm just trying to understand your logic. You have stated that you don't have the space to raise the number of birds that you are hatching, thus, creating an excess of culls.

You have also stated that you (1.) choose not to sell at swaps, (2.) can't or won't raise young ones until their old enough to bring good prices, (3.) put little effort into advertising, yet you complain about the people who are putting in the effort to get maximum value for the same birds that you are selling cheap.

It seems that the only way that you will be able to find peace with the disposal of your culls will be to either expand your facility to allow for grow out of the better culls, or to send every non-mottled chick to the compost heap asap after it hatches.

At least that's the message that I'm getting, and I apologize for not understanding if you are indeed trying to get a different point across. I'm just one of those guys who is only concerned with what birds are in my pens, and not what everybody else is doing. Once a chicken leaves my property, it's no longer mine to decide it's fate going forward.