Should I Sell the Roos Now or Wait Till They're Grown?

[Chicksdigit]

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Busy

 

[chicksgalore]

The only real problem are the polish roos. They are very aggressive to the hens and I will get down to one, the old man in a few weeks.

I have just one polish roo and he is probably the most cowardly of all the roos. Besides him, I have one EE, one BR, 2 large-breed mutts, and 3 silkies and you want to know who rules the roost? 2 of the silkies. It is hilarious to watch them chasing around the big roos every now and then--like they just have to remind them who's in charge. I'm amazed that they can do it but what they lack in size they make up for in heart.

I sold an RIR roo a few weeks ago for $5--he was too aggressive on the other boys and getting aggressive to us too.​

 

[Maryallison]

yes your 1 roo will be very happy!

 

[emvickrey]

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Tired

 

[emvickrey]

Quote:
I have just one polish roo and he is probably the most cowardly of all the roos. Besides him, I have one EE, one BR, 2 large-breed mutts, and 3 silkies and you want to know who rules the roost? 2 of the silkies. It is hilarious to watch them chasing around the big roos every now and then--like they just have to remind them who's in charge. I'm amazed that they can do it but what they lack in size they make up for in heart.

I sold an RIR roo a few weeks ago for $5--he was too aggressive on the other boys and getting aggressive to us too.

I have a RIR and a Domonique Roos and they do a wonderful job. The RIR is the sominant one though. You would think that the other one would be because heis much bigger but when we let them out of the coop the RIR is first and the Dom is always last as he makes sure all the ladies are out unless they are laying. They keep them around them and if one slips away they go looking for her and she gets a thrashing for wandering off. And look out if I need to catcha hen. They are right there watching everything I do to them. I have to calm them down so they quit squawking so the roos won't attack me. It would be a bad day if they ever did. We alread killed my favorite roo becauae he would attack. He was good too. lol He was a beautiful Silver Laced Wydonette. My others are very nice too . They have beautiful healthy feathers.

 

[Backyard Hencam]

I called the local animal rescue center in our tiny town. I asked if they knew of anyone wanting an aggressive five-week-old chick (I didn't know if it was a hen or rooster just had extremely aggressive behavior toward the other chicks).

They put me in touch with a retiree in the area who takes "recalcitrant" birds of any breed (chickens, parrots, etc). He insisted on the phone that he doesn't eat his birds, he considers it a challenge to deal with them and have them all get along. I could hear roosters crowing in the background. He said the chickens were free range and locked in at night.

I couldn't take my bird to him until she is able to survive without heat. I am still trying to get her under control but at 8-10 weeks if she continues to be aggressive, I know where she is going.

Maybe you could find a rescuer in your area.

Good luck.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

If you aren't going to keep your extra roos for your table, then I'd try to sell them asap for whatever you could get. It certainly wouldn't be worth it to keep/feed them for an entire year for only $5.50 a bird. I don't know who would buy a 1-year-old roo for that much, they really should be processed by 4-5 months.

Even if you don't want to process your own roos, you must face reality -- with a ratio of 1:10 for a good mixed flock, then 90% of all roosters hatched have a job to do at the table rather than in the coop. And it's a good job that they do, and we're grateful for it. Yes, it's a shame when you get one that's exceptionally handsome or personable, but you can be sad to dispatch such an attractive animal or be glad that your meat comes in such a lovely wrapper. There simply isn't room in the world for every rooster to live out his existence as a pet or a flock husband.

That's why I encourage people to insist on keeping only mannerly roosters, and not put up with any aggressive behavior from any of them. With so many calm and well-dispositioned roosters fattening in meat pens, why accept less than perfect behavior from the ones you keep in the flock?