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

[JacinLarkwell]

That's the important part I think. So many people lie about it and say "they'll free range over my 90 acres with creeks etc" - but don't tell you they plan on eating them.

My wife won't eat anything we raise here (she's near enough to becoming vegetarian, so I don't want to push it!), so processing them here isn't really an option. I'd love to eat them like I did as a kid, but short of that I'm not one to give someone else a free meal from my hard work (except for the needy, of course). So, I give to local zoos to feed to their carnivorous animals; they need them whole (guts and entrails, gizzards and beaks) and I have what they're looking for!

The zoo is a great idea!

 

[CrazyCochin]

We keep every single one of them, all 10, and they all each have their own pens where they reside. We have 2 1/2 acres, so we have built many pens over the seven years we’ve been raising chickens, and started raising ducks later on.

Three roosters reside with our large hen flock in there kingdom of a pen, four have their own large bachelor pad pen where they reside with our bachelor drakes, one has his own small flock of hens in his own pen, and the two last ones have their own large pen as well.

 

[fishygirl25]

I took my 2 cockerels back to the hatchery from which they came last Saturday. The owners say they rehome the roosters. I cried because they were so sweet and I miss them so much.

 

[Bill752]

When I ran my hatchery I advertised using index cards at the feed stores, laundromats, & wherever there was a message board. I also took advantage of the free advertising that some local radio station had & still have. Plus I advertised in the local newspaper & word of mouth advertising can't be beat when you're offering a qualified product. We got our 1st rooster from a friend who took the number down off his radio of a lady that was offering free roosters & he knew we needed one but we no longer had a radio when my radio alarm clock was no longer needed. Facebook local swap groups don't allow advertising livestock so I advertised by posting what I have on my wall & now sell out weekly. I thought about expanding my flock to try & meet demand but had to agree with my wife that my health isn't good enough to take care of more chickens & this will be my last flock.

 

[Bill752]

When I ran my hatchery I advertised using index cards at the feed stores, laundromats, & wherever there was a message board. I also took advantage of the free advertising that some local radio station had & still have. Plus I advertised in the local newspaper & word of mouth advertising can't be beat when you're offering a qualified product. We got our 1st rooster from a friend who took the number down off his radio of a lady that was offering free roosters & he knew we needed one but we no longer had a radio when my radio alarm clock was no longer needed. Facebook local swap groups don't allow advertising livestock so I advertised by posting what I have on my wall & now sell out weekly. I thought about expanding my flock to try & meet demand but had to agree with my wife that my health isn't good enough to take care of more chickens & this will be my last flock.

I think I found a better solution, look at this advertisement for a collar & create your own if you want to save some money but they do offer free shipping. https://www.mypetchicken.com/catalo...MIwLLtotmz8gIVhdrICh0uKwSyEAQYASABEgI7MPD_BwE

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I think I found a better solution, look at this advertisement for a collar & create your own if you want to save some money but they do offer free shipping. https://www.mypetchicken.com/catalo...MIwLLtotmz8gIVhdrICh0uKwSyEAQYASABEgI7MPD_BwE

How is that link related to the post you quoted?

 

[Bill752]

How is that link related to the post you quoted?

My previous post wasn't a quote of any kind so allow me to quote me now, " look at this advertisement for a collar" & the link is an advertisement for a "No-Crow Rooster Collar." You can find youtube videos of people that demonstrate their effectiveness. Here's a link on a youtube demonstration,

Now, there is another desperate method to quiet a rooster that is quarantined to work BUT I would NOT recommend it & yet it might be a solution for somebody. I have never done it, but those with peafowl know how noisy they are & can be heard from over a mile. What some do is have the vocal cords removed. Myself, I would order older pullets if I couldn't have a crowing rooster, but I can have as many roosters as I care to feed & currently have 5 for breeding purposes with 2 in the chicken pen & pasture & 3 in the backyard. Why would I mention something that I don't recommend? Because it's safe, effective, & we live in a free country where we can choose what is right for us & just because it isn't right for me because it's unnecessary doesn't mean it isn't right for someone else.

 

[Chickenma2021]

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 would look on Kijiji. I have seen lots of people taking in unwanted cockerels/roosters. If you cant find that in your area I would also try to sell him on Kijiji or any other selling app. Don't recommend going to the humane society.

 

[fishygirl25]

I considered the no crow collar but several chicken keepers reported that their roosters had died choking on their feed with the collar so I decided not to do that.

 

[RooStar Chicken Gang]

The zoo is a great idea!

This is a good idea, for anyone who is interested in a story about giving animals to zoos, when I lived in the suburbs I had a neighbour who would go out hunting in the bush, one day him and his daughter killed an emu to eat (they are big flightless birds) soon after they did this, they noticed a group of baby emus come rushing out from nearby shrubs, about five or six of them. So now they felt bad one baby even tried to jump into the fire when they cooked there mum that night, they they gave that one the name Singy, because it got burnt a little. They brought these birds back to the suburbs, and had them in there yard, I got to play with them, they where cute stripy things. But they get really big so they donated em to a local zoo, it does like safari bus tours and stuff. And that's where they live still.. if they are still live.