I second the idea of purchasing sex links or auto sexing breeds, that way you are almost assured of getting hens.
As another poster stated, often you can't give away a rooster for free. It is almost assured they are going to the stew pot. (Few regular birds are used for cock fighting...that is more of the game bird type).
If you get a male in a sexlink, take it back to the store. Most feed stores will accept rooster returns when it was their mistake. (They sold you a female sex link, they mixed the bins, and you got a male). If they don't; don't buy from them.
One good sex linked choice is Red Sexlinks, which go by different names such as Red Star, Gold Star, Gold Comets, ISA Brown. All girl chicks are hatched with gold-red foxy coloring. All male chicks hatch with yellow-white down.
Another good choice is Black Sexlinks. All males hatch with a white head dot that represents barring to come. All females hatch solid black.
Your auto-sexing birds tend to be better bought from a reliable breeder as the lines have to be kept well. Those breeds are Welsummer (added bonus of darker red-brown eggs), Cream Legbar (green-blue eggs) and Rhodebar (harder to find, tinted eggs). Breeders however often will not accept returns as they are concerned with bio-security of their breeding flocks.
The final option, if you do end up with a pleasant rooster, is put a No Crow collar on him. They work very well (after you've fiddled with it for a couple of days). You can purchase them for about $20 on My Pet Chicken. (You can make homemade collars, but, honestly, the quality of the No Crow makes it worth the $20).
Do be aware that many roosters can become aggressive, and not all flocks should have a rooster.
LofMc
