Do any egg companies sell their cockerel chicks? I need cockerels to make Capons.

[KentuckyRooster]

The hatcheries sell males. Saw a guy last year buying like 200 rooster chicks to butcher

 

[ZurcherFarms]

http://www.centralhatchery.com/pricelist.html

You can get chicks for $.50.

I'm trying to see if I can get a bargain by purchasing them from an egg-laying operation that would otherwise macerate them, since me buying 100 or 200 male chicks at 25/50/75¢ from them would be a win-win situation, I would have enough Capons to eat and sell at like $50 per bird, and they'd make money off of animals that would otherwise be turned into slurry and thrown out — do you not understand? Your comments seem to demonstrate that there is a miscommunication between us

They sell all their male chicks at $.50/ea except for Broilers, which they sell for $.95/SR. They are a supplier for huge brown egg laying operations and only raise RIR, and a couple production crosses in addition to Cornish Cross. They hatch every Wednesday. You may be able to call them on a Tuesday and get any males from the previous week cheaper than that, I am not sure. Either way $.50 is a steal.

 

[captnsean]

How many chicks do you need and where are you located?

 

[SurferchickinSB]

I do plan on purchasing some eggs of a broody meat breed (thinking Malines) so that my chicken operation can eventually be self-sustaining, but when it comes to raising chickens for meat my main interest is in Capons, as you can grow them out huge without their meat getting tough. Although meat breeds are better, I've found that Capons can be of any variety aside from perhaps the tiny ornamental/game bird breeds, because even Capons from egg-laying breeds will grow to be larger than your average broiler will.


People and companies that are mainly into egg production obviously have no use for cockerels, so I was wondering if any of these companies are known to sell their cockerels instead of macerating them right after they're sexed. As I said, I'm making Capons, so I need as many cockerels as possible, since I'll only need a few breeding birds, I prefer to use quail, duck or goose eggs for eating and cooking, and it's a lot more difficult and in my opinion more unpleasant for the bird to turn a hen into a Poularde than it is to turn a cockerel into a Capon. The reason that it's important for me to get chicks instead of free Craigslist roosters is because the procedure is safest, easiest and most effective to do as soon as the cockerel has all of his feathers, any later and the testosterone has already begun to change his body and behavior, it's harder to keep him still during the surgery and things don't come out as cleanly.


So, do some egg producing people or companies sell their cockerel chicks? Which ones? How much do they cost?

You might check at your local feed store. My feed store takes back any of the male chicks and I know that sometimes people go there and pick them up for free. They usually are 2-3 months old. Most residential areas do not allow roosters and with the rise in backyard chicken keepers there are always males that are unable to be kept. I would check with your local feed store, I am sure they would be happy to supply you and that would save you the expense of 2 to 3 months of raising them.