What do you do with cockerels that you can’t keep?

Pics

Courtneydelphia

Songster
Apr 28, 2019
82
133
111
I’m not sure where to post this, sorry if this isn’t the right place. But I have a 7 week old Olive Egger cockerel. He did a cute little baby voice CHICK A DOODLE DOO this morning. Not loud, but it was obvious. We cannot have roosters where we live. I have posted him on Craigslist, various local chicken/farm groups on FB, and MeWe. The humane society here doesn’t take “livestock”. I do not know what to do with this bird. I’d rather if he didn’t go to someone that was going to eat him (he’s so small anyway), but I’m getting desperate. I did find a rooster rescue group, but they require you to forfeit your entire flock and sign a contract saying you’ll never get more chickens and basically commit to being vegan 🙄. I know lots of folks on here have ended up with accidental cockerels - what did you end up doing?
 
I did find a rooster rescue group, but they require you to forfeit your entire flock and sign a contract saying you’ll never get more chickens and basically commit to being vegan 🙄.
They can't be serious!! :eek:

If you acquired the chicks (all pullets or straight run?) from a feed store (TSC or similar), you might ask them to take him back or at least have your note advertising him in the store.
 
I’m not sure where to post this, sorry if this isn’t the right place. But I have a 7 week old Olive Egger cockerel. He did a cute little baby voice CHICK A DOODLE DOO this morning. Not loud, but it was obvious. We cannot have roosters where we live. I have posted him on Craigslist, various local chicken/farm groups on FB, and MeWe. The humane society here doesn’t take “livestock”. I do not know what to do with this bird. I’d rather if he didn’t go to someone that was going to eat him (he’s so small anyway), but I’m getting desperate. I did find a rooster rescue group, but they require you to forfeit your entire flock and sign a contract saying you’ll never get more chickens and basically commit to being vegan 🙄. I know lots of folks on here have ended up with accidental cockerels - what did you end up doing?
Have you asked your milkman if he knows anyone that will have him or any local petting farms.
 
I have posted him on Craigslist, various local chicken/farm groups on FB, and MeWe.
This is a good start. As mentioned above, see if you can out up a notice in your feed store, many of them have bulletin boards. Also, go to this section on this forum and make a post there. Put your LOCATION in the title to get the right people's attention.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/animals-in-need-of-free-re-homing.16182/

The more restrictions you put on it the harder it is to get someone to take him. If you say "Free to a good home where he will die of old age" you may have problems but you'll probably get more takers if it's "Free 7 week old olive egger cockerel" and put no restrictions. Also, once he's gone you have lost control. That's hard for some people to accept.
 
Most cockerels do find their way to the dinner table, and home raised birds should have nice lives until those final moments. Way better than the commercial meat birds at the grocery store!
Another option would be a local small farm animal auction, or swap, if there's something like that in your area. Again, you have no control after he's sold, but it will remove him from your property, where he can't stay.
We raise straight run chicks, and every year we agonize over who stays, and who has to leave. It's part of having chickens, especially part of raising your own.
Mary
 
Have you asked your milkman if he knows anyone that will have him or any local petting farms.

Milkman? There are still milkmen running around out there somewhere?
Dumb And Dumber Kool GIF
 
We have local farms that will take free roos for dinner. If you have a wildlife rescue or raptor rescue nearby they might accept a dinner donation too.

You might not like this answer but simply cutting his head off and burying him under a bush as fertilizer (if you can't stand the thought of eating him) is perfectly fine as well.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom