Pros and cons of unsexed chicks?

[bruceha2000]

I hatched eggs from a local farm. Out of the 21 eggs hatched there are about 5-6 roos.
Sometime soon, chicken dinner is inevitable.

That is a great hatch ratio if you are looking for mostly pullets!

 

[Toothpick]

No accusations here ... but I'm not totally convinced that the hatcheries don't do a little creative "dumping" of extra cockerels into the "straight run" orders from places like TSC. I would love to see a couple of these large feed-store places do a follow up with their patrons, just to see how close to that "50/50" ratio their orders really are ...

Would not surprise me one bit. There was probalby a good 30 or so chicks left when I got the 6. They were marked down to a buck a piece which is why I got them. Didn’t even plan on it but for a buck, sure! Chances of me getting all roosters....

 

[MROO]

Yeah - I was a sucker for the clearance rescues, too, but we may do a little bit better on the ratios. Out of 16, we have 8 known cockerels - two Sebright, three OEGB, two Silkie, and one D'uccle. The suspected pullets are three Sebrights (which don't match the two cockerels, of course,) and two D-uccles (one of which is still "iffy.") The rest are all Silkies, which are notorious for being hard to sex until they either start crowing or drop an egg directly into your hand. We're hearing a lot of weird vocalizations from that pen, so let's just say that I'm not terribly optimistic ... !

 

[bruceha2000]

And there isn't enough meat on a Sebright rooster to make an appetizer.

 

[Susan12]

When I'm. Buying less common breeds you can't always get them sexed.with bantams I keep more roosters than I do my big chickens.why ,they are light don't tend to tear up hens backs.i like them they are pretty.i love watching my roosters call the hens and dancing.

 

[Birds of a Feather]

One of the most obvious problems with buying straight-run chicks is the extra roosters. It seems like no one wants roosters, and everyone has too many, so they are very hard to rehome. Out of five hatchery straight run chicks purchased over the years, four were roosters. I've only ever gotten one rooster by accident from the "pullets only" bin.
Some rare and bantam breeds only come straight-run, though, so you have a chance of getting some beautiful pullets.
Straight-run chicks are also usually less expensive.
After learning how some hatcheries cull the rooster chicks, I think it's better to buy straight run if possible. At least the roosters get to be raised and enjoy life before being kept (some); rehomed (some) or, sadly, eaten.
If you aren't comfortable culling roosters, though, it's probably best to buy pullets only. There will still probably be a few roosters.

 

[bobbi-j]

One of the most obvious problems with buying straight-run chicks is the extra roosters.

After learning how some hatcheries cull the rooster chicks, I think it's better to buy straight run if possible. At least the roosters get to be raised and enjoy life before being kept (some); rehomed (some) or, sadly, eaten.
If you aren't comfortable culling roosters, though, it's probably best to buy pullets only. There will still probably be a few roosters.

Personally, I don't see extra cockerels as a problem. But we do process ours. (Not sadly. We are quite happy to put them in the freezer.)

I would much rather raise happy, healthy chickens who only have one bad day (and honestly, a bad few seconds because it takes less than a minute for me to catch them, and DH to decapitate them - killing them instantly) than eat those mushy, tasteless grocery store chickens that are kept in confinement and slaughtered at 8 weeks of age.

As far as the hatcheries culling their baby cockerels - I have heard they throw them into a grinder. As sad as that seems, (because killing cute, fuzzy baby chicks is never a pleasant thought) at least they don't suffer. I would guess it's over in seconds for them. Better that than growing up to be kept in a box in a city or having to wear a no crow collar because "I can't have roosters but I love mine so much, I can't get rid of him" The reality is, too many cockerels makes for a turbulent flock. Too many can and will cause stress and harm to the pullets/hens, and then you need to figure out what to do with them.

 

[bruceha2000]

Yep, it doesn't pay to be male in the domestic chicken world.

 

[Birds of a Feather]

Personally, I don't see extra cockerels as a problem. But we do process ours. (Not sadly. We are quite happy to put them in the freezer.)

I would much rather raise happy, healthy chickens who only have one bad day (and honestly, a bad few seconds because it takes less than a minute for me to catch them, and DH to decapitate them - killing them instantly) than eat those mushy, tasteless grocery store chickens that are kept in confinement and slaughtered at 8 weeks of age.

As far as the hatcheries culling their baby cockerels - I have heard they throw them into a grinder. As sad as that seems, (because killing cute, fuzzy baby chicks is never a pleasant thought) at least they don't suffer. I would guess it's over in seconds for them. Better that than growing up to be kept in a box in a city or having to wear a no crow collar because "I can't have roosters but I love mine so much, I can't get rid of him" The reality is, too many cockerels makes for a turbulent flock. Too many can and will cause stress and harm to the pullets/hens, and then you need to figure out what to do with them.

I still think it's better for the roosters to have a good life and then be culled, rather than being culled upon hatching. Then they at least have a chance of finding a home with a flock. I agree that it's probably more humane to raise your own chicken than eat factory-farmed chicken.
Some roosters turn out to be quite nice, and end up with a good home. However, there are sadly too many roosters hatched in proportion to hens, and they can't all have their own flock.
It seems like one has to be tough and able to cull most of the roosters when raising straight-run chickens. That's why I'm not hatching any more chicks right now. It's too traumatic to have to make tough decisions about too many beautiful, well-behaved roosters.

 

[bobbi-j]

I still think it's better for the roosters to have a good life and then be culled, rather than being culled upon hatching. Then they at least have a chance of finding a home with a flock. I agree that it's probably more humane to raise your own chicken than eat factory-farmed chicken.
Some roosters turn out to be quite nice, and end up with a good home. However, there are sadly too many roosters hatched in proportion to hens, and they can't all have their own flock.
It seems like one has to be tough and able to cull most of the roosters when raising straight-run chickens. That's why I'm not hatching any more chicks right now. It's too traumatic to have to make tough decisions about too many beautiful, well-behaved roosters.

I admire your decision to responsibly keep your flock that way.