Have to make a decision on the rescue meaties, could use input

[gritsar]

My rescued Tyson cornish Xs are now 11 weeks old and doing fine.
If my guesses are right, I have 9 cockerels and 9 pullets. I plan to keep all the pullets and two of the cockerels. That means I have 7 cockerels that I simply can't keep, as much as I'd like to. In addition to the meaties I have 13 chicks I ordered as my future egg layers; 12 pullets and one accidental cockerel. Plus my 13 adult hens and 1 adult rooster.
With all these roos, there's no way I can expect to have peaceful flocks.
I talked to a lady that was interested in taking the extra roos, but she backed out.
We won't eat them. My DH is more than willing to process them, but I can't eat them. I just know it would bother me come supper time.
The only solution I can come up with is for my DH to take the extras to the other end of the farm, kill them humanely and leave the bodies for the wild critters to clean up. They've had eight good weeks past the point when they would have been culled in the commercial houses. They've enjoyed free ranging, lots of love and attention and sunshine and fresh air.
Really don't want to do this either, but can't figure out any other way.

 

[chickenlady08]

Quote:
I wouldn't kill anything on my farm even if on the other side of it. That is just gonna cause more heartache when another critter gets a taste of chicken and comes looking for more. More being yours. Can't you process them and give them to a family member, or a friend. something other than to just kill them. I would bury them. Sorry, but I feel the same as you. I can't eat mine and I don't want to kill them either.

Good Luck with your dilemma. Hope it works out for you! Maybe do a bachelor pad for the extras

 

[Amanda0609]

Do you have a local foodbank that would take them? Maybe a church group that could find a family that could use them? I understand how you feel, I have a couple roos that have to go and eating them will be hard.

 

[gritsar]

Something that just occured to me. One of my DH's co-workers also has some commercial house culls. He lives with his elderly mother and they are kind of old fashioned. He may take the extras and they would be able to live free ranged until the point that his mom needs one for supper.
I've thought about creating a bachelor pad for the extras, but we are struggling to provide care for the ones we are keeping as it is. My DH having been seriously ill and he's not recovering the way he was expected to. It was everything we could do to get a coop ready for the new ones.
Oh and DH suggested that we also cull one of the Cx pullets that is blind, but I insist on keeping her. I already have one half-blind hen and I know this new girl can do well even if she is blind.
Since we have two very large chicken processors in the area (Tyson & Pilgrim's Pride) the food banks, woman's shelter, etc., already get all the chicken they need from them.

 

[Siler]

I agree with chickenlady in that I wouldn't want anything to get a taste for chicken. A local place or church that would have a family in mind to take a processed bird would be great. I couldn't eat my CX either. I thought about it over and over again until I was sure I was ok with killing him, but couldn't stomach the thought of eating him. My mom grew up on a working farm and she told us a story(several times)about her step-father killing their pet rabbit and serving it to the family for dinner. I was disgusted as she was when she found out and it changed my life.

After keeping a CX for a very long time I know that when they become active with mating, they will crush a hen flat. I lost one to him cracking a rib or two. He was so heavy that they couldn't struggle. He died 2 weeks ago to heat stroke. 109 or so heat index was just too much for him.

 

[SpringChickens]

At the very least, I would suggest putting them on Craigslist. Someone out there would love to have a cheap/free chicken dinner. I would just really hate to kill something and waste it.

Good luck with your decision - your husband's coworker sounds like a great idea.

 

[gryeyes]

I don't know if *I* could do this, so if my suggestion sounds horrible, I'll take that hit. But, perhaps DH could process the meaties, cut them up into quarters, package them and freeze them, and they could be COOKED later on down the line to enhance the diet of your GSDs?

After a long enough period of time, good, healthy food for your dogs might be a reasonably positive end for 'em. Maybe?

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Linda, that's not such a bad idea at all. My DH is going to call his co-worker tomorrow. If the guy doesn't want them, I'll talk with DH to see if he's up to processing them for the dogs. By the way, we don't cook food for our dogs. When we can afford extra meat for them it's given to them raw, chicken included.