Rehoming Roosters

[ranchhand]

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Not sure about that one. As a single woman I can think of lots of reasons I wouldn't want someone coming to my house. I might want the rooster but that doesn't mean I want its owner to know where I live.

Yes, that would certainly change the set-up. I made sure DH knew where I was going, who I was meeting, etc. And it was to another woman, which made me feel a lot more comfortable.

In my case it was 3 hours away. It turned out they had gotten a boatload of pullets and wanted some roos for flock protection, since they free range. The chickens and horses hang out together, and the chickens spread the hore manure for them!

They had quarantine tractors set up, plenty of food and water, so I was relieved.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

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Where do you all live that you get multiple responses to your ads for your roos? When I used to have extra unwanted roosters I would have to search far & wide to find even ONE person who would be willing to take them. There were no qualifying interviews, no contract, no future visits, no follow-up emails on their status. I knew the people who took them would have them as dinner guests, they were thrilled to have birds ready to go that they didn't have to first tend or feed for all those weeks.

Now I too have a better plan for all my extra roosters, and don't have to dread watching the chicks' combs turning red and worry about what to do with them. But if you all have a number of replies to your rooster ads, and many of those from people with flocks of unmarried hens, consider yourself fortunate.

 

[m2wandc]

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Not sure about that one. As a single woman I can think of lots of reasons I wouldn't want someone coming to my house. I might want the rooster but that doesn't mean I want its owner to know where I live.

Well as a mother of two little ones as well, I'm not interested in having people come to my house and see where I live and I don't feel comfy taking myself or my children to uncharted territories...especially with the craigslist killer that was in the news lately!

I just wondered how everyone did it...or if I have a roo and end up keeping it, how can I keep it from fertilizing the eggs I want to eat???

 

[horsejody]

Contact your local extention office, especially if your roos are purebred. I rehome most of my extras through the 4H. The kids that get them have to have their parents permission and be active in 4H poultry clubs. It works out great. I get to hatch and keep what I want, kids that don't have the opportunity to hatch get projects for the fair and my extras get good homes. A lot of city kids are starting to do chickens. They show them and keep them as pets.

 

[horsejody]

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Fertilized eggs don't taste any different than unfertilized eggs. If you don't incubate them, they won't develop.

 

[m2wandc]

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This is what I fear...I do searches on my local craigslist and there are LOADS of roosters up for grabs and no one seems to be taking them...

...I also hear most people at the local feedstores say oh bummer if you get a rooster, you'll never be able to get rid of it...

I'm hoping and praying my chicks are girls...but when it comes to the cute fuzzy silkies, I'm wondering (since they aren't sexed and I have NO IDEA) if I should find them a new home now before it's too late??? I'm thinking my other chicks are girls, they are almost 5 weeks and the combs still look small and yellow (is that girl? I think that is what I've read) ???

 

[m2wandc]

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great idea...thanks!!! I know plenty of four H-ers here, I will forsure look into that if and when I find out the sex of my chickens.

 

[m2wandc]

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Fertilized eggs don't taste any different than unfertilized eggs. If you don't incubate them, they won't develop.

Aren't they all veiny and yucky looking??? I will never be able to pass that off on my preschooler or hubby!

 

[ranchhand]

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Not sure about that one. As a single woman I can think of lots of reasons I wouldn't want someone coming to my house. I might want the rooster but that doesn't mean I want its owner to know where I live.

Well as a mother of two little ones as well, I'm not interested in having people come to my house and see where I live and I don't feel comfy taking myself or my children to uncharted territories...especially with the craigslist killer that was in the news lately!

I just wondered how everyone did it...or if I have a roo and end up keeping it, how can I keep it from fertilizing the eggs I want to eat???

The easy answer is to keep the roo away from the laying hens. But why? As long as you collect the eggs daily and refrigerate them, there is no development whatsoever. We eat fertilized eggs all the time, as does my lone egg customer. She's a veterinarian and has no problem eating fertilized eggs.

As far as the safety issue? I'm here alone a lot, and I don't like having people come here either. I schedule them for the weekend, when DH is here, or I get a friend to come over for the visit. And I always make sure at least one of the three bigs dogs is in sight. And casually mention that they are all mean dogs. Which may or may not be true, no one has tested them!

I have met some people halfway, and I always choose a busy parking lot- hotel parking lots are always busy. Tell someone when and where, then call to check in as soon as you're done.

 

[MorahLaura]

Nah, they won't be veiny if you collect them right away and keep them cold.