Topic of the Week - What do/can you do with unwanted roosters?

[GldnValleyHens]

I end up keeping all our unplanned roosters, because they have good names, beautiful colors, and have become attached. I have 3 roosters, and they generally are ok, except for the D'Uccle guy. He's a real jerk.

 

[Lazy Farmer]

On average 50% of all eggs hatched produce male chicks

That number is correct. We sell straight runs. Lots of people give back the boys to us after awhile. The birds that don't sell always wind up being half boys as well. Add those numbers together and we have a ton cockerels running around.
So we raise many boys. Some go to freezer camp, others are sold in batches. All the proceeds go right into the feed funds for the general population.
The noise at the end of the season will put you into the nut house.
Last fall/early winter, we sold a mass number to a local processor. Our farm was so quite right after the sell. You could here a pin drop.
Roosters are our bread and butter. 3rd in line on the poultry list. Chicks on the top, eggs, then Roos.
There is an incredible market for them. If you don't mind all the noise.

 

[aart]

Last fall/early winter, we sold a mass number to a local processor.

What do they do with them?
Wish we had one of those here!

 

[Lazy Farmer]

What do they do with them?

He showed up with a long goose neck trailer and a tons of heavy duty poultry crates. Bought almost everything we could catch. He left his card. It says he sells farm raised meats. Most where 6 to 8 months old. The younger ones I think he had to put some meat on them. Nothing less than 4 months. Very interesting day.

 

[aart]

He showed up with a long goose neck trailer and a tons of heavy duty poultry crates. Bought almost everything we could catch. He left his card. It says he sells farm raised meats. Most where 6 to 8 months old. The younger ones I think he had to put some meat on them. Nothing less than 4 months. Very interesting day.

Huh.... would be an interesting discussion for another thread.

 

[TheTwoRoos]

I’m not much of a culler so I wil usually find a home,and probably end up keeping one.

 

[llombardo]

I have found a rescue that will take them. They get adopted into a good home or live in a rooster only flock. I got 4 chicks, out of the four--one definite roo and a possible second. I'm trying to make it work. One is crowing already and he is only 10-11 weeks. Like clock work at 5:15 about 10 times then again at 5:30 about 10 times. Other then that he crows when he hears me or if the duck is quacking--it's like they are talking to each other.

I will never hatch eggs because of the chances of males. I don't think I will ever get babies unless I know they were sexed for certain. I might just rescue older known females to save me the trouble. Now I have to get more hens and the numbers are still going to be low per roo. Looking at saddles for the females. This was not supposed to happen this way.

 

[kcpaull]

We have two extra roosters due to letting two hens hatch an egg each last year. We built them a pen and they live there together. Unfortunately, they crow all night long. We have 6 inch walls on our house but you can still hear them. Other people just let their roosters run wild so there are roosters all over the neighborhood. I've had to kill two other roosters that kept attacking people. I don't like killing anything other than fire ants, mosquitoes and ticks so it is not very pleasant for me to get rid of them. No one will take them even though they are big beautiful roosters. I have no crow collars, but the last time I went in to put them on, I wound up getting stitches put in my lip.

 

[Teila]

We are not allowed to keep roosters which is one of the reasons I do not very often ‘cave’ and buy fertile eggs when one of my bantam girls goes broody, which is often I stop and think ‘what about the boys I can’t keep’ and decide that we do not need more chickens just yet

I could not cull them myself but I have advertised them locally in the past and while I hope they have gone to a good home, I know there are no guarantees and they may end up as food for people or other animals.

What I have done in the past also is to take them to a local feed store who attempt to sell them but I did not ask what happens to the ones they could not sell

So yeah, in a pet flock, the dilemma of what to do with the boys we are not allowed to keep has kept our hatches to a minimum.

 

[HenniesInMyHeart]

Honestly? I only breed birds that are rare and worth a lot. This way there is always a market for my roos. If you're a softie and don't want your roos to go to the table or cockfighting ring (another very real issue that comes with giving away free roosters), breed high-value rare/heritage breeds so your roos will have a much better chance of being actually WANTED! The second option is selling chicks straight-run only. We do that, too.