Finding homes for cross breed chicks

[dunnmom]

I'm expecting a hatch from my broody soon. The hatching eggs were sold to me as barnyard mix. I won't be able to keep more than a few, and they'd have to be female. I'm wondering if it's harder to find homes for mixed juvenile birds. Does anyone sell cross breeds at juvenile stage?

 

[The Moonshiner]

Depends on what you're asking for them.
Here they don't sell well and cockerels pretty much have to be given away.
I think most people problem is that ask about the same for their mixes as others do for purebreds.
I sold a bunch in the past and they went quick but I was asking about half what production chicks were going for.
Your area may make a difference to.

 

[ShariKJ]

I'm expecting a hatch from my broody soon. The hatching eggs were sold to me as barnyard mix. I won't be able to keep more than a few, and they'd have to be female. I'm wondering if it's harder to find homes for mixed juvenile birds. Does anyone sell cross breeds at juvenile stage?

Hi, I breed Silkies and mixed breeds. In my experience it makes no difference if a Rooster is mixed or purebred silkie, still very hard to rehome. Hens are different most people are happy to just have a friendly egg layer.

 

[Harmony Fowl]

Pullets I have no problems selling but not as tiny chicks. Wait until you can weed out the boys and offer them as started pullets. The boys ... I have never had a problem giving them away, sometimes I’ve even been able to sell some, but always for very little. For them I’ve found it better to wait until 3-4 months or more (if they’re not crowing or otherwise becoming a nuisance). People seem to want to get cheap hens while they’re young but only want roosters for whatever purpose without having to make the investment in raising the bird themselves.

 

[abraga]

I have cemani...and still have trouble getting rid of roos...i also have a few crossbred roos...i can't even give them away!

 

[varidgerunner]

It never ceases to amaze me, the people that have chickens as pets, with no inclination to eat excess or cull birds, and then allow them to set fertile eggs, or worse, put a batch in the incubator. Birth control for chickens is really simple, don't incubate eggs, make an omelette instead. If you can't have roosters, don't set any eggs and you won't have roosters. If you aren't ready to feed out roosters and then potentially give them away, or eat them, then don't hatch eggs, buy started pullets somewhere. If you want chicks, buy sexed chicks. If you want the hatching experience, breed purebreds that you might be able to sell excess, but be prepared to cull the excess cockerels yourself, or feed them to butchering size (might be 20 weeks for some birds). You couldn't pay me to take some crossbred cockerel that I have to feed to get him to eating size. Raise him to eating size and I will take him, as long as he is free, and he will visit the canner as soon as he gets here. Don't hatch if you can't dispatch, I believe that is a good motto.

Now, if you aren't squeamish, (squeamish people definitely picked the wrong pet with chickens) you might look for some raw feeders in your area. They would be happy to take young cockerels (pre-crowing) for pet food. That way you can make use of a life that you allowed to exist, without putting a feed bill into it to get it to the size needed for human use. The extra pullets you will be able to give away or sell for less than you have in them with no problem, maybe even break even, after figuring in what the males ate getting them big enough to tell apart.

 

[techbsmith]

 

[RWise]

I see mix birds on CL all the time, even bought a couple myself called GEMs (Cream legbar + White Leghorn). They just give them a name so they can charge more for them, and it works. I myself do EEs, which are mixes, and I sell some from time to time. I hatch chicks, sell a few pullets with a few older girls and a rooster. I tell the truth about them and charge going rates at the time, usually $15-$20 per hen/pullet, and maybe $5 for the rooster. I also will let go of a few pullets/hens without a rooster for city folk. My sister got the last batch, did not want the rooster, I told her eat him then! They fell in luv with the big boy
As far as roosters, I cant give them away! see ad
https://tulsa.craigslist.org/grd/d/rooster-free/6559834059.html
This guy came up out of the woods (and now a very pretty Bantam rooster, I will be putting him up for free as well)
And I just drove 5 hours for a $5 EE rooster, he is pretty!
Look at prices on your local CL and check back often,,,

 

[dunnmom]

Don't get me wrong, I'm not looking to make money. I know there's not much in hatching chicks, or I'd have an incubator loaded down at all times. This is a simple broody hatch, and if I can't rehome them, I am not too squeamish to eat them myself. It never ceases to amaze me how many assumptions people make and how condescending they can come off.

 

[RWise]

Put them on CL maybe $1-2 each take the hatch, I would bet they sell, or there is a free re-homing section on this site.
Good luck!