what do you do with your illegal roosters?

[MISS MILLIE]

Quote:
Chances are, the feed store likely got them from one of the commercial hatcheries.

Good luck!

they said they get their chicks from local hatcheries within a 100 mile radius. I googled hatcheries in our area and cant find any. I have this idea in my head that places like McMurray and Ideal, etc, pay the big bucks for the best sexers and the smaller hatcheries dont, so the feed store chicks must have a higher % of cockerels. I have no basis for this, just my own circular logic.

 

[Akane]

Big hatcheries probably try to find the cheapest labor just like small hatcheries. Both probably use experienced local raisers of chickens. Most likely they are equal in ability. Half the feedstores get their chicks from big hatcheries anyway. Especially a nationwide chain. Only small local feedstores around here get their chicks from small local hatcheries. I've never gotten a roo from a feedstore even the ones using smaller hatcheries.

If I hatch roos I butcher them as soon as I can tell. It's a lot less work especially if you have to do it inside to butcher a small chicken like you would a quail. For quail I just empty a side of the kitchen sink, point down, and chop the head off with gamebird shears. Make sure to keep pointing down and you have no mess. You can skin or pluck and remove internal organs in the house easily as well without having it everywhere. You should see the mess I make in the yard doing just a couple full size roos in comparison to the 10minute cleanup I have from doing a dozen quail or small roos in the kitchen sink.

If you can't butcher you can most easily give a roo away while selling extra hens. I have a heck of a time giving away just roos but if I offer a pair of a certain breed or a bunch of hens for $10/each plus however many roos they want then I get a ton of responses. Always buy or hatch extra pullets if you want to most easily get rid of roos without butchering them. You'll get back a little money in the process since pullets can be sold.

 

[chicknjane]

Quote:
I'll remember you said that. Im in Morrisville, we could meet in the middle in Allentown and do a hand off!

My husband drives to Allentown every weekend. So it wouldn't be a problem and I'd even swap you a hen. I've got Welsummers, Dominiques, Barred Rocks and RIR who are just about to start laying. They hatched 10/18/09.

Another option is to talk to your feed store. I bought an additional two pullets last spring and one ended up as a rooster, they offered to replace him, unfortunately, I was already in love with him so I just bought more pullets.

 

[MISS MILLIE]

ChicknJane, i told my husband about the idea to trade. He started laughing because we dont even know if we have a rooster in the mix (although Im sure theres a good chance- seems to happen to everybody else who buys all pullets, right? LOL). I would totally be up for it. A barred rock or an EE would seem to be the most likely culprit- if that interests you, I would be interested in a Welsummer- they lay dark brown eggs, right?

 

[chicknjane]

Well, Miss Millie, tell your husband it doesn't hurt to be prepared. Barred Rocks are easy to distinguish because their combs will show distinctive points and be larger and redder than the rest. You should be able to tell by 4 - 5 weeks. The EE's, I've never had any, but from what I've learned on BYC, its hard to tell until they actuall start crowing. You might be able to tell from the feathers, but I've never been able to guess right with them.

The welsummers supposedly lay a terra cotta egg. Mine haven't started laying yet, but I don't expect any variation from that as they are from MPC stock.

Just pm me when you know for certain if you have a secret roo in the mix.

Marcy

 

[cmom]

I have been lucky out of 45 birds (pullets) I ordered from a hatchery, only one turned out to be a Roo. I agree the feed stores probably get them from a hatchery. You can ask them which hatchery they use. Some feed stores do sell chicks that have been hatched out by their customers and then it would be a straight run and you may get more Roos. The males do start maturing faster than the girls. You will notice the males combs seem to start developing before girls do.

 

[augustmomx2]

I post mine on CL...with a statement of "a great roo or a great dinner"

This year, we are raising meaties, so if we get any random roos in our pullet mix...I'll send them to the processor along with the meaties...even if they are only 1/2 the cornish x's size