I'm having a hard time getting rid of roosters!

[chicken4prez]

Sometimes people just don't want them especially due to location, some places you can't have a rooster. I'm not sure if shelters take them, but look around for rescues in your area or sanctuaries that take in farm animals.

Do you not have room for the rooster?

I personally would make a bachelor pad for the rooster and let him live out his life or even create a new flock with that rooster. I know that not everyone has the ability to do this.

Sadly I don't have room for them. I'm not even allowed to have chickens in my city (new bylaw.) so it's pushing it since I already have 5 permanent roosters living here. I really would keep them if I could but it's not fair to them.

There ARE shelters that take them but that seems like putting the responsibility on someone else. Shelters are often ill equipped to handle chickens, especially roosters, extra especially in urban/suburban settings. The reality is that most shelters would take them - then put them in a very small cage and eventually euthanize them. Sending them to a shelter basically IS culling them.

There's 10 roosters to every 10 hens hatched, but most people can only keep one of those ten at best. Even if you buy sexed chicks or pullets those roosters still went somewhere most likely somewhere they're eaten by something. And that's a fact of chicken ownership you'll have to square with someday.

Can you ask a friend or neighbor or a local farmer to process them for you? At least then they will be useful, feeding people. Can you give them their own bachelor pad? Then they can live out their lives.

Yes I get that. I do have friends that would take them and cull them but I'd like the nicer option first and then if there seems to be none then I'd take that route. I've given away roosters to be culled before so it's not like I'm totally against it. Sad that it's such a problem though.

You said you've only "sold" one. Perhaps offer him up free to a good home. I'd advertise on the buy/sell/trade section of BYC, local CL farm & garden section, bulletin board of any local feed stores/pet stores/etc., as well as any local FB poultry groups. Also maybe reach out to 4H, FFA, or any other similar organizations in your area.

I said sold but I forgot to correct that as "given away." I've already posted on my fb group and there's no one so far. 4H is a interesting idea though.. I haven't thought of that. It's not like they're nasty roosters thankfully.

Depending on the rooster’s personalities and how much room you have a bachelor flock could be an option. It’s hard to rehome excess roosters. You may have to bite the bullet and have them culled. Or reach out to local farmers to take them, but realize that in most instances there’s a high probability that they may end up in a freezer. Also as a smaller more ornamental breed, I don’t know that most farms would be wanting to take them either.

They get along fairly well (I have them separated right now in groups of 3 and they're fine) and they're sweet little guys. The problem is the crowing and the room. I've tried crow collars but none seem to work for them which is no fun. If they were bigger I'd give them away to be culled but like you said they are so tiny so I don't think farms would want them.

A google search turned up numerous farm sanctuaries in Ontario. Here are just a few. Looking at the photos, I think they all have some poultry.


https://cedarrow.org/

http://beavercreekfarm.co/

https://www.froghollowfarmsanctuary.com/

https://pennylanefarmsanctuary.com/

Thank you I'll look into these.



We didn't have a problem with selling them before, it's just recently that all these bylaws are coming into place and people don't want the chickens. I'm not planning to breed next year so I'm thinking that I'll use that time to talk with people and such. I'm new to this breeding game and I had things planned but then a lot of personal things came up and everything went crazy.

 

[Club cramahe coop]

I got lucky. We discovered we had a rooster two weeks ago and can’t keep roosters here. I went to my local farm feed store and asked the girls and they knew someone and within an hour I had a home for him. They are well connected to the people keeping chickens. At least in my small town. Maybe not at large stores.

 

[Kris5902]

I agree with that I think that people get sucked into buying cute fluffy chicks then they grow into a cockerel.

I have seen companies say that they are 99.9% accurate on their vent sexing even the company my local farm purchases from... I have news for them, but because of their mess up I now have eggs in the incubator.

I'm a glass half full type of person. I always see the positive, it's probably my biggest downfall!

