When to re-home?

[WallyBirdie]

I have never re-homed a roo before. Never needed to. At this point, I still don't, but if it comes to that later-

When?
How?
Where?

I know there is a forum on here for that. But I just need a little info from people who are more experienced.

I have three male turkens that are one month-old. I am keeping at least one. In the future, one or two may need to go.

What factors should I take into account before deciding to re-home?
How can I be sure that the bird(s) won't be eaten?
Are people more likely to take interest if they are free or sold for a low price?

Free is always something that grabs attention, but paying for it usually means people put a little more value/care into it.

I've never re-homed a roo or cockerel before. I know I can't logically keep tabs on them once they're gone. But I still want to be reassured...

I had a promising home lined up for a 'just in case' scenario, but I vetoed it after learning that they lost several chickens due to predators in a very short span of time.

Predators are everywhere. I know. But there are precautions that can be taken...

 

[Acre4Me]

We’ve used a livestock auction to get rid of our excess males. We googled “livestock auction near me” in maps and that is how we found one. We have sold 4month and 10 month old males in a cold January auction and made about $8 avg per bird. We recently sold 5 month old males and they sold for $9.50-$13.50 each. One thing I did was to cage them separately, and label them with hatch date/age, source (name and location if breeder/hatchery), and egg color genetics. Figuring that a person looking to add to their living flock may be more interested bc more care was taken in presenting them. No doubt some males are sent to the dinner table, but at $10+ each, my hope is that they went to live a little longer.

Other ideas we had: post on community board at feed store. CL or Fb. FB does not allow selling animals, so you need to find a local chicken group page or similar, like homesteading, and you may be able to post there. I liked the auction bc I did not have to try to coordinate with anyone or have to meet them, etc as my schedule is variable.

Once an animal leaves your possession, you don’t have control on what happens. Even if you are told one thing, something different may happen.

 

[BYCforlife]

Sell then to @CP Chicken maybe.

 

[WallyBirdie]

We’ve used a livestock auction to get rid of our excess males. We googled “livestock auction near me” in maps and that is how we found one. We have sold 4month and 10 month old males in a cold January auction and made about $8 avg per bird. We recently sold 5 month old males and they sold for $9.50-$13.50 each. One thing I did was to cage them separately, and label them with hatch date/age, source (name and location if breeder/hatchery), and egg color genetics. Figuring that a person looking to add to their living flock may be more interested bc more care was taken in presenting them. No doubt some males are sent to the dinner table, but at $10+ each, my hope is that they went to live a little longer.

Other ideas we had: post on community board at feed store. CL or Fb. FB does not allow selling animals, so you need to find a local chicken group page or similar, like homesteading, and you may be able to post there. I liked the auction bc I did not have to try to coordinate with anyone or have to meet them, etc as my schedule is variable.

Once an animal leaves your possession, you don’t have control on what happens. Even if you are told one thing, something different may happen.

Thank you for the suggestio, but I am not looking to re-home just yet. If it comes to that, the most ideal solution would be to find someone who wants to add to their longterm flock.
I will not be knowingly sending my birds off to someone's dinner table.

My question wasn't simply where to send the birds, but also when is re-homing necessary? And is there a good age for that? What factors determine that a bird needs to go?

 

[WallyBirdie]

Sell then to @CP Chicken maybe.

Haha, thank you! If I need to re-home my birds, they would certainly do best with someone who'd love them!

 

[Acre4Me]

Thank you for the suggestio, but I am not looking to re-home just yet. If it comes to that, the most ideal solution would be to find someone who wants to add to their longterm flock.
I will not be knowingly sending my birds off to someone's dinner table.

My question wasn't simply where to send the birds, but also when is re-homing necessary? And is there a good age for that? What factors determine that a bird needs to go?

They become overall jerks around 16-20 weeks, and throw in their crowing, and that’s about when you’ll be wanting them gone, and so will the hens and pullets.

 

[WallyBirdie]

They become overall jerks around 16-20 weeks, and throw in their crowing, and that’s about when you’ll be wanting them gone, and so will the hens and pullets.

I like the crowing and live rural. Noise is not an issue. My current cockerels and roo aren't too much trouble. But I hatched a few.They will only need re-homed if they become a problem.
If I can keep them, I'd like to. I have plenty 9f hens/pullets and space. I just want to be aware of what constitutes the need to re-home.
I don't want to be blindsided later. I want to be prepared.

 

[lomine]

Cull them from the flock when they start causing stress to the others. Hormonal cockerels will harass pullets/hens and if you have multiple they may start fighting. Most cockerels will start by latching on to the head feathers of the pullets. The pullets will squawk and if you're lucky your rooster or a hen will come and put the cockerel in his place. Of course this behavior is normal for them. The problem ones are the ones that don't learn. They'll continue to chase the girls or fight. I think with observation you'll know which ones are the ones that need to go.

If you are dead set on not selling/giving to someone who will eat them, you may want to look into keeping an all rooster flock. Especially if you keep hatching eggs. There are only so many people who need or want males.

 

[sourland]

To assure proper care and a lifetime home for your cockerels, it may be necessary to form an all rooster flock separate and away from the hens.

 

[WallyBirdie]

Cull them from the flock when they start causing stress to the others. Hormonal cockerels will harass pullets/hens and if you have multiple they may start fighting. Most cockerels will start by latching on to the head feathers of the pullets. The pullets will squawk and if you're lucky your rooster or a hen will come and put the cockerel in his place. Of course this behavior is normal for them. The problem ones are the ones that don't learn. They'll continue to chase the girls or fight. I think with observation you'll know which ones are the ones that need to go.

If you are dead set on not selling/giving to someone who will eat them, you may want to look into keeping an all rooster flock. Especially if you keep hatching eggs. There are only so many people who need or want males.

I had one naughty cockerel this year (my pullets that I bought had a couple cockerels thrown in by accident). I handled him with observation, intervention, and 'chicken jail' time outs. He now behaves like a gentleman.

My turken lady has never gone broody before until this year. So we let her sit on a few eggs. The hatch was successful qnd exciting, but we hatches 3 males and 2 females.
If the males don't fight, I'd like to keep them.
If they do, they'll need a new home.

I don't plan to keep breeding, so there shouldn't be more surprises.

I don't want them eaten. I hope I can find a good home for them if it comes to it.