What if I were to PAY you to adopt my rooster?

[LittleMamaBigPapa]

That is a possibilty, Wanda, but for me personally, when I sell or purchase off Craiglist I never meet people at their home or let them come to mine. I meet in a busy public place for safety.

 

[babyblue]

if somebody is going to spend the time and money shipping a bird they arnt going to eat him. whatever yahoo you find on craigslist is a thousand times more likely to lie and tell you of the wonderfull home the birds going to.

 

[Wanda]

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Your right, better safe then sorry. I did hear of someone placing a chicken off craigslist but they took a friend with them and just checked out the chicken coop, didn't go in the persons home. It is also a good point that someone who wants a rooster isn't going to pay to have them shipped when they could get them free locally.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

This is the Reality of Life for chickens. In a well-balanced mixed flock the ideal ratio is 1:10-12. And many flocks are kept with only hens. Therefore there are "job positions" for a mere 10% of all roosters hatched. A full 90% or more of them have their purpose on a plate. No matter how handsome or well-mannered they are. Unless it's a rooster of extremely exceptional quality, or one of the few remaining individuals of an almost extinct breed, or one who has distinguished himself by rescuing children from burning buildings, I wouldn't ever spend money to have him shipped through the mail. I wouldn't even want to spend the gas money to drive very far to pick him up for free.

There really are worse things that could happen to a rooster than to provide nourishment for a grateful human family. I have learned to process my own excess roosters and now never have to wonder what to do with unwanted roos. They enjoy excellent care and a fine quality of life while they're here, and receive kind & gentle handling up to the moment they meet their quick & humane end.

Commercial hatcheries that produce the White Leghorns for the egg industry have no other outlet for their male chicks than to process them right after hatch and probably sell them & other byproducts as fertilizer or pet food. There is a demand for laying hens and breeders have developed a bird that can be sexed at hatch and whose females are high-output layers. But they're really not a dual-purpose bird, the males are not efficient feed-to-meat converters, and it's not economical to do anything else with them but dispatch them right after hatch. You can take comfort in knowing that they meet their end quickly & humanely. It's a sad reality, especially for us who especially love chickens. But it's a result of a market demand for cheap white eggs and products made from them. Think of that the next time you order an egg sandwich from a fast-food dollar menu.

Mrbstevens, I wish you success in finding a new home for your roo. But you may have to take a "don't ask/don't tell" approach with your recipient as far as their plans for this bird.

 

[squeakyballs]

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That is a funny way to put it, but I still feel bad for the poor roosters. I wish they were like alligators and the temperature of egg incubation would determine the sex of the hatch.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

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If that were possible you can be sure all the commercial hatcheries would be doing that! I feel bad for the roos too, but you really do have to dispatch them in order to eat them, otherwise they keep jumping out of the soup pot or walking away from the plate. I figure I can feel bad for having to dispatch such handsome birds, or I can be glad that my food comes wrapped in such attractive packages!

 

[mrbstephens]

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Didn't you say you put an ad on Craigslist? But you want to "know" the person? Unless you follow them home, you wont know for sure what will happen to him....Patandchickens made several good comments above....the fact is, very few people want a rooster for the pure joy of having a rooster because of the reasons Pat stated. It is obvious you are very torn about having to find a home because you really don't want to. I sure hope for your peace of mind that you are able to move to some farm land.


Best of luck to you

With the few people I did speak to who had responded to my add on Craigslist I gave quizzes. Asking things like how long have you had chickens, how many do you have, what breeds are they etc and I insisted on bringing the rooster to them. That way if I saw something I didn't like I'd have the option of turning around and going back home.

 

[peggym]

I'm here in upstate NY, I'd take him but already have two, with three more coming. If he chases your kid that's bad!!!! When any of the ones I've had did that I grab them and hold them upside down for a few secs. Then I put them back down, they wander away very confused about what happened. but a life in a cage is no way to live either! I've only had to put down one roo! He was my beautiful black langshan! He wasn't so much chasing people, he broke 2 of my girls necks mounting them. I decided that was counter-productive!!!!!