Official BYC Poll: What do you do with your roosters?

[chickenlittle21]

I chose other because I keep the roosters to fertilize the hens eggs so I can incubate them. Even if I had a rooster who didn't fertilize the eggs I would still keep him, though, because I count all my chickens as my pets.

 

[BDutch]

I gave my bantam cockerels all away. Not for the meat (they are really small) but for a longer life. I don't even eat chicken being a sort of vegetarian. No way I could cull my own chickens as long as they are healthy and happy.

I had an agreement buying my first chicks. If there where any cockerels I could bring them back and I would get new chicks. I returned/swopt 3 cockerels. The hobby farmer was pleased there was a silver cockerel Dutch bantam he could sell to someone who he knew who was looking for one. He gave the others cockerels away when he was selling hens (sexed laying hybrids).

There was one beautiful cockerel (Tommy) with the second group of chicks. I kept him until spring when he became too loud. He fertilised my pullets and when they got broody, I brought this cockerel back to the hobby farmer. Tommy got a new home with 4 polish bantams where ge could be loud.

I had 3 pullets and 3 cockerels out of this batch. These cockerels went to the hobby farmer too.

After a few years I bought some fertilised eggs in spring when I got a broody. There was one beautiful cockerel named Oscar. Kept him too until he fertilised my hens and became too loud early mornings in spring. I advertised on a free digital ‘market place’ (like Craig's list?). A breeder who wanted fresh blood to fertilise his hens was very pleased with my Oscar and he gave me a bottle of good wine for him.

From Oscar I had 4 cockerels. I advertised again on ‘market place’ and gave them away too. 2 went with their ‘mother’ to someone who was looking more bantams. 2 went to two brothers who wanted the cockerels as pets.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

It is harder on me to butcher the spent layers, but I only have so much room, and my Voice of Reason (DH) reminds me that we're feeding them, whether they lay eggs or not. There has to be a line somewhere.

Yup - that's us. Soppy ol' gits!

I sent my 3 BO to be processed last month. I'd call them "spent" bc all they ever wanted to do was go broody, but they've been like that pretty much from their first season. In fact, they all hatched out chicks that year. They tried again last year, but I kept breaking them ... and this year, I just gave up on them after several repeats. I'd be surprised if I got two dozen eggs out of any of them over their entire lives. I have ten BA coming up to POL and those BO were hogging the nests! Sweet girls, but what are you gonna do? I admit to taking the easy way out by paying someone else to "do the deed" for me, but my Mennonite neighbor is far more qualified to do it quickly and humanely than I ever will. I'd botch the job for sure, and I don't want any of my birds to suffer.

 

[BDutch]

I sent my 3 BO to be processed last month. I'd call them "spent" bc all they ever wanted to do was go broody, but they've been like that pretty much from their first season. In fact, they all hatched out chicks that year. They tried again last year, but I kept breaking them ... and this year, I just gave up on them after several repeats. I'd be surprised if I got two dozen eggs out of any of them over their entire lives. I have ten BA coming up to POL and those BO were hogging the nests! Sweet girls, but what are you gonna do? I admit to taking the easy way out by paying someone else to "do the deed" for me, but my Mennonite neighbor is far more qualified to do it quickly and humanely than I ever will. I'd botch the job for sure, and I don't want any of my birds to suffer.

I’m getting crazy sometimes with all the abbreviations over here.
I presume POL is polish? What is BO? BA? Is B black? O orpington? A australorp or auracana?

Btw: There are several methods to break broodies. BLM!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I’m getting crazy sometimes with all the abbreviations over here.
I presume POL is polish? What is BO? BA? Is B black? O orpington? A australorp or auracana?

Btw: There are several methods to break broodies. BLM!

Sorry, no. POL is Point of Lay. BO is Buff Orpingtons. BA is Black Australorps. My little Black Australorp pullets are 20 weeks old, right at Point of Lay, just about ready to start gifting me with beautiful brown eggs, and those Buff Orps wouldn't get out of the nests, haha! Your turn what is BLM? I took them off the nests, gave them a cool bath in a tub of water, then put them in a separate run where they could not get back to the nests for several days. That worked for about a week but then they would be right back to setting on the golf balls!

