How much should I be selling young roosters for?

[Sunny Side Up]

What breed are they? If they're a skinny or a bantam breed, yes, you might as well give them away, or tuck a $5 bill under their wings to make them more attractive to others. If they're a larger or dual-purpose breed, learn how to turn them into dinner guests.

 

[Tropical Chook]

Well, I think your question has been answered

Unfortunately, not many people want roosters. I myself love them, but only for the sake of eating. When I have chicks grow up, and I start being able to tell the difference between the sexes, I appreciate the roosters because with them there are no decisions to make, as to which are being kept, and which ones are going. They all end up in the pot, while most of the hens are still being kept at this point because I'm still expanding my flock.

I've also found my roosters tend to mature/fill out faster

 

[they'reHISchickens]

Just today a half-dozen of my DD's cochin banty roos went for soup at a co-worker's house. Freely given. We are glad someone is willing to make use of an animal in a productive way.
I have a rooster pen of LF fattening up for winter, but I really don't want to bother with the banties. DD loves her cochins, but no one needs all the roos that hatch!
In our area, I am just cautious of advertising roos on Craig's List. We have an element of chicken fights in a nearby city and the only time I advertised roosters, I got a bad feeling about some of the responses so I withdrew the whole thing.
The co- worker I found to take the roos lives in the city but is originally from another country. She raves about the chicken broth made from home-raised birds. I feel a bit bad about the small size of the banties ( 5 month olds) but she doesn't mind at all. She says the health and taste aspects of the chicken soup are worth the small amount of meat. She cooks the carcasses and drains the bones out, then it's ready to go.
What is really funny is that she doesn't like live chickens! Her hubby delivers them to her sink ready-to-cook.

 

[InsaneBreeder]

The only thing about eating roosters out here is that by the time they are old enough to slaughter, the value of the food they have consumed is greater than the value of buying a whole chicken from the grocery store. Feed is very expensive and you can get a cooked chicken for $4 or less. And even though I know I could kill my own chickens, I would hate it. Still, if I can't get rid of them, that might be the only option.

 

[they'reHISchickens]

IB, I think that backwards cost is the same for everyone who raises any animal. The young ones cost the most to raise because they need the most and best nourishment to grow properly.I think the trick is to grow them large enough to be worthwhile, and not take too long about it so you aren't pouring $ into feed more than you have to.
Most people seem to think it's best to butcher at 16-20 weeks. I think it depends on the breed. Leghorns at 20 weeks still don't have much meat and likely never will. I hear Orps gain a lot of size from 5-7 months so maybe it's better to wait with them. I have 5 month old orps that I am still trying to sex so they aren't even in the roo pen! My EE cockerels are puny. My marans cockerels vary from stocky to skinny.
We consider the chickens a hobby that isn't going to pay for itself. We get what we can, but don't lose sleep over it.

 

[NHchicks]

When I have a rooster I don't want, the local feed store (this is an ultra small operation) is always willing to take them (for free, of course). In turn, he has someone check by his place regularly for roosters - someone who has some kind of rooster farm, I have no idea what he does with roosters, maybe he just eats them. Anyway, I'm glad I have a place to take a rooster to occasionally.

I have a rooster now but only because he was the offspring of my very handsome and sweet rooster who crowed too much, so off that one went. Now I have his rooster son, who is also very handsome, and I want his genetic chicks in the spring. I really only need a rooster from March through June. But I'll keep one around if I want to extend his gene pool, and if he's not too much trouble.

 

[darkmatter]

Quote:
That pretty much sums it up! I can't even give away my surplus mutt Roos unless I have already butchered and processed them, and then I'm gonna eat them if I do the work. It does work out economically if your surplus Roos are fattening up by free ranging for the summer. However, predation where I'm at prevents tossing the surplus Roos out for the summer to fatten up, unless you count predators as "fattening up".