Ethical Issues With Roosters

[Anne]

All right, to address your issue in all seriousness:

You could probably keep 2 roosters with your hens -- maybe even 3, considering that the breeds you mentioned are on the docile side. But 5 is probably too many. If you don't feel up to butchering them, you may want to consider placing a "free" add in the newspaper to get rid of the extras.

 

[JennsPeeps]

I just read Michael Pollan's book, The Omnivore's Dilemma. In it he talks about being grateful to an animal for having given its life so that you can eat. No matter how long you've been raising animals for meat, I think it's important to honor them for their contribution to your own life. Dreading the slaughter is a good thing, in my opinion, because it means that you value the life just as much.

 

[greyfields]

Quote:
That last part got me. How do you know hens love being jumped on and scratched and losing their back feathers?

I watch my hens follow the roos around all day. They wait on their every word, follow their lead, run eagerly when teh rooster does the "I found some grain ladies" dance (even if it's just a ploy to breed them). It's just not right to keep hens without a rooster, unless you're in an area where roosters are not allowed. They are part of the chicken flock and do wonders keeping the flock running smoothly, most of which we're probably hardly aware of.

 

[max13077]

The JD was just a joke. The last thing I need when there's sharp knives and stuff around is booze.

I'll keep a couple and give the rest away. I will probably end up putting an add on craigslist or something.

What about caponizing them? Would that cut down on their "interest?"

 

[greyfields]

Quote:
That last part got me. How do you know hens love being jumped on and scratched and losing their back feathers?

I've seen enough bare-backed hens running like the blazes from their suitors, and female ducks skulking furtively around trying to avoid being ambushed by sex-crazed packs of drakes, to be pretty skeptical that they 'love it' all that much, at least when there get to be too many around

Pat

It's not the breeding, it's the whole dynamic of the flock. My roos are like rock stars and they each have their following of hens who won't leave their side.

I think I have somewhere around 15 roos and 100 hens. I really have no idea, though. I don't count.

 

[Anne]

Quote:
Good question; I'm not sure. Perhaps a member who has some experience with caponizing can answer that.

 

[ravenfeathers]

i say you keep your guys until or unless you notice any problems: fighting or overbreeding occur and you take a couple out of the mix. or take a couple "out", whichever. personally, i couldn't do the bad deed or know that it was being done to my pets. and all my critters are my pets, no matter how many well-meaning jerks refer to my pet steers as "beef". i've grown up on and worked on farms my whole life. i can't tell you how grim and dismal my tuesdays and thursdays were, putting bull calves on the beef truck. i'm still trying to earn back my soul from those days. everyone's got to find their own comfort level and do what seems appropriate. if you, like me, find yourself to be a bleeding-heart wuss, then i salute you.

as for having the one coop for the hens, have you thought about rigging up a couple of spacious bachelor pads up high so you're not taking up floor space? they'd need separate runs, of course, but that would be much easier to do than create a new coop. or do you have some space in a garage or other outbuilding that you could convert? ingenuity comes at odd moments.

good luck.

 

[ivan3]

If you plan on playing out your hand and watching for trouble, then grab all those bad boys up and use a heavy grit emery board to round off their spur points. If they do begin serious sparring, there is less chance for injury. If the girls start getting overbred the potential for discovering them with gashes on their flanks, that require sutures, drops way down.

I'd reach for the ax before bothering with caponizing (only real utility is to produce a meaty/tender cockerel faster).

Have to agree, though, with those recommending either bachelor pad or barbeque. I'd keep `em, but I'm pretty fond of those haughty, iridescent, transients.

 

[tiki244]

You probably will have trouble, next spring. I would find them a REAL PET home or......... kill them yourself. That way you can be sure they are killed in a humane way and in their own familiar surroundings.

I do not sell to people who will eat my birds because I have no idea how frightened they will be and for how long before their death. Or to see them cared by their feet upside down to someones car. hu ah no way! And when I do the deed I take one at a time away from the rest so they cant see or hear, be real calmimg to the chicken, and get it done fast with a knife. (no cone thats scary too) Thats the humanest way, I think. And I say a definite no to caponizing, it sounds very painful, and for a newcomer to do there is a high mortality rate. Just do it. Be kind to your chickens.

 

[Sparrow]

I'm not at all convinced that killing these roosters would be the kindest thing to do in this situation. Obviously there is a reason why you are fond of these guys, they are good natured, they are not suffering, and they are not battling with each other. I don't see why they need to be killed so quickly.

If you decide to keep them, I think it's great. I personally love roosters and I wish more people would keep them alive more frequently! They can make great, interesting pets with a lot of fascinating behaviours. If you have to rehome them, just post an add and screen the potential new owners to make sure they will be well cared for and not just be slaughtered anyway.