Just caught all my roosters ... for the deed.

[chickenannie]

I just went out while still nighttime and caught all my roosters and put them in a cage for tommorrow. It is time, and they are going to the butcher in the morning. I always hate this part of having chickens.

But I also know it's where chicken soup comes from.

Roosters are always so pretty -- even though these are mostly crosses. I wanted to calm them down and tell them it's going to be ok. But it's not (for them). I will just think about all the happy times they have had running around the farm all day every day with no restraints at all, doing whatever they darn please. It's a good life they have here.

How do the rest of you feel when you haul chickens off to the butcher?

 

[Illia]

For me, I usually only have one or two roosters at a time. With my experience, I don't feel too bad about it in the end because the only reason I'd ever do the deed on them for is because they step out of line. The last rooster ripped open a gash in my turken's neck because he didn't like the younger girls or any hen that was "different" and this current one will go once he himself has done the "deed" (giving fertile eggs) because he's not the most gentlemanly or friendly, we need a better roo, and his toes constantly worry me if he is in pain or not. They're permanently curled from a chickhood deficiency, and I often wonder. . .

But for the mean time he's staying. When he goes, we're getting one who's breed is a little more reliable with behavior, and whos genes will be much more promising. One thing that is nerving about EE roos is that you really don't know what egg color gene they have (so far our only EE hen lays pink eggs. . . I want some color, not another version of light brown) . . . And, I really do wish my boy had a beard!

 

[Akane]

Generally by the time I get to butchering them I've wanted to kill them for months.

My teenage roosters caused the death of one of my hens and tore a few others up over mating. But winter came quickly and it got so cold to butcher. I'm also not allowed to build pens or fences since I'm renting so they stayed with the hens. Until one day they were locked in for a storm right around some warm weather and while I was feeding they were just beating the crap out of the bantam roos and all the hens. About an hour later the snow was red and my hens are much happier. I wish I'd done it 2months earlier.

 

[duckyfromoz]

I will be honest and say I have never dispatched any roosters- because I only keep ducks- But I know where some of my boys have ended up.

I will never do the deed myself, and will not discuss the issue with people who do buy mine. But I know that while they have been alive- they have had a good life. Free ranging with plenty of feed and warmth. As long as you treat them the best you can while they are alive, and the deed is done humanely then it although it is still sad- it is a fact of life.

Im sure your roosters have had a lovely life, as apposed to many meat birds that are living in cramped environments, force fed and bundled off by the hundreds at such a young age.

 

[Mahonri]

I've not done the deed yet as an adult, but the day is soon coming as I have 38 chicks and 25 look to be roos.

When I was younger and I regularly dispatched the boys for my family, I just used to say, I love the roos, they're delicious.

 

[chickenannie]

Thanks for the shared stories everyone ... it's really helpful to know I'm not the only one in the world taking my roos to the butcher. (I still haven't learned to do it myself). It is sometimes a hard concept to wrap one's brain around.

Roosters can be sooo mean to others sometimes ... I guess that makes it easier knowing you're "protecting" the rest of the flock. And you just can't have 25 roosters (Mahonri) living together or they will kill each other.

 

[Ibicella]

I do the deed myself. I hate it everytime. I don't enjoy taking life. But it's part of my responsibility as a good chicken mom, and I make sure they get a good life and a good death. Compared to some deaths I have seen pets and family go through, I don't think getting pithed in my sleep is a bad way to go.

 

[Buck Creek Chickens]

I do it myself, took me a year to be able to do the whole thing, killing was last. i still don't like to do it, but when your over run with roosters you have to do something.

 

[doubled]

being that my chicken pen is right outside my bedroom window...when it was time for my roosters to go, i had no problem doing the deed myself...

 

[Sunny Side Up]

The plain Fact of Life for roosters is that there are positions for a mere 10% as breeders, flock husbands or pets. A good 90% of all roosters hatched have their purpose on a plate. There are worse things that could happen to a rooster than to provide nourishment for a grateful family.

I try to think of my meat birds the same way as the produce I grow in the garden. I tend them well, provide for their needs, & especially carefully when they're young & more vulnerable, admire their natural beauty, take pride in their growth, and anticipate a delicious harvest. It is more difficult with roosters, especially those mixed-breeds that can grow into such handsome birds with their unique coloring. But I know they've had a great life, much better than that of any commercially grown chicken.

Maybe someday you'll want to learn how to process your own roosters. It can help make you feel more reassured that your birds are receiving kind handling right up to their ends, and empowering to have mastered this bit of basic human survival skill.

We'll help instruct & support you!