Virginia

[ki4got]

Just curious, what do you all do with unwanted rooster chicks? I have no idea what to do with mine.... And I cant keep them... Does anyone know of any placed that take them? Idk just curious

eat em, take them to a swap and sell them for whatever you can get.

honestly tho if you really want them gone, don't make stipulations like 'don't eat them'... LOL because that's the truth of most roosters' lives. for every 10 I grow out, 1 might be worth keeping, if that.

 

[chickeneer45]

Thanks for the advice! I really dont mind eating one of my chickens since thats how most chickens end up, but I am pretty sure I cant "do the deed" and end its life myself. So I guess I could advertise them as: for food or flock, but they are just chicks... At what age are they good for eating? Also, is there any company that prepares your chicken for you so you can eat it? ( I know that that sounds stupid, but just wondering)

 

[canesisters]

Thanks for the advice! I really dont mind eating one of my chickens since thats how most chickens end up, but I am pretty sure I cant "do the deed" and end its life myself. So I guess I could advertise them as: for food or flock, but they are just chicks... At what age are they good for eating? Also, is there any company that prepares your chicken for you so you can eat it? ( I know that that sounds stupid, but just wondering)

Where are you located? There might be a member nearby who is willing to either process it for you or show you how.

 

[City Chicken]

Where are you located?  There might be a member nearby who is willing to either process it for you or show you how. 

Nothing like a harvest party!

 

[settingdusk]

I would not mind coming. I have been quartering my roosters this year and I need practice cutting in general. What breeds you got Chickeneer45? You know you can caponize roosters when they are about 4-5 weeks and they will grow fat like a pullet and not crow.

 

[ki4got]

Quote:

Thanks for the advice! I really dont mind eating one of my chickens since thats how most chickens end up, but I am pretty sure I cant "do the deed" and end its life myself. So I guess I could advertise them as: for food or flock, but they are just chicks... At what age are they good for eating? Also, is there any company that prepares your chicken for you so you can eat it? ( I know that that sounds stupid, but just wondering)

'doing the deed' is much easier after the first. the key is making sure it's quick. (and helps if you don't feed or water them for 8-10 hours ahead of time).

they make 'killing cones' that hold the entire bird's body with just the head hanging down. I hang mine just over the utility sink in the basement, for ease of cleaning and use a pair of pruning shears (one straight blade one curved cutting blade - make sure they're large enough to take the head in one cut... mine are about 4" overall blade length). I stretch the head down and cut about mid-neck, removing the entire head.

I learned with the quail, just breaking the necks, they thrash a lot longer than taking the whole head off... seems to be with chickens too somewhat. the cone keeps them from thrashing a lot (and making huge messes).

sorry if it's descriptive, but it's a fact of chicken-keeping IMO... some day you may need to dispatch one quickly because of an injury or something. you don't want them suffering so it needs to be done quickly, which means you need to practice a few times so you know what you're doing.

I also prefer to clean my own birds, so I can see how they look inside too, so I have a baseline of comparison for a heathy bird, in case I have one that dies and I want to see if I can figure out why or what happened. (handy if you don't have some place nearby you can drop it off at to figure out what happened). it won't give you any specific answers usually, but you can notice things.

I picked up some freebie birds last fall, 4 sexlinks, 3 buff orps and a barred rock. the sexlinks were all older, not in great shape, one wheezed a lot. soon as I got home I did in the sexlinks. all 4 were HUGELY fat inside, tho they were under muscled - explains why they weren't laying for one.

the one that was wheezing was FILLED with tumors as well. she had one just below her heart/lungs that was about the size of a small grapefruit. another one was an internal layer and had bits of shell all over her insides where the eggs had apparently broken up and been resorbed but the shell stayed put. she had no mature follicles (growing yolks) on her ovary so it didn't appear that she'd laid in a while. the other 2 looked pretty normal and had a few maturing follicles, so were probably getting ready to start laying again in a week or 2.

the other girls were probably also very fat internally but went on free ranging soon as they were out of quarantine. they all gained weight and started laying again. I processed the barred rock a couple months later (bad attitudes don't stick around) and she was very meaty and not nearly as fatty inside as the others had been. 2 of the orps ended up finding other homes and the 3rd is still here, being the best momma I've ever had.

so if you have any curiosity at all, it helps to learn what they're supposed to look like inside as well as outside, so you know the difference if/when there's a problem.

 

[ki4got]

instead of editing again... LOL I 'peel' all my birds, I hate plucking and we don't eat the skin anyways... if anyone's in the Roanoke area, i'm willing to show how I do it... but you need to provide the bird(s)

 

[ki4got]

oh, and maybe a bit late, but thanks for all the responses, here and privately re: the idiot on email I posted about... I sent back a truthful email basically stating that I was offended that he'd lump me in with 'them' and that my birds were no longer for sale but had found a home already. good luck in his search for 'perfect' birds.

 

[ki4got]

fwiw, I won't be at any poultry swaps this weekend (Christiansburg's) since hubby needs the tent and I don't want to roast baby chickens on a hot open parking lot Saturday...

so if anyone's interested in easter eggers, EE eggs or anything else I've possibly got, PM me...

on the positive note, YAY! S'mee's girl laid another egg today!!! first in 3 weeks (her last egg is hatching tomorrow!) so once I get a few more to set i'll verify fertility and start offering the bantam blrw on a limited basis (4 eggs max).

now if my sfh girls would start giving me eggs too.

 

[chrishw]

Ki4got,

Ya know, I probably know you or at least would recognize your face. I'm buddies with Joe Smart and been going to the swaps for a bit now. He knows all the "old men" who hang out there being in birds almost 2 of my lifespans. If you see a chubby 40ish fellow likely with a cigar in his mouth that's me.

Blrw Bantam? Just curious what that means? Black Rose ? Bantam? Guess its time to search.