How do i get ride of my Roo's and get more hens?

[NikolasGuy1234]

Im kinda new to managing a flock, I have 10 roosters that I HAVE to get rid of them! I don't want to kill them, or eat them, and I think it will be incredibly hard to get people to take them, how can I get them away asap? Also, I only have 3 little hens and I really want more, but I don't want to go through 20 weeks, waiting for them to grow up and start laying again. Is there a cheap way to buy already laying hens? There are not many on Craigslist, so what do I do?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Offer those roosters for free and someone will take them for dinner.

Some hatcheries sell started birds. Check your area for fall swap meets, and just keep checking your local advertising. Eventually chickens will be for sale.

Be careful you aren't in such a hurry to get hens that you end up with diseased ones or ones that are old or have behavioral problems.

 

[aart]

Keeping chickens can teach you patience.....or not.

Point of lay birds, good ones, are not going to be 'cheap'....
...and they could get even more expensive if they come in with pests and/or disease.

Also beware of buying 'laying hens', ask the age of the birds in weeks...or you may end up with spent hens. A lot of folks are downsizing their flock about now, they don't get rid of the best birds. Saw 2.5 year old Isa Browns for $5 the other day....that's pretty much a spent hen only good for stewing, but at least they were honest about it...others are not.

Bringing in new birds causes stress, and 'laying birds' may stop laying due to that stress, at this time if year they may not start back up until after solstice.

Do you have a good integration plan and space, if not a quarantine plan?

 

[Ridgerunner]

If you have to get rid if them you have to realize that you lose control over them when someone else owns them. List them on Craigslist but do not put restrictions like "Must go to a good home". I don't know where you are but since you mention Craigslist I'll assume the USA. You should get someone to take them but they will almost certainly be eaten. Like you people want pullets, not cockerels, to overwinter. I'll guess they are 20 weeks old, mention that in your ad, that's a great age for butchering.

If you can find your state thread in the "Where am I? Where are you!" section you can chat with your neighbors about both these issues, getting rid of your cockerels and finding new hens or pullets. They are going to know local conditions better than a stranger on the internet like me, you might get lucky.

 

[lazy gardener]

Finding good cheap pullets is not likely to happen, unless someone got into the hobby, and suddenly realized that they really don't want to keep chickens! Or they had a financial upset or sudden onset of illness that has rocked their world, or they have to move. Getting rid of roos: If you've put all this time and feed into them, you might as well reap the benefit of having them grace your table. Of course a lot of people simply don't want to butcher an animal they've raised. I understand that. So, your next best option is to offer them to someone who will appreciate the meat.

Finally, this to all readers, not meant specifically for OP: Never set eggs to a broody hen, or plug in an incubator if you are not in position to take personal responsibility for all of the cockerels that you produce. This includes: feeding, housing (in separate coop/run away from your pullets and hens), and re-homing/culling. Realize that the chances of finding a "flock master" home for your cockerels are some where between slim and nothing, and Slim left town.

 

[theuglychick]

All the advice you've gotten so far is spot on!

I offer my roosters free to people that I know will use them for breeding or will eat them because both of these are a far better fate than a bird that will be used for cockfighting bait, which Unfortunately is a big thing here.

This coming year we are going to try to cull and process our own cockerels, as I'm moving from mostly layers to dual-purpose birds.

I would search for a good local breeder to work with. The good ones don't always have birds available all the time and there may be a wait, but healthy birds are worth it in the long run.

Best of luck!

 

[Birdinhand]

I also offer my roosters for free. if they are sex links I cull them on day one. it's a hard fact of life of chicken keeping, most of us can't keep roosters and yet, every other egg that hatches (or worse) is a rooster. I actually feel good when someone is willing to take them for food, I figure at least their life is going to some good use vs just being killed and thrown away. there are the occasional super compassionate folks who make a refuge for roosters, but lets face it, we are talking millions of unwanted roosters annually and there is only so much that can be done, and to what end? I have also heard of bird hunting dog trainers who will take them, freeze them and use them for training. you could put up an add on craig's list or one of the others and see what the options are.

as mentioned, there is no cheap alternative to a full grown laying hen. if you really don't want to deal with it, go with sex links, they are born with very distinguishable markings that reduce the risk of miss sexing to virtually 0%. a good laying hen is going to run you upwards of $30. it may be worth it for you though, depending on how you weigh your time and effort. that high price often factors in the cost of raising a rooster to sexing age for every adult hen produced.

 

[lazy gardener]

 

[RollTideChicken]

If you keep a rooster or two then you can restock your flock at will. Roosters put chickens in your eggs. And... I like the dynamic of a flock with a rooster.
Everyone before me has given you great advice so pick one and go with it.

 

[TheResidentialFarm]

It's really hard to rehome roosters as other have said. I couldn't even give away (for eating or other) my male ducks.

Watch Craigslist. I happened upon an ad for 19 week old RIW/RIR pullets for $7. Skeptical, I arranged to go see the pullets. It was a retired farmer who raised laying hens and sold eggs at farmers markets as a hobby. He raised way more hens than he needed this year and wanted the extras gone before the weather turned. I've had them (took home 13!) for a couple months and they are fantastic. Great layers, robustly healthy, excellent foragers (despite living on gravel until they came home with me), friendly, and you couldn't beat the price.

If you go the Craigslist route, wait until you arrive before making final decisions about taking birds home with you. If the birds look to be in bad shape, their area is dirty, their water is dirty, or anything seems unsavory, say no thank you and walk away. My birds were in a clean, but very simple pen, with some tiny pullet eggs on the ground here and there, so I felt pretty sure no one was trying to offload old or sick birds onto me.