What do you do with unwanted Cockerels ?

[nminusyplusm]

damn that sounds like an expensive and difficult task. if it were me i would do what it takes because the cost of not doing it is higher. the whole animal exploitation system is messed up and the males are really getting a raw deal

I agree. That's why I spent a lot of time working to find the best home I could for my cockerel. Also it was 100+ degrees and I wanted to rehome him locally with as little travel time as possible. The best solution for me is to only get female chicks (which is what I did before, except one turned out to be a male) and not get straight run or fertile eggs. It's very hard to rehome roos here unless you don't care about what happens to them.

 

[Snoozeys]

I do my best to give them away in a trio !!

 

[BantyChooks]

@Enchanted1s, given the circumstances with your better half, and the FACT that rehoming roosters is problematic You have reached a logical, common sense conclusion. I applaud you.

x2

 

[oldrooster]

there is an auction house 45 min. from me that auctions off produce and livestock that is regionally grown (people drive from 2-3 hours away regularly) and they have a small animal ring that sells literally hundreds of chickens (mainly roosters) every week. try to see if you have one in your area. since you live so close to the mexican border ask any latinos in you know in your area if they or a friend would like to take the roosters off your hands. some may use them in cock fights, but I was told in certain sects of the latino culture rooster meat is considered a delicacy. you might fin out what breeds that the potential rooster owners want that also meet your needs as chicken owners.....

 

[nminusyplusm]

since you live so close to the mexican border ask any latinos in you know in your area if they or a friend would like to take the roosters off your hands. some may use them in cock fights

That's exactly why I don't want to have to rehome any more cockerels. It's a big part of the culture and maybe even the economy down here and I want no part in it.

Even though I don't eat meat, I have an enormous respect for those that do who are personally connected to the animals they raise, consume and treat with kindness. But I can't condone cruelty for any reason and have a particularly dark place in my heart for those that do it for entertainment and profit.

 

[STxChickenman]

I bet if you hang a "Free Roosters" sign up somewhere you will find plenty of takers that will take the roos off of your hands.

I once had about 10 roosters too many and didn't want to go through butchering all of them. I mentioned the roosters to a friend and he said that he knew plenty of people that would be glad to have a free rooster so he picked them all up from me and gave them away in an afternoon.

Good luck!

 

[microchick]

I have to go back and read a page or two but in asking what do you do with extra cockerels. I personally created a bachelor pen for mine.

I would love to rehome even if it meant giving them to somebody who would want them for freezer camp as I have done in the past, but unfortunately I discovered earlier this year that I have Marek's disease in my flock. That means I will not, in good conscience, let any of my birds leave my property alive and I have no desire to butcher them myself so they will spend out their lives on our farm. Since the MD has hit my roosters the hardest, I know males will trickle in and trickle out.

At the moment, I have ten young cockerels in a pen with an almost 2 year old rooster. They tussle with one another on occasions, but the OEGBs are harder on the bigger roosters then they are on one another.

 

[nminusyplusm]

I bet if you hang a "Free Roosters" sign up somewhere you will find plenty of takers that will take the roos off of your hands.

I once had about 10 roosters too many and didn't want to go through butchering all of them. I mentioned the roosters to a friend and he said that he knew plenty of people that would be glad to have a free rooster so he picked them all up from me and gave them away in an afternoon.

Good luck!

It's not the getting rid of them that's the problem, for me it's that they would definitely be used for cock fighting where I live.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I didn't read all the posts so apologies if this has all been said before.
If you give them away, there's about a 90% chance they'll be eaten. After you've raised and cared for them, you might as well reap the rewards of your efforts.
Roosters taste just like chicken.

 

[lazy gardener]

This is a question that needs to be satisfactorily answered before any responsible chicken owner plugs in an incubator or sets eggs to a broody hen.

I am not speaking directly to OP here, but speaking to ALL FLOCK OWNERS:

If you can't develop a responsible exit plan for all unwanted cockerels, find homes for any unwanted pullets, and cull any failure to thrive or deformed chicks, then you have no business hatching eggs. Once any bird leaves your property, it is no longer under your control. Many posters advertise: New home needed for this sweet rooster. Must be a forever home, and he can't be killed. Seriously? Why not just provide the "forever home" right where he is?