OK chicken-experts-with-way-more-experience-than-me: We have 25 5 day old babies, and I only want to keep like 7 of them. They are all bantams, so I HAD to order them Straight Run. Of course at this point, I could have 20 girls and 5 boys, or 5 girls and 20 boys, but I am thinking I will probably end up with a 15/10 mix either way based on odds. The question is what the heck do I do with all the cockerels? They are useless for eating, as they are cochin bantams, and who the heck wants to go through all those feathers for 2 bites of meat! I can probably give a couple away as part of a trio with some extra females (assuming I have some). Last year when My Pet Chicken carried Cochins (they don't this year) I ordered sexed bantams and 1 of the 6 was a cockerel. I had a heck of a time finding him a home. Weeks of advertising at the feed stores, on craigslist, and everywhere else. I finally offered him up as part of a trio to save his life and was able to find him a home. So my options are SERIOUSLY limited in finding any extra boys homes. It took me weeks and weeks, and I had to give up 2 of my other 5 girls! We decided (with the help of my close friend who is a vet) that we would just have to humanely cull some of them (she is going to gas them to sleep and then euthanize them- the most humane cull we could do). I am not really OK with that, but don't know what else to do. My mom's friend lives on 10 acres and she said she would be happy to take some of the extra boys. She has an old coop there that would need major reinforcement, and they would probably get picked off by predators over the next few years, but they would be able to live happy chicken lives and be doted on by her, and she's OK with (obviously) having no eggs! Is this even possible? If there were no hens to compete for mating privileges, could a flock of roosters peacefully coexist? They would have plenty of space, and be free ranging all day long-- but would that work? That would make all of us happy, but I just don't know if it is possible. Input please!
I know Farm Sanctuary has all their roos together and they have LOTS. I have 6 roos here and am making a bachelor pad for 4 of them, they are getting picked on my one of our hens. We had to re-home our Sultan roo and Turken roo last year bc they constantly fought with each other but other than that it seems like there is a peaceful kingdom here. I would give them a chance at a new home before killing them. If they are well socialized it shouldn't be too hard to get a person to take some. Jsut think of all the BYCers that would love one!
With them growing up together your odds are good that it will work. I have a bunch of Ameraucana roosters that bunk together all winter without an issue. Just don't put a hen in the pen with them, then they would kill each other.
We have a house, near the gas company, that has a huge number of roos running loose. They have little groups of 5-10 and hang around with their group. They seem fine..When one crows they all crow.. Dixie
I do it. Unfortunetly. It is a pain finding them homes. No one wants to eat a silkie. Hope you think of something.
It is possible, but if you do want to eat them, it's not that bad. My mom uses silkies for medicinal soups as it is a delicacy for the dark meat, and other bantam males to make soup bases.
What about bantam roos and a standard roo. They are all together now at 2 weeks. There are also bantam and standard hen in there.
silkiechicken- it's not that I am opposed to eating chickens I have raised, I am unable to "process" them myself and no one around here does it, and for me to eat animals I have raised, I would have to be in that mindset from the beginning.... not take some extra "pet" birds and then eat them. But I know that people do eat bantams (and especially silkies in Asian cultures), I just couldn't! Get me a pen of cornish x's for 8 weeks and I would be good to go (assuming I could find someone to process them!) Everyone else- Thanks for your thoughts on this! It has literally saved their lives! I will be taking them to my mom's best friend in a few weeks (when I can make out who are clearly the boys). They will have happy chicken lives.........she doesn't even want laying hens, she just wants to hear them crow! Isn't THAT refreshing!
That may be what I do whith my extra roo's.Put them in a pen together and get them away from my hens.