Rehoming roosters

[laturcotte1]

My husband thought it would be a great idea to let the hens hatch some eggs. At the end we ended up with 12 hatched from one hen and 6 from another. More than half the chickens we have now are roos. Bad situation. The coop is a 12x12 and the run is larger. We were going to expand the run by 10 feet but my husband took sick and we were unable to do it. Now some are fighting of course. I live in Monson MA, not sure if anyone is close to me and is interested. They are Bantams, some silkie.

 

[4 the Birds]

Roos can be difficult to sell or even give away since they do not produce eggs. You will need to cull them from the flock. Many people just don't realize the implications with hatching their own eggs. You can search for a local farmer or place that will process the roos for a small fee and give you the packaged meat; Otherwise, you will just have to deal with some fighting and hens that get too much attention. Having 1 roo can be nice if you free range. Hope this helps!

 

[Vickis Girls]

I ordered 6 female chicks last spring, and was so excited since I hadn't had chickens since I was a kid. Unfortunately 3 of them were DOA. I then decided it would be really fun to hatch a few eggs. What a wonder it was, candling the eggs and seeing 4 of the 6 eggs develop. I was so excited, and of course picked out all girl names for them. Of course all 4 turned out to be cockerels. I have re homed 2 of them. It's people who have free rangers, and need a rooster to guard against predators. I could have re homed a third but am going to try to make this work since they are best friends right now at almost 6 mos. Some people advertise on craigslist, just make sure to ask more than a grocery store charges. They might still get eaten, but at least you provided your roo with a chance. It's a tough decision for all of us who face the whole roo thing. Good luck to you.

 

[RoostersCrow HensDeliver!]

I agree that not a lot of people realize that they will get 50% males, most especially do not have a plan for all those boys. Yes, hatching chicks is an amazing experience but we need to have a plan for the resulting chicks regardless of their gender.

In my area, it is practically impossible to give away roosters let alone sell them. Most roosters will end up in the refrigerator, that is a simple fact. I take pride in proving meat for my family's table, my boys live a GREAT life while they are here. Their meat is excellent when cooked in the crock pot or dutch oven.


Breed the best, eat the rest.

 

[laturcotte1]

Yeah I knew the chances were high, we thought if we opened the pen, for more room it would work out, they are all pretty docile. Culling is not an option, can't do it, just can't. No more babies for sure. Can't free range them, we have a family of ferals that will pick them off, if the foxes don't first. Their pen is at least a 20x20 and we were adding another 10 ft. Unfortunately my husband took sick and they now decided to fight. We have another coop smaller but can house a few, but definitely not all those roos. Thanks all, if anyone is interested though just let me know. I have this on facebook also and word of mouth. I may have 2 people interested in families, which I can do also. Thanks.

 

[ChickenCurt]

If you were nearby I'd take them for my neighbor irritation project
I'm in S Nevada