Is it ethical to take mean roosters to auction?

[suzpyoung]

I of course would disclose the surly temperament, but is it acceptable to take roosters like that to the local auction? Or should they just be culled? Culling would not be an easy task for either me or my husband.

 

[Crazy4cochins]

Hi,
I do have one meany on my hands right now but he is going to have to go soon. The way I see it is if they are mean and nasty and you can't teach them a "lesson" as to not attack you then you need to get rid of them. I like to do mine myself because I know how I do it and I guess I'm a control freak. But the not knowing what happens to them at the auction kinda bothers me.
You can always put them on Craigslist for free too.

 

[SpringChickens]

I would take them to auction in a heartbeat. Put in a disclaimer that he's mean, but most roosters that go to auction end up as soup anyways.

 

[greathorse]

I would not have the least bit of problem taking a bad rooster to the auction. If one is not aware that a birds purchased for a buck or two is not going to come with a warranty is just being naive. Now if someone should ask yes of course you would tell them.

JMO

 

[Birdgirl]

mean roosters are the most fertile

 

[redhen]

If i bought an adult roo at an auction i would expect him to be mean... lol..
What do you expect if you buy from an auction? I wouldnt expect very much...

 

[bobbi-j]

I don't think it's unethical if you disclose that he's mean. I'd hate to have some naive person buy that pretty rooster for their kid only to have the rooster attack the kid.

 

[LadyIslay]

Any time your remove an animal from your herd or flock you are 'culling' it, and there are a number of ways to do this (butchering, selling, gifting). It sounds like you've already decided that you need to cull this bird, but you don't know how to do it.

Ethicially, I think the most sound choice is to have the bird butchered. If you can't do it yourself (and I totally understand), then look around for a small scale processor. Or you could advertise the bird for sale/gift on something like Craigslist saying that if someone is willing to slaughter the animal with minimal stress to the animal, that you'll give it to them.

My thoughts are that at auction, it is "buyer beware", so sure, you could put the animal in an auction. If you are able to describe the animal as 'mean', I would do so: I don't think that I could sell an animal with behaviour problems at auction unless I knew they were being purchased by someone that intended to slaughter it.

 

[dutchhollow]

Around here 99.99 percent of adult roos sold at the auctions are going into somebody's pot (except for the special exotic sales, rare breeds) but there are auctions every week, and I know those are going to be eaten, so don't worry about it.

 

[speckledhen]

Quote:
I seriously doubt that--where did you get that information? Temperament is heritable, to a degree, and I won't keep any mean roosters here. My biggest stud-muffin is also a sweet, even-tempered guy who loves chest rubs (he's my avatar). He's quite virile, trust me.

I think a seriously human-aggressive rooster should be culled, though maybe some folks would want a mean rooster for free-ranging if they think he'll do a better job protecting the hens.