What to do with roosters?

AuntieE

Chirping
8 Years
Mar 11, 2011
107
0
99
Philipsburg, PA
I bought 6 straight run black australorps from TSC in March- and 4 turned out to be roos. One a friend already took for breeding, and I have one more that is beautiful and am going to try to sell on Craig's List. But I don't know what to do about the other 2. Napoleon is the runt and since he was a week old chick has been prone to seizures. He doesn't have any other problems- eats/drinks well, and gets along with the others pretty well. He isn't as friendly with people as the others are (not aggressive though) and tries, without success, to run the roost. Hence the name Napoleon. Moe is my other roo, very friendly and docile. But about half the size of my "normal" rooster. He seemed to be growing normally until he had an impacted crop. We worked through that and it's been a month. He looks healthy except that he's just not getting any larger. I can't keep them- the neighbors are too close. I don't know if I should consider culling them, or see if I can find a home for them. I would probably cull the runt, but I just can't get up the nerve to do it.

Any advice?
 
if your runt has problems he might not be able to crow see if he is a quiet roo before you cull him. Im not trying to be rude but to me that is like picking on people who have problems. As far as your other roo goes try and find a home before cull him. I think that every animal deseves there chance at life before it has to end!
 
Yummy - I'm not a vegetarian, so I am ok in making sure the animal lives a life as good as possible, and dies as pain free as possible, with the body used to feed other bodies!
 
I hope that I can speak frankly without upsetting you, or ruffling your feathers. Those chicks that you have grown so fond of need to be removed from the gene pool because they have extremely undesirable traits to pass on. Since jungle fowl, man has been trying to improve chickens. This is just your part in insuring that modern chickens lines stay healthy. It is the epitome of responsible animal husbandry to decipher which animals will be the best examples to live...and the best examples to die. It is how black australorps came to be. This precept is how modern man is able to live in such health and comfort. We all stand on the shoulders of agriculture pioneers. We benefit daily from what they did for mankind. This is just your continuation of their foresight.

A wood broom handle makes a good tool to cull chickens with. Crack them good and they will never even feel a thing.

You were called to have it in your heart to raise chickens. This is part of that calling.
 
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Comparing a chicken with a human? Forgive me, but this is not even in the same ball park. The animal deserves to be taken out of the gene pool, a chicken that has seizures is not like a little girl that has epilepsy.
 
Everyone who says they "cull" do not kill the birds. Culling basically is removing them from your flock for whatever reason. Culling can be killing, processing for food, or rehoming.

Just because I cull a bird does NOT mean I have killed it. I have just removed it from my breeding selection. Sometimes I even cull them from future breedings due to undesirable characteristics & they just go into my layer pen.

Sometimes, my silkie culls are perfectly good breeders.....I cull them from the show flock and put them in the breeder flock.

If you can't keep the roosters though, I hope you find the best solution for you
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Thanks for the advice everyone
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I've had mixed emotions about killing the runt just because he has physical issues- read Charlotte's Web too many times I guess. lol I don't want to be cruel, but I agree with Sweetwater Clyde that we should not be adding his genes into future generations. If he were a hen I would just keep him without a second thought, but I do not want any more chicks (I'm failing at chicken math,too), and I don't want a potentially aggressive roo around my kids. I have a friend who will take my "normal" rooster to her MIL for freezer camp. She may take the other 2 as well. We'll see how that goes. Before I bought them I had a friend who said he would take any roosters I ended up with for dinner, but has now changed his mind and just taken one for breeding purposes. To be fair, I don't know that the 2 little ones would be so good for eating...anyway, this wasn't an issue I thought I was going to have to deal with.

Sooo, long story short- they will definitely not be staying here, it's just a matter of whose going to process them.
 
I'm in luck- friend's MIL will take all of them. She's experienced with chickens, so she will be able to deal with whatever issues are there.
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