WHAT DO I DO WITH ALL THESE ROOSTERS?

Now that you’ve figured out how to sex your chicks, it has become apparent that you have waaaaayyy too many cockerels (roosters under 1 year old are called cockerels).

So… Whatcha gonna do with them?

Here are some options:

1.) Grow them out and eat them. Heritage breeds may take as long as 24 – 28 weeks to reach a decent carcass size. You will want to separate them from your pullets and run them in a bachelor pen (aka freezer camp). Then butcher them yourself or book them in (book early!!!!) at a poultry processor like Pigeon Lake Poultry Processing or some Hutterite colonies will also process them. (No, I don’t know which ones. No, I don’t have their contact information.) Heritage cockerels make delicious chicken stock, but I personally find their meat to be tougher than that of my broilers due to their age.

2.) Humanely cull them and dispose of the carcasses. While I personally feel this is a waste of a life, it can be an option for those who don’t want to grow them out to butcher size.

3.) Set up a permanent bachelor pen and keep a pen full of colourful roosters. Bonus: people foolish enough to only keep one rooster over the winter are frequently looking for mature roosters come spring, so you may be able to sell them later on.

4.) Sell them. In a perfect world, young heritage cockerels would have a decent value as a meat animal, but that’s not the world we live in. The market at this time of year is insanely flooded with people trying to sell their young roosters, so you may not have any takers.

5.) Give them away. You may have more takers than if you do ask money for them, but you should be aware that most likely they will be eaten.