FLORIDA!!!!!ALWAYS SUNNY SIDE UP!!!

[cmom]

Quote:
I agree they are Red Sex-Link cockerels. I raise hundreds of birds and some of the males get processed and go into the freezer. They don't breed true and any chicks that come from them may be pretty but the are still Sex-Link (mutts). Do you buy chicken at the grocery store to eat? I love all of my birds too but I have to be practical too. I raise them (certain breeds) to show at poultry shows, eggs and for the freezer.

 

[BakeryBunch]

I agree they are Red Sex-Link cockerels. I raise hundreds of birds and some of the males get processed and go into the freezer. They don't breed true and any chicks that come from them may be pretty but the are still Sex-Link (mutts). Do you buy chicken at the grocery store to eat? I love all of my birds too but I have to be practical too. I raise them (certain breeds) to show at poultry shows, eggs and for the freezer.

I know it's not practical to just have them put down, but I am too attached to them for them to become someone's dinner. The thought makes me feel sick to my stomach. I'm going to try and find a home for them, and if I can't I'm not going to disrespect them by allowing someone to eat them. It's selfish, petty, stupid, impractical, and I know that. I just can't do it to my babies. Chickens may be eaten at the store but I know how hen houses operate and I know that those chickens aren't mine. I'm too weak to even hurt them in that way.

If somebody wants them that can promise me that they will live out their natural life, I'd give them up. I just can't do it if I know that they will be killed. Sorry to personal blog, but I've been crying my eyes out at the thought of them being killed for that. Or being killed at all. I would rather them go with a needle while being pet at a vets office rather than their throats being slit or necks being broken. I'm just not strong enough for that.

 

[kaybee123]

Red bank, where do you live? I'm in Okaloosa and might be interested in your CLB.

 

[Red Banks]

Quote: I understand your disappointment. Chickens are not dogs or cats. They are constantly hunted, eaten and subject to disease. Of all the "farm" animals I have raised they have been the easiest but not until I was realistic about chickens. Chickens are for meat and eggs primarily. They can be wonderful pets. I will try to help an injured or sick chicken but I will not go overboard. It is a chicken and a weak chicken will always be a weak chicken. Chickens must have vigor.

I too have raised many beautiful babies. They are so cute and so sweet. I have my favorites that walk and chat with me. I love when I drive up and a hundred chickens come running to greet me. I love my chickens. The hardest lesson I had to learn is that chickens die. The second is that roosters really don't get a fair shake but that is the way it is. I lost some wonderful hens to a fox this week, my older laying hens, the ones that have been with me the longest. You have to have a tough skin. If you don't, you cannot raise livestock. It is a double-edged sword, wonderful, rewarding and often heartbreaking. I have 15 roosters I have been rehoming. Some will go to homes for breeding purposes, some will go to homes to be eaten. Of course, I prefer that their lives continue but I understand too that they are food. In this modern world we don't have to eat our pets, we can go to the grocery store. Eating a chicken is not disrespectful. Some would say taking their lives and not eating them is disrespectful.

 

[Red Banks]

Red bank, where do you live? I'm in Okaloosa and might be interested in your CLB.

I am in Monticello.

 

[cmom]

Hello again everybody. I have come back with some pictures of them. I searched the "What Breed Is This" thread, but it said that the chicken has to be purebred and mine are definitely mutts. They woke up my mom at 5am this morning as they were crowing, so right now they are still sleeping in a dog crate in my room. She said that if they keep this up I am going to have to rehome them. Why do roosters have to be so loud? Ugh.

Like I said before, if anyone is looking for two sweet, gentle, beautiful roosters who can promise me that they will not be eaten or used for bobcat traps, I will be willing to part for them. They follow me around the yard, help me weed, and cuddle up against me and fall asleep. I could not ask for better chickens, even if they are roosters.

Here are some Red Sex-Links from a project I was working on.
This is my chick grow-out coop and pen.

 

[Red Banks]

Red bank, where do you live? I'm in Okaloosa and might be interested in your CLB.

Is that in the western part of the panhandle?

 

[Goosegrrl]

Ok... I have an odd pullet question. Maybe.
I already posted it earlier in the OEGB thread, but there isn't much going on there, so I thought I'd ask here.

One of my Spangled OEGB pullets, approx 10-11 weeks old, is acting very much like a little stinker of a cockerel. When I go to pick her up she pecks, chest bumps my hand, and will even kick with her feet. She doesn't try to flee, just acts aggressive. She is the smallest of the pullets. Now, one of the little cockerels, the one who started looking mature the earliest, will fuss and peck once or twice when I pick him up, but not even he is as bad as she is.
None of the OEGB hens I've had in the past were like this. They were super sweet and friendly, unless broody- then watch out, if a bit flighty... which is fine IMO since I always free ranged them.

Any one have this sort of experience with a pullet, and do you think she will settle down once she matures a bit more? It's not like she is going to do any damage or hurt me, but I'm very curious about her extremely male behavior.

 

[mossyroo]

Is that in the western part of the panhandle?

about 50 mi east of Pensacola. I'm in Walton, the next county east.

 

[kaybee123]

Is that in the western part of the panhandle?

Yes!