Surplus chickens- what are my options??

[nccatnip]

I would like to be able to expand on my buff flock by hatching out some of their eggs and keep the buff girls. I would like feedback on options available to me should I decide to do so. I have buffs and redstars so some chicks would be mixed, and then there is the roo's. They all share a coop with my banties and free range most of the time. I do not want to seperate them to keep purity, and I would still have the roo issue.
So far as I see it my options are:
1. Culling at hatch but I am not experienced enough to determine gender and breed. (Redstars are sexlink- but will that remain true if cross bred?) Don't think that is an option, babies are just too cute
2. Process for food. Great idea, just not me. I have no local processing plant that deals with poultry.
3. Sell off surplus- place ads? flea market? How about those roo's? Will they be hard to get rid of?
Anyone have any suggestions on what works for you?

 

[nccountrygirl]

Hey nc, why not post your chicks on the forum, there are a lot of us out there that would buy them, just a suggestion,

 

[nccatnip]

That's a good idea. How many roo's do I put you down for?

 

[shaveudogg]

We culled our cockerels for soup along with our meat chickens.I would keep them all if I could because they are my favorite.I watched the guy from dirty jobs go to a hatchery and they sex by wing tips?You might be able to get a holed of that taping .Some of ours were getting to mean to my 3 year.We still have 6 each a different kind.

 

[plfreitag]

Freecycle. I had one pullet who was being beat half to death by my other ones, a really meek SLW, and I Freecycled her to a lady who just wanted one to complete her "country look." She sleeps in a dog kennel in the mud room and runs the whole house now including the 2 big slobbery labs.

Trisha in MO

 

[greyfields]

I hatch eggs as well. This is always a nagging problem I have.

Look through your local agricultural newspaper and find where the nearest livestock auctions are to you. Without a doubt, you will find one which takes poultry. The commissions are usually around 33% and you are spending gasoline to get to them; but by my calculations it beats the alternatives. Larger hatcheries "mechanically macerate" the day old roosters which does not fit within my ethics of raising animals. So, I hold onto them, then send them to auction once they're large enough to tell the cockrels from the pullets.

You are right that with sex linked breeds (I do black sex links) you can tell the first day. However, you can't sell day olds at auction. So, they tend to linger around until I have a batch ready for auction. Usually 8 weeks or so I raise them, then send them off.

The market I consign at has a very large ethnic turnout. Roosters are actually sought for meals, since traditional menus from abroad require barnyard roosters rather than these massive meat birds Americans are used to.

After the commission, I get $5 to $10 bucks per bird. These are always roosters of varying ages and breeds. I've never sent a hen. I think hens at point of lay or laying fetch $15 or so.

 

[blue90292]

i'm pretty good friends with the people at my feed store. my roos go to one of the guys there. he buys them from me at $4 a piece. he then sells them to some ladies from columbia who make them into tamales. he says they actually prefer roos than hens.

 

[silkiechicken]

Ok, well, if you only want one breed, separate them for less heart ache later if you aren't up to culling lots of birds.

Sexing them: Feather sexing can only be done from birds bred with a fast feathering male and slow feathering females... otherwise it cannot be done it will be random. Sexlinks do not breed true. If you want sexlinks, you have to start with the base stock.

Roosters can be just be butchered for meat or given away. Up to you. They might be able to be sold off too for cheap.

 

[jenichick]

I'm just volunteering to take any extra pullets!!! I'm not far from you!!

 

[5eggs]

HEY! i have a polish cockerel named mr. noodle if anyone would like him.
He is very beautiful and has many years. With him are two of his chicks, which i don't know how to sex. We are only allowed to have pullets in town, and i have another truly gorgeous black male...haven't got a name for him yet...I think he's a fairly common breed. We just got a pull of 16 chickens at auction for $20 and they had to be bought as a lot, some are still very little and since they are a mixed breed, i can't tell which are males and which aren't. So far, mr. noodle is the only one who crows. (think of the old rooster from chicken run, and mix him with the cool penguin from happy feet-the one w/ back-up singers-and that is mr. noodle.)
he's so pretty! i hate to see him go, but if i don't find him a home, i'll have to cull him or animal control will come get him and do it for me...please help!