.How can you tell if your giving a bird to a good home?

[allieszoo]

My one and only concern when getting rid of a rooster is if it is going to be used as a fighting rooster. Luckily, people around here are oddly open about that fact so it tends to make it easy to weed those out.

 

[canesisters]

Wow - talk about a timely topic!

My roo has gotten to be too aggressive for me. I have 'pet' chickens and not being able to go in the run and sit with them without keep an eye out for him is killing my 'happy chicken therapy' vibe. I want to take him to the next local swap meet... but I don't want him to be dinner.
(Want my cake and to eat it, I guess). I think that he'd be fine in a free-range non-pet situation. My chickens stay in a 30x30 run/coop and it seems to be that we just can't stay out of each other's way. If he's across the pen, he ignores me. If I turn the corner and he's right there, It's On!

So what would YALL do with a roo who is far from the 'cuddly good boys' that are raved over here on BYC?

 

[bobbi-j]

100% off topic but what breed is that in your avatar??

looks very cool

He's a light brahma, and very much a good rooster. And by "good rooster" I don't mean that he's a pet. He keeps his distance when I go out to do chores, I've seen him feed treats to his hens, and is just generally a nice bird to have around.

Wow - talk about a timely topic!

My roo has gotten to be too aggressive for me. I have 'pet' chickens and not being able to go in the run and sit with them without keep an eye out for him is killing my 'happy chicken therapy' vibe. I want to take him to the next local swap meet... but I don't want him to be dinner.
(Want my cake and to eat it, I guess). I think that he'd be fine in a free-range non-pet situation. My chickens stay in a 30x30 run/coop and it seems to be that we just can't stay out of each other's way. If he's across the pen, he ignores me. If I turn the corner and he's right there, It's On!

So what would YALL do with a roo who is far from the 'cuddly good boys' that are raved over here on BYC?

Eat him. As I stated above, mine isn't a pet, so he doesn't "cuddle", but he's a good rooster to have around. If he ever got mean, he'd be supper. Why? Because I keep chickens for the enjoyment of it. (Well, that and fresh eggs and meat, but if I didn't enjoy it, I wouldn't have them). If I have one that's not bringing me joy, I don't want it around. Also, if I've gone to the trouble of feeding and raising a chicken, I'll be darned if I'm going to sell it or give it away to someone else for little or nothing and have them get a good, cheap meal. I didn't go through that effort for nothing. And, I wouldn't feel right bringing it to a swap meet or selling by any other means an aggressive rooster. Why dump my problem bird on someone else?

 

[chickendude9]

He's a light brahma, and very much a good rooster. And by "good rooster" I don't mean that he's a pet. He keeps his distance when I go out to do chores, I've seen him feed treats to his hens, and is just generally a nice bird to have around.
Eat him. As I stated above, mine isn't a pet, so he doesn't "cuddle", but he's a good rooster to have around. If he ever got mean, he'd be supper. Why? Because I keep chickens for the enjoyment of it. (Well, that and fresh eggs and meat, but if I didn't enjoy it, I wouldn't have them). If I have one that's not bringing me joy, I don't want it around. Also, if I've gone to the trouble of feeding and raising a chicken, I'll be darned if I'm going to sell it or give it away to someone else for little or nothing and have them get a good, cheap meal. I didn't go through that effort for nothing. And, I wouldn't feel right bringing it to a swap meet or selling by any other means an aggressive rooster. Why dump my problem bird on someone else?

if i could bring myslef to eating my roo i would..but hes only 10 weeks..more like a chicken nugget. id rather give him to someone who is gonna enjoy him.

 

[bobbi-j]

It's easier to eat them when you let them get big and mean. I don't feel nearly so badly about it that way. And mean roosters taste the best!

 

[donrae]

MMTB---Mean Roosters Taste Better!

 

[teach1rusl]

Once you give a bird away, you have no more say on the matter. So you need to screen potential takers if you're giving a roo away - ask what type of housing they use, whether they free range or pen, are their birds put up at night or left on their own... Whatever answers you're looking for, you should be able to get a feel for whether this is the right home or not. MOST folks are going to walk away if you start talking about home visits to inspect their "facilities." So maybe it comes down to how badly you want to rehome the cockerel/roo, and whether he's a common breed or something special.

An aggressive roo - I would flat out tell the people offering to take him that he IS aggressive, and to please treat him humanely until he's processed.

 

[chickendude9]

MMTB---Mean Roosters Taste Better!

Once you give a bird away, you have no more say on the matter. So you need to screen potential takers if you're giving a roo away - ask what type of housing they use, whether they free range or pen, are their birds put up at night or left on their own... Whatever answers you're looking for, you should be able to get a feel for whether this is the right home or not. MOST folks are going to walk away if you start talking about home visits to inspect their "facilities." So maybe it comes down to how badly you want to rehome the cockerel/roo, and whether he's a common breed or something special.

An aggressive roo - I would flat out tell the people offering to take him that he IS aggressive, and to please treat him humanely until he's processed.

Yeah im giving him away today and im going to her house to i can see there farm and there coop. She said she would be happy to.

 

[LTygress]

Eat him. As I stated above, mine isn't a pet, so he doesn't "cuddle", but he's a good rooster to have around. If he ever got mean, he'd be supper.

This is true for me, too. My alpha rooster isn't really a pet (although he's SLOWLY trusting me). I can't pick him up and cuddle with him. I only recently got to touch him without scaring him. And usually when I do, he walks away after I do make contact. He won't let ANYONE else get close enough to touch him though. The hens, however, can be all over him.

But he does not attack me or anyone else. He's not overbearing when he's protecting his girls either - he'll grab the other roosters off when they try to mount them, but once he leaves, my alpha roo leaves him alone. And he doesn't pull anyone's feathers out - his own or his girls.


We did have one that became aggressive, and the dinner table is exactly where he went. He would try to challenge me all the time when I was around. He wasn't allowed near the hens (my alpha roo had dibs on them) and I think that is part of why he became aggressive. He was also attacked by my sister's dog once (but survived with only feathers pulled) and I think that also had something to do with it. But once he attacked my niece and left her face bruised and bloody, that was it. I decided right then that I would never own an aggressive rooster. I won't sell them to be fighting roosters. But I WILL put them down and have a nice dinner that night. The risk of more damage like what he did to my niece is NOT worth it. Keep that in mind anytime you have an aggressive roo on your hands.... it may not even be your own kids that get attacked, but you would be liable.