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

[chicken4prez]

I've been trying to give away my d'uccle roosters for over a year now and I've only sold one.. no one wants them it seems! I'm not taking the culling route but I'm wondering if shelters would take them. It's not fair to them to be stuck here and I'd like them to have their own home with lots of love. Does anyone have any ideas on what do to with them? Again, I'd like them to go to a good loving home.

Thank you!

 

[FortCluck]

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.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

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.

 

[PirateGirl]

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.

 

[FortCluck]

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.

I have never heard of a shelter in my state that will take in a chicken, we have sanctuaries and rescues for that. Thank you for saying that there are shelters that take them.

The OP lives in Canada so I'm unsure what it's like there with shelters and such.

I do agree it's putting the responsibility of the rooster onto someone else, but they may not have any other choice. Most likely a shelter will euthanize them because they can't get it adopted out.

I think that owning chickens is amazing, but people do not realize when they grab a straight run or even get sexed pullets. There will be a rooster, it doesn't matter how good the vent sexer is at the hatchery, humans make mistakes.

I was supposed to get two black jersey giant pullets... I ended up with 2 roosters and these were sexed by a reputable hatchery that our local farm buys from. I kept both, but I have the capability to do so.

I see both sides of the fence so it's hard to say what is right and what is wrong. I believe only the owner knows what's right for their flock and their chickens.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Some places there's actually a problem with people abandoning their roosters or old hens at shelters because they 'just can't! couldn't ever!' cull them and the shelters having no way to handle them because the facilities aren't equipped for it. The chickens usually end up in small cages for a couple weeks before getting put down. There's one shelter in my area that specifically handles livestock from local farms but usually their rooster capacity is filled.

They also currently have 11 "mini" pigs that got too big/troublesome for their owners. They often have horses too (they have one pony right now). But they're in a location where they're able to do that. They have acres. Most shelters obviously don't.

This is a neighboring countys humane society in my area. So they exist but are rare.

 

[FortCluck]

Some places there's actually a problem with people abandoning their roosters or old hens at shelters because they 'just can't! couldn't ever!' cull them and the shelters having no way to handle them because the facilities aren't equipped for it. The chickens usually end up in small cages for a couple weeks before getting put down. There's one shelter in my area that specifically handles livestock from local farms but usually their rooster capacity is filled.

They also currently have 11 "mini" pigs that got too big/troublesome for their owners. They often have horses too (they have one pony right now). But they're in a location where they're able to do that. They have acres. Most shelters obviously don't.

Oh no that's so sad... Id grab a pig if I was closer! So many people don't look into the future when they have animals. Pigs never stay mini, it makes me cringe when people in the city buy them thinking they'll stay small forever.

Our animal control gets random livestock that they've caught, but usually the owners go and get them. Most are just escape artists.

 

[SEaton611]

I've been trying to give away my d'uccle roosters for over a year now and I've only sold one.. no one wants them it seems! I'm not taking the culling route but I'm wondering if shelters would take them. It's not fair to them to be stuck here and I'd like them to have their own home with lots of love. Does anyone have any ideas on what do to with them? Again, I'd like them to go to a good loving home.

Thank you!

When my mom had a rooster she didn't want, we actually contacted some local farms to see if they'd take him. Not sure if that would be an option, but depending on the bird, some may want him for breeding...others might raise him for meat. It might be worth asking around!

 

[ChocolateMouse]

My suburban shelter actually brought up a lot of serious concerns about passing chicken keeping laws in our area because they don't have the facilities to house chickens. Luckily they've only had to deal with a few stray hens over the years that were immediately snatched up. But for their stay those hens were in the "small animals" area, being kept much like hamsters or rabbits are in shelters.

We haven't had a problem with livestock otherwise... Yet. But we're VERY suburban.

 

[PirateGirl]

Sometimes other farm animal rescues will also take chickens because they have a farm setup. For example our local horse rescue will occasionally take in other animals including chickens.