What to do with too many Roos???

[Dianne Hess]

I am new to chickens and purchased my first 5 at 2 days old (Silkies and Fizzles). Of course it was straight run and I found myself with 4 roos and 1 hen. They are now about 11 weeks old and things are getting stressful. I have tried rehoming on every site out there - FB sites, Craigs List even my vet office. I am in a rural area with lots of farms and still no takers. NO ONE WANTS A ROO! So what is not being said out there? I can't be the only one this has happened to with all the straight runs I see for sale. I don't have space to set them up separately. The person who I purchased them from said she cannot take any chickens back onto her property or she would loose her certification.

Do I take them to my vet to be euthanized? I don't want to wake up with pecked out eyes or bloody chickens.

 

[Evelyn Walker]

Are you fine with eating them? If so, I suggest separating them or the hen until butcher so they're not pestering her. Not sure how much meat they would have on them, but it's better than going to waste.

 

[onvirginiasoil]

I am new to chickens and purchased my first 5 at 2 days old (Silkies and Fizzles). Of course it was straight run and I found myself with 4 roos and 1 hen. They are now about 11 weeks old and things are getting stressful. I have tried rehoming on every site out there - FB sites, Craigs List even my vet office. I am in a rural area with lots of farms and still no takers. NO ONE WANTS A ROO! So what is not being said out there? I can't be the only one this has happened to with all the straight runs I see for sale. I don't have space to set them up separately. The person who I purchased them from said she cannot take any chickens back onto her property or she would loose her certification.

Do I take them to my vet to be euthanized? I don't want to wake up with pecked out eyes or bloody chickens.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

You can process and wat, process and use for your own pet food, process and gove away for human/pet consumption, give away for someone to process for their pets (raw feeders), contact wildlife rehabbers/birds of prey centers in your area, etc.
Euthanizing at the vet would be costly and leave you with wasted remains, imo, but they are your birds

 

[onvirginiasoil]

DO advertise on Craigslist. List your roosters by their breeds. Put a price on them. I doubt you want to see them killed for food, so offer them for, say, $25 apiece.

This has NOTHING to do with the money. But people appreciate what they pay for. If you sound in an ad as though the roosters are worth nothing, that is exactly what the reader will think. If I had silkies as hens, for example, I might want a male silkie, and yes I'd be willing to pay.

I have placed roosters on Craigslist before. I gave the money from the sales to two animal welfare organizations. You need to know how to write it, that's all. But before you write it, you need to understand in your own mind what a wondrous addition to someone else's flocks these little roosters could be.

In the future: I realize you're new to chicks, but be sure to do your research on identifying sex in your breed of choice. Avoid the straight-run table if you are wanting pullets. Even when looking at pullets, however, you'll have to know about the breed and the characteristics of the female babies vs. the males. The first time I bought chicks, I asked for help, and it was disastrous. The young woman employee could see I was an animal lover, and although I noticed she picked out all the biggest chicks, I didn't know what that meant. I ended up with 4 roos and 2 pullets from a pullet-designated table. The last time I bought chicks, all six were females. And that is with a mix of three heritage breeds, not "sex-linked" breeds. Just do your research and resist all influence from employees who have a vested interest in your choices.

You can find very good homes for your roos. Just don't undervalue them. You'll do fine.

 

[50-45-1]

When i RELLY need to get rid of excess roosters i list them in the free section of craigslist and even then dont always get takers.
I am sorry you are in this perdicument.
i have had to butcher good friendly roosters that i tried very hard to find a flock family for because i knew they had great dispositions.
I just dont need more than one rooster myself.
I hatch chicks under my broodies and half turn out to be roosters.
All the ideas above are good. You can only do your best.
BTW the rooster i have now was a freebie off craigslist. A beautiful americana named Ringo. My previous rooster was culled due to meanness and abusue to hens he did not like.

 

[Perris]

You have my sympathies Diane; it's not a nice place to be . As for next steps, there are threads and articles on here and YouTube videos offering guidance on how to dispatch birds humanely, for you or someone you know to follow if you can't sell or give them away. Your single hen will need you to do something, soon.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Another place to try posting is your local feed store, mine keeps a posted list of cockerels and roosters looking for homes. We also have a local farm that'll take cockerels as dinner donations to feed their staff, though it sounds like in your area everyone just provides for themselves.

 

[Dianne Hess]

You have my sympathies Diane; it's not a nice place to be . As for next steps, there are threads and articles on here and YouTube videos offering guidance on how to dispatch birds humanely, for you or someone you know to follow if you can't sell or give them away. Your single hen will need you to do something, soon.

Thank you so very much. As I indicated they are in the 3 month old range and Silkies/Frizzles . They weigh about 6 ounces each so the suggestions to take them to butcher wasn't that helpful. I'm going to continue to monitor behaviors for the next couple weeks to #1 - confirm who hopefully is a girl and who is a boy and #2 take action on what needs to be done. I'm OK with having to do this I just wanted to reach out to what others have done.

 

[Perris]

it is tough, but sadly it is also necessary sometimes.