ordering straight run/hatching...

[noitulover]

how do you guys handle the mass amounts of roosters that you receive when you hatch eggs yourself or order straight run chicks???

I see posts all the time about people ordering the 25 straight run chicks... or people hatching a dozen+ eggs

HOW THE HECK do you deal with all the extra roosters??? especially since many of you live in suburban/urban areas???

My chickens live on my husband's family farm (hundreds of acres) and I still only have ONE rooster.

If I ordered 25 straight run chicks, and 12 (roughly 50%) turned out to be roos, I DEFINITELY could not find homes for all of them.

 

[ranchhand]

It's a challenge! I put posters up in the 2 local feed stores and ads on the local Craig's List.

It usually works well - and then I hatch more eggs and am back to square one again!

 

[ChickyLaura]

Craig's List worked for me last time. I told my husband when we went if there was a Purdue sign at the end of the driveway we were turning around and coming home. But there was no Purdue sign, it was a farm.

Good luck!

 

[beerman]

I let mine grow and eat them

 

[noitulover]

well around here, there is not enough poultry interest to require a bunch of roosters...

and i definitely could not eat them...

so i suppose i will stick to what i'm doing... buying only pullets and learning more about sexing day olds!

 

[mstricer]

Quote:
Me too

 

[TinyBirds]

We grow them free range and eat them because I think it's nicer for them to have a happy life rather than be killed as a baby at the hatchery. The hatcheries kill the baby boys since most people only want girls. Watch the video link below to see how sad it is. So now I only buy straight run or hatch from eggs, for that reason specifically. The pullets sold at feed stores also come from the hatcheries,so for every pullet, imagine the murder of a baby roo.

Edited to add: I think if I were in a subdivision, I would raise them until they start to crow and then find someone to take them for food. Craigslist is a good place to do that, or some feed-stores will find a place to take them, especially if they're free. My feed store recommends visiting the farm that would be taking them though, to make sure it's not some illegal place that uses roosters for fighting.