Thinning out the extra roosters: butcher or sell? If sell, how much?

[Tripp16]

I had two roos too get rid of and luckily my grandparnts needed them. I havent seen many people buying them. But I most certainly do not butcher mine. Just because I woulddnt be able to! Lol Just my opinion. Hope it helps!

 

[LilyD]

I think what I have gotten and what I am going to go by for my roos is 6 months at 6 months you should be processing your roos any longer and the meat gets tougher. An article that I read though said you can go as long as 9 months and I think you would need to do that for some of the slower growing breeds like Jerseys etc.

 

[Flawedatdesign]

Well as I sit here finishing my dinner of what was the last of the roo I just butchered. He was an older roo but boiled him till the meat fell off the bone.

I know I have a friend that has to many eggs and gives them to a church that has a food pantry. Might consider something like that if you need room in your freezer.

 

[cmom]

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[SassyKat6181]

I sold 3 12 week old RIR roos for $5 last week. I wanted to try and get $5 each, but the lady wouldn't pay more and I needed them out.

 

[Saltysteele]

you've fed them this long, feed them a bit longer and eat them yourself. i've got some that i haven't fed this long to give away for free!

but, people will always take free. you can put a turd on a 2x4 and offer it for free on craigslist and you'll have it gone in a day

 

[galanie]

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I needed that laugh!!!

For me, I won't give away something I put food into for 4 months or more so someone else can have a tasty meal. Because that is why people want free roosters. For dinner. So I just eat them myself if I can't sell them.

 

[desertmarcy]

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I needed that laugh!!! Yes, me too, and it is so true!

For me, I won't give away something I put food into for 4 months or more so someone else can have a tasty meal. Because that is why people want free roosters. For dinner. So I just eat them myself if I can't sell them.

I am in agreement with that, especially when they've been fed all organic. I read an older post with a link to cooking heritage chickens and it says slow, moist cooking is a great method for cooking older birds and they come out just fine. So I don't think I need to be in such a hurry to thin them out. They are still lanky and lacking much meat, so may be better to grow them a little bit anyways. We can always just butcher one at a time as needed. After I move all the pullets to the new area, I can leave the unwanted roos where they are. They won't even be in sight of the other birds, so with just the boys in the pen, will they still fight?

 

[7L Farm]

I put a sign on my gate roosters for sale. Everybody laughed I sold 14 cockerels for $ 5.00 a piece. I got the last laugh. Be honest with you I couldn't believe it.

 

[Blue]

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I've got 7 Barred Rock cockerels I'd like to get rid of. Maybe I should try sticking a sign like this at the end of our driveway. Of course, mine are only 3 weeks old, so they need to grow a bit before they're eating size, but if I have to keep them that long, I'll probably just eat 'em myself.