What do you do with your cockerels?

[happymorrows]

I am interested in hatching some fuzzy butts in the future. What do you all do with your extra fellas? I know the options are, give away, sell, or dinner. Which do you do, what works for you? I think it would be hard to kill babies that I raised, and I can't imagine it is easy to give them away either. What do YOU do with yours?

 

[sonew123]

I do all 3 options. I try and sell them first-for a month-then I try and give them away for a month then I butcher them:-( I can usually get rid of 1/2 before I have to butcher but like I said in another thread-as heartbreaking as it is to butcher chicks you've raised since eggs-I would have had over 30+ roosters heading into winter!! I only needed them for my breeding pens-not my egg eating coop so I dont need that many:-(

 

[1littlefarmer]

I do the same. And I never give the roosters names. We gave our first two names and it made it much harder to have them on the kitchen table...

 

[1 Bad Rotti]

Copy that Roger, I do the same as well. Just get attached to the pullets & try to realize early on that the roos might become supper.

 

[WestKnollAmy]

I hatch year around and I always have roos to go i the freezer. part of nature and the rotten luck of having so many roos. It has gotten eaasier over time to dress them out but the killing cone is still hard for DH and I.
The roos always seem to want to be pets, too! i do keep any exceptional roos for breeding or possible thoughts thereof but sometimes by a year old I realize they are not going to be used and still wind up in the freezer. Even some that did not do well in the breeding pen.

 

[Cindiloohoo]

I do all 3 as well. I kind of think most folks do. Otherwise as much of a hatch habit as some of us have, chicken would be the only meat some of us eat! I sell some, give away some, and then when the leftovers are big enough, slaughter some for the freezer. It's the best system of managing the roos IMO.

 

[puredelite]

The ones that are not fortunate enough to be used in my breeding program or sold must face the inevitable and go to Camp Freezer. We prefer to eat not only meat but also veggies and fruit that we know the past history of!

 

[2468Chickensrgr8]

I have a fantastic older Italian neighbour that will pick one for himself and take the rest to cull and use them to make broth out of ......Love thy neighbour ....He's coming over for some drakes soon .....

 

[featherz]

I've found it pretty easy to rehome large fowl roosters - the people who get them can use them as flock daddies or eat them. I don't eat chicken, so that's out. Not sure what to do with bantam or silkie roos, tho - I think my only option is to rehome those in pairs - some people will take a roo if there is a hen included in the deal so that's always an option!

 

[chicks4kids]

We process our roos. I can do more with a bird on the table than the $5 in my pocket. People around here practically have to give them away to get rid of 'em. With my time and $$ into them, I'd rather keep them right here.