Edit, golf balls, not gold balls!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

The first cockerels/roosters we ever ate were given to us by a friend who had too many. After that, there was no looking back! We ordered pullets from a hatchery and got 3 or 4 cockerels ... no worries, they went into the freezer. The following year (this spring) we actually ordered both pullets and cockerels, to be sure we'd have some for the freezer! I just wish we had a bigger coop, so we could get even more, and never have to buy commercial chicken again!

 

[BDutch]

Sorry, no. POL is Point of Lay. BO is Buff Orpingtons. BA is Black Australorps. My little Black Australorp pullets are 20 weeks old, right at Point of Lay, just about ready to start gifting me with beautiful brown eggs, and those Buff Orps wouldn't get out of the nests, haha! Your turn what is BLM? I took them off the nests, gave them a cool bath in a tub of water, then put them in a separate run where they could not get back to the nests for several days. That worked for about a week but then they would be right back to setting on the golf balls!

Edit, golf balls, not gold balls!

off-topic:
BLM out of context here. Meaning Black lives matter, but Buff lives matter too for me.

Did you ever try the dog-bench method? Put the broody chicken in a wired cage on stones with lots of fresh are underneath. Under a roof. Provide water and food of course. And let her out every day to check if she had enough cold air over her belly? If you find her in a nestbox , pick her up and put her in the cage again.

This method is not mine. But heard this one from people with Orpington an Cochins.

I close the nest box where my bantam is broody in and put the fake egg in another nest box at the other side of the run. And make sure the chickens are all roosted in the evening.

 

[Compost King]

I had multiple answers plus one "Other" which would be humanely killing them with CO2 and freezing them until I find someone looking for snake food. Thats my absolute least favorite to do and I only do it when I breed for sex links. It actually hurts to kill something so young to feed animals I do not particularly like but snake owners need feed too.

 

[bobbi-j]

I sent my 3 BO to be processed last month. I'd call them "spent" bc all they ever wanted to do was go broody, but they've been like that pretty much from their first season. In fact, they all hatched out chicks that year. They tried again last year, but I kept breaking them ... and this year, I just gave up on them after several repeats. I'd be surprised if I got two dozen eggs out of any of them over their entire lives. I have ten BA coming up to POL and those BO were hogging the nests! Sweet girls, but what are you gonna do? I admit to taking the easy way out by paying someone else to "do the deed" for me, but my Mennonite neighbor is far more qualified to do it quickly and humanely than I ever will. I'd botch the job for sure, and I don't want any of my birds to suffer.

There is nothing wrong with sending them off to get processed instead of doing it yourself. DH grew up raising and butchering chickens, so we just do it ourselves. If it were just me trying it, I’d probably send them to someone else as well. Killing them humanely is important.

The first cockerels/roosters we ever ate were given to us by a friend who had too many. After that, there was no looking back! We ordered pullets from a hatchery and got 3 or 4 cockerels ... no worries, they went into the freezer. The following year (this spring) we actually ordered both pullets and cockerels, to be sure we'd have some for the freezer! I just wish we had a bigger coop, so we could get even more, and never have to buy commercial chicken again!

I prefer home raises chicken to anything you find in the store. I have a broody on a dozen eggs right now and am hoping for some cockerels. My older hens get canned when we process them.

off-topic:
BLM out of context here. Meaning Black lives matter, but Buff lives matter too for me.

Did you ever try the dog-bench method? Put the broody chicken in a wired cage on stones with lots of fresh are underneath. Under a roof. Provide water and food of course. And let her out every day to check if she had enough cold air over her belly? If you find her in a nestbox , pick her up and put her in the cage again.

This method is not mine. But heard this one from people with Orpington an Cochins.

I close the nest box where my bantam is broody in and put the fake egg in another nest box at the other side of the run. And make sure the chickens are all roosted in the evening.

Some birds are just always broody. I had one go broody 3 times one summer. If a person is raising chickens for eggs, a non-productive hen is a waste of time and money.

 

[BDutch]

..
Some birds are just always broody. I had one go broody 3 times one summer. If a person is raising chickens for eggs, a non-productive hen is a waste of time and money.

If you want layers for many eggs it is wise to buy breeds that are known for good laying like Leghorns, Barnevelders, or laying hybrids for the industry if you don’t care about the looks or a long life.

You can check what breeds lay many eggs and are known to be unfit as a broody before you buy them.