What to do with Roosters

[FlockHappy]

I'm getting new chicks this Friday from a local breeder--so they'll be straight run. I'm a little nervous about what I will do if I get a bunch of roosters. It'd seem like it'd be hard to re-home them, because most people just want hens. I know some people cook them, but I'm too queasy to butcher and clean a chicken! I'm not sure if my husband would, he's never done that before. My dad was a trapper and did lots of skinning, not sure if he'd do all that for me!

The last breed I got I didn't have this problem, because I got Dominiques and you can tell the roosters and hens apart when they're chicks...so I so happily got to tell the breeder, "I just want one rooster."

This time I'm getting Australorps and silkies....

 

[jlovelady]

Lol well using the chicken math formula you should order as many pullets as needed to accompany the excess roosters.

 

[4-H chicken mom]

You could place an ad for free roos if you end up with too many. Someone might take them. That is why I never order straight runs. Good luck.

 

[FarmTillURdead]

Post an add on Craigslist.com in the farm and garden section. It is free. But be warry of weirdos coming to your place. I have bought and sold MANY animals on there... You usually meet good people. I wouldn't give them away first (You paid to feed them!). Times are tough and someone might give you a few bucks for them to fill their freezer. - And by the time you can tell them appart from the hens they will have attitudes and you won't care where they go.

 

[Vamvakas]

Yeah lol, if you post on Craigslist about free roosters yell get around 10 calls a day..

 

[afveteran88]

Here by me there is a farm auction every two weeks. I just take them there and they bring between $4-8. I even take my un-sold eggs there and get $1.75-$2.00 per doz. The guy does take his 10% off the top but it's a guarenteed sale. Look in your area for one. www.auctionzip.com

 

[buckabucka]

If you are not opposed to eating them and just don't want to try butchering, you might find a place nearby to have them butchered. We pay $3 a bird, which I think is a bargain. The silkies you will need to rehome, as I doubt there's enough meat on there to be worth it!

 

[Smiles-N-Sunshine]

You might try checking out the BYC North Carolina page, if you haven't already. I know I'd take an Australorp roo if I lived nearby.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/91762/north-carolina

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Even with sexed chicks from hatchery you should still have a good Plan B for any unwanted roosters you might get, with straight run you definitely need to plan. It's okay if you don't want to process them for yourself, but know that is what will probably happen with some/most/all of them you sell/give away to others. Start with your BYC buds, and other chickeneers you know from your area. Post ads at your feed store if they'll allow it. Sometimes you can get a few dollars to pay you back for the feed they ate, sometimes you have to tuck $10 bills under their wings to get anyone to take them. But it's difficult to find "forever homes" for all the roosters you might get.

 

[galanie]

Just not sure why you'd post this question in the meat bird section if you don't want to eat them. But as for your question, the reality is that roosters don't lay eggs so few people need one for anything other than a meal. You're most likely to get roughly 50% males more or less so wanting that "forever home" for the extras might not be realistic unless you simply put them in their own pen and keep them there.