where do roosters go?

[Fred's Hens]

Actually, most never get the chance to become stew or dumplings. The hatcheries dispatch them by the thousands.

 

[stuckinthecity]

Wouldn't it make more sense for hatcheries to have a "cockeral day" or something where you could go up there and get as many low costing, worthless (to them) males as you wanted? Grow them up, and have some nice chicken dinner. I mean are they used as pet food or what? Complete waste IMO.

 

[Bossroo]

Lets say that you are a hatchery and hatch out egg laying breed as well as DP chicks for profit. Half of what you hatch are cockerals and no one wants to buy the egg laying cockerals because they are just too expensive and takes too long to raise for meat. So you decide to sell them at a very low price or just give them away as an incentive to get rid of them on a " cockeral day" . Now the question is ... why would someone buy a DP cockeral at a fair market price when one can get an egg layer for little or no cost?

 

[gryeyes]

Quote:
Apparently, in my yard. (I have SUCH a good track record of hatching roos, and all my chickens are allowed to live. At some point, this has gotta stop.)

 

[Judy]

Quote:
I wonder if that's a feasible idea. Seems like they'd have to be pretty close to a lot of folks who process.

Around here at least, the feed store will get one batch of roos, cheaper than the females of course, because people want to raise them for meat. Seems like I've read hatcheries do use some for pet food; could be wrong about that. One would assume that if they can find something more profitable than the dumpster, they are likely to go that route if feasible.

 

[schellie69]

I noticed a bin called fry pan special I assume that they are males to be raised for meat. I think hatcheries also use males for packing peanuts.

 

[Fred's Hens]

On the homestead, for hundreds, perhaps thousands of years of domesticating chickens and people preparing their own foods and modern groceries stores were unknown, the rooster's destiny was for meat.

Today, since the domesticated chicken's purpose is meat birds one direction (where sex doesn't matter as much) and egg layers another direction, the egg laying breed's rooster are really unwanted. Got to face it. When a modern egg operation has 40,000 layers, there is no way, no way to find a use for 40,000 roosters that were hatched simultaneously. Sex links, feather sexing, etc just increases this issue. No one wants the roosters.

Chalk this up to our modern age. While we are 44,000 birds strong here at BYC, in backyard and small farm flocks, the percentages here must still be 100 to 1. Just the way it is.

 

[stuckinthecity]

Bossroo- good point... but I meant like maybe the extras who didn't get sold. Idk. very good point though.
ddawn- I thought I read something that said some go to pet food, as well.
Fred's- I'm not sure if what you said was directed at the OP or me, so sorry if I'm wrong. lol But, yes I agree about extra roosters/cockerals being used as meat.

 

[dbcooper02]

Well I know where 200 of them are going!
Last week after learning of Dunlap hatchery in Idaho I took a look at their web site. Did you know that you can have 200 standard cockerels delivered to your local PO for $89? My neighbors who have been raising CX have been thinking about trying something different and I have some experience cutting capons. So we're bringing in 50 each of Buff Orps, Barred Rocks, Black sex-links, and New Hampshire Reds. Of course we realize they won't grow as fast as CX, but compared to the cost of the CX we have about $200 to go toward feed for the extra growout time. The reason for the four different breeds is an attempt to learn which might perform best. This is just an experiment and time will tell how it all works out.

 

[heather112588]

When I found out i had a roo, I didnt have the heart to put mine in a stew pot. He is so docile and great to the ladys.

We have an understanding- he protects the ladys, is nice to them and to people, doesn't crow excessivly...He can stay as long as he wants! He doesn't even crow til 7am! At one year old, He has never given me a problem (yes, i'm bragging alittle).

This is my Gilda!