Lol... it’s not like you had to put the eggs in the incubator! They taste the same with or without a rooster... who got sucked into having cute fluffy chicks really? I know I did! (80 chickens one year later... oops! Did I accidentally put more eggs in the incubator? Oh well, guess I have to hatch them now

 

[Aunt Angus]

I got suckered, too. I wanted bantams. I got 3 at a feed store and ended up with 2 cockerels. Luckily, I can have roosters where I live.

It is a shame about the huge numbers of unwanted cockerels. Some are wanted for breeding, for flock protection, for show, for stewpots... but so many get despatched at hatch or abandoned or what have you.

I keep hoping science will discover a way to tell a chick's sex before hatching so there aren't a glut of unwanted boys. I am seriously considering opening a rooster rescue later on down the road... A farm of bachelors...

 

[Willowspirit]

I have a friend that got a rooster (she was told it was a hen) from an urban shelter in Los Angeles itself. There are some shelters in many places that take in all kinds of animals. Of the “small pets” category the largest group are rabbits. Talk about not looking ahead!

 

[chicken4prez]

I got suckered, too. I wanted bantams. I got 3 at a feed store and ended up with 2 cockerels. Luckily, I can have roosters where I live.

It is a shame about the huge numbers of unwanted cockerels. Some are wanted for breeding, for flock protection, for show, for stewpots... but so many get despatched at hatch or abandoned or what have you.

I keep hoping science will discover a way to tell a chick's sex before hatching so there aren't a glut of unwanted boys. I am seriously considering opening a rooster rescue later on down the road... A farm of bachelors...

It is a shame. I wish I could keep them but it's not right to. I'd love to have a bachelor flock someday though. It's a neat idea.

I've thought of that many times! Hopefully one day.

 

[NNYchick]

I too have run into the problem of too many roosters. I can’t even give them away, being bantam even people that take extra roosters for meat won’t take a bantam silkie rooster. I have found homes for a few by offering them with a hen as a pair. Maybe if you have a few extra hens this might work for you.

 

[CatWhisperer]

I had to turn my backyard into a bachelor flock area. There are 5 serama cockerels there now- oversexed little buggers. But I expect more problems with 5 Polish cockerels to 1 pullet and 4 silkie cockerels to 2 pullets. My 4 guineas are a big problem for all the chickens. I also have 4 more serama cockerels growing up with an evenly matching sex ratio of 9 Onagadori that are 15 weeks old. So unless all those continue to behave as they age more for the bachelor group. I will consider eating the Polish and silkies if they become problems but the serama boys are just to small to bother with (plus I love them). I have tried to rehoming them on Facebook and Craigslist but nobody wants them. I am fencing in an even larger area soon so it will be more likely everyone will get along. Roos are a fact if you have chickens and you need to plan to deal with them from the start. I love to listen to the crows, love all my chickens but just wish the Polish ones weren’t so stupid.( and yes I have trimmed their feathers so they can see)

 

[legojenn]

I needed to read this. I'm a suburbanite who cannot have roosters or crowing cockerels. There was an ad on a local facebook page for a hen that goes broody frequently and I thought to myself, 'Self, wouldn't it be nice to hatch a few babies in the spring?' I responded 'Self, you are only allowed 5 birds. What are you going to do to the males and older ones that push the count over 5?'

I passed. My current 4 have loads of room, and the birds get along well and appear to be happy and healthy. They provide more eggs than I can eat or give away. So why mess with a good thing?

 

[Willowspirit]

I needed to read this. I'm a suburbanite who cannot have roosters or crowing cockerels. There was an ad on a local facebook page for a hen that goes broody frequently and I thought to myself, 'Self, wouldn't it be nice to hatch a few babies in the spring?' I responded 'Self, you are only allowed 5 birds. What are you going to do to the males and older ones that push the count over 5?'

I passed. My current 4 have loads of room, and the birds get along well and appear to be happy and healthy. They provide more eggs than I can eat or give away. So why mess with a good thing?

You are very strong!