What do you do with unwanted Cockerels ?

[RoostersAreAwesome]

just let them go after u can tell their gender

Letting the cockerels go would be just as cruel as letting a pet dog go. They will most likely get killed or fatally wounded by predators in the first few weeks, if not days. But, if they somehow don't get eaten by predators, then they will probably contract disease and parasites and transfer it to other flocks and then die slowly from it. There's also a possibly of them starving to death, if they live that long.

 

[Alleybird21]

I'm sorry if i offended anyone. it might not work for other people where it might not be so ideal but for me it does so I'm sorry if i offended or did anything of the sort.

 

[Ms Biddy]

I'd like to share my rooster rehoming experience. We had a big showy easter egger rooster who we couldn't keep. He had long spurs but was very gentle. Rather than butchering him, we gave him to a family that wanted to add him to their flock. Instead of introducing him slowly they just let him go and the other roosters immediately beat him up and ran him off. They drove him out into predator infested woods where he surely suffered and ended up dead. I was p*ssed and couldn't believe he was treated so carelessly. We had raised him from a chick and his life ended in fear and pain. He would have been better off butchered here, quickly and humanely. Rehoming is only as good as the home you can find.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I'm sorry if i offended anyone. it might not work for other people where it might not be so ideal but for me it does so I'm sorry if i offended or did anything of the sort.

No worries on my part. I wasn't really offended.
In my classes, I always warn people to take what is written about poultry care with a grain of salt. They are usually written by someone, however knowledgeable, who is basing advice on husbandry from their experience in a specific location. Having experienced raising birds in a wide range of climates and geographic locales, 'one size definitely doesn't fit all'.
You wouldn't house birds the same way in Minnesota or Alaska as you would in Texas or Mexico. Free range will be different in Maine and Costa Rica. Some parts of the world have few or no predators. Others, like where I am now have a parade of animals waiting to eat chickens.

I'd like to share my rooster rehoming experience. We had a big showy easter egger rooster who we couldn't keep. He had long spurs but was very gentle. Rather than butchering him, we gave him to a family that wanted to add him to their flock. Instead of introducing him slowly they just let him go and the other roosters immediately beat him up and ran him off. They drove him out into predator infested woods where he surely suffered and ended up dead. I was p*ssed and couldn't believe he was treated so carelessly. We had raised him from a chick and his life ended in fear and pain. He would have been better off butchered here, quickly and humanely. Rehoming is only as good as the home you can find.

X2.
As unpleasant as the job is, along with the desire for your unwanted bird to have a fresh start, I still vote for butchering and using the fruits of your labor. Once one sells chicks or gives a rooster away, their care is out of one's hands.
I do have a list of people I will no longer sell birds to.

 

[Enchanted1s]

Thanks to all of you for the replies. Since we are just getting started with chickens, I have had lots of questions and learned a lot from BYC! Since acquiring a hen and then a rooster, I wanted some hens that would be more like pets. My first thought was to hatch a few eggs from the hen - but then I knew we wanted hens, no more roosters - thus the question. We couldn't even 'just let go' of the two that basically flew over the fence and chose us! I could never willingly abandon an animal. I don't think I could cull one (time will tell I suppose). Anyway, we ordered three baby hens and are excited for our new 'chicken' adventure!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Baby hens are pullets.

 

[Alleybird21]

lol I have 3 of them they are so pretty

 

[tuesdaylove]

I personally try to re-home them to a place where I feel that they're going to be treated well. If I can't find such a home, I keep them. It's not easy and I've had to stop breeding chickens because of it -- I don't want any bird I raised getting eaten, and I can't eat them. I kept an insanely aggressive Cochin roo for five years because I knew anyone else would kill him. I successfully re-homed one young non-aggressive cockerel through Craigslist.

 

[Alleybird21]

Thanks to all of you for the replies. Since we are just getting started with chickens, I have had lots of questions and learned a lot from BYC! Since acquiring a hen and then a rooster, I wanted some hens that would be more like pets. My first thought was to hatch a few eggs from the hen - but then I knew we wanted hens, no more roosters - thus the question. We couldn't even 'just let go' of the two that basically flew over the fence and chose us! I could never willingly abandon an animal. I don't think I could cull one (time will tell I suppose). Anyway, we ordered three baby hens and are excited for our new 'chicken' adventure!

hope u like your chicken experience and enjoy it chickens sure are a blessing from God

 

[KentuckyRooster]

It depends what they are too. I have serama and no problem finding homes for cocks is expected in this breed. However your more common breeds especially large birds and mixes, you aren't going to be able to home easily and will probably need to butcher. If you can't deal with the reality of that, then enjoy them as pets and don't hatch eggs.