Too many roos? What do you do?

[coffeemama]

I do CL or Freecycle, or post them at the local feed store/market whatever. I guess if I had to I'd eat them. Can't have roos here! There is livestock auction near my home too-never been there but they do sell poultry.

 

[Jennyhaschicks]

Quote:
Just curious... Why can't you have roos? Because of the racket they make in the morning? I guess that would be my main guess.

 

[chickenannie]

Jenny,
I finally went ahead and got my extra roos butchered (8 out of 25 of a day-old set of BO). It was hard to do, but the reason I did it in the end was because once they matured, they were practically torturing the hens. They were overbreeding them and teh girls feathers were getting pulled out. So I did it to protect the hens. In the end, it was good -- I provided meat for the family by growing it here myself and that was a good feeling.

 

[Jennyhaschicks]

Chickenannie you made me realize that there might come a day when I have to do the same thing you had to do. I certainly wouldn't want my hens to be over breed. Poor things.. I guess it wouldn't be so hard if they weren't my "first" chicks kwim? I can't get overly worried now since I don't even know how many of them are going to be roos.

 

[chickenannie]

I felt the same way...

I think my mind set changed from "I don't want to butcher chickens I raised from chicks" to "I have to DO something or the hens will be damaged" and so I begrudgingly took them to the butcher. Weird thing was, when I picked them up from the butcher, I felt OK about it. Cuz I often take chicken home from the grocery store. That's not new.

Now that I have my own chickens in my freezer, I have a lot more respect for how/when I stew them. I have so much more respect for those home-raised chickens, and i KNOW exactly how much food, labor, and love went into raising them. I try never to waste any of the meat, and I make sure I cook them with an excellent meal and serve them with pride. It's an interesting process to go through.

Plus, I sold a few ($1.60/lb) to some culinary friends.

 

[GoodyChickenShz]

Craigslist and Freecycle I am familiar with.....but how do you find a butcher who will "take care" of your birds for you?

 

[gardeningsis]

I can't eat my roos, but I do have a farmer friend who has no qualms. Ironic because I love grilled chicken! He lets them run the farm until he is ready to have a chicken dinner.

 

[chickenannie]

Quote:
Around here you just look up "custom butchering" in the phone book, but maybe ask BYC in your area for suggestions.