Think Before You Hatch!

[RichmondHens]

I put this out as a plea for all intending to hatch chicks. Please please think about what you intend to do with the cocks. Many of you have discovered it is not easy to re-home them, and not all of you want to eat them.

Much as is it lovely to hatch cute fluffy chicks, they don't stay that way for long. Our local hen rescue centre is now at capacity for unwanted cocks and will be turning them away very soon. Someone has also been releasing cocks in the woods not far from where I live.

Please think very carefully before you start hatching.

[Eco-Chic]

Absolutely why I won't be hatching any Richmond.

Presumably cocks released into the woods will be killed by predators?

[di]

I don't understand the mentality of releasing them into the wild!...we had it suggested to us,but quite honestly the thought of them having to fend for themselves & constantly be in danger of predators,to me,is far more cruel than ulling them for meat.
I must confess that we've still not culled our boys...finding a time to suit both Andi & our Helper has proven difficult....so am still "sitting on the fence".
We have however decided that how we feel once the deed has been done will be the determining factor as to whether we hatch more.(I managed to find a chap who was (reluctantly)happy to give them a home,but I pointed out to Andi that we couldn't rely on that every time.

At the moment my feelings are,thatr if we hatch again,we will chose breeds that are fairly easy to sex from a young age,giving us time to distance ourselves from them before the time to cull.
For anyone still wondering whether hatching is for them,my small amount of experience definately would advise trying to separate them from early on.We have three boys in their own run that I have finally managed to look upon as meat,but one Buff Orpington running with the others(we struggled to work out the sex for ages),that really will be tough to say Goodbye to.

[OllieMartin]

Why would anyone not want to eat them? (vegetarians aside)

[walldanzig]

I have no problems hatching because I rehome the cocks we can and then cull the others. If we did not cull them then I would only be buying it from the butchers so at least I know where they came from. I have no problem with any of this. Others may well do and I think if your not prepared to do the deed then as you say do not hatch

[MaureenHall]

I think that's really sensible advice Richmond. I can understand wholeheartedly the desire to hatch chicks and see them change from little fluffy bundles into lovely adult birds, but as you so rightly point out, you really do have to know exactly what you're going to do with the boys once they start either crowing or get aggressive (if they do of course!) Fingers crossed that my next lot are mostly girls But any boys will definitely be dinners for me, family and friends

[di]

Why would anyone not want to eat them? (vegetarians aside)

I think it's all about adjusting our mindset as to how we view them.
The majority of us on here started our chook journey with Pullets,knowing we could keep them forever & they'd carry on laying eggs...if what sporadically as they age....and we could/can attatch ourselves to them & see them as pets that give us eggs.
Hatching our own seemed to be the natural progression,but initially forgot that we had to change our way of looking at them...no longer pets but instead possibly dinner.

[organic]

andi&di - a good explanation, I think.

Ollie - many folk who keep poultry see them as pets who pay for their room and board with eggs. The thought of eating them would be about as abhorrent as most people with dogs would feel about suggestions they should kill and eat their mutts.
Personally I'd view all poultry as destined for the pot - I'll be keeping them at some point but will only be getting dual-purpose birds so I can get eggs and meat... any cocks will be killed and eaten in short order.
To people with that mindset the aversion to killing and eating stock can seem a bit odd - but it's understandable.

[moola]

We hatch Ixworth's - then the boys have a good purpose
Alot of people overlook utilty breeds just because they are often not as pretty as others but it does get round the whole problem of unwanted cockerels. The boys end up being a decent table weight and well worth rearing.

[Bramble-Poultry]

All meat eaters kill and eat meat either directly or indirectly - at least growing your own you can gurantee that they had a good happy healthy life - that was our aim in raising our own food - total traceability and guilt free meat consumption!!

But chicken keeping is becoming a fast increasing "hobby" (for want of a better word - suggestions welcome !) As such more and more people are hatching their own with out due regard for the consequences and like Richmond said it is fast becoming a problem - we have loads of cocks here that are no longer required by their previous owners (Blatent plug time - anyone want a cockerel - several here at all times requiring homes)

As for releasing them into the wild - we have actually aquired one this way he came running from over the feilds whe the combines were out - however word of advice to anyone who thinks that this may be a "get out of jail free" card - it is illegal, if caught there is a £2000 fine and a possible prison term. Releasing animal into the wild that were not there before damages our own native ecosystem and can ultimatley cause our own native species to suffer - hence the hefty fine - ok so not an animal but think japanese knotweed, or for that matter think rabbit - both pests and causing problems, both released into the wild from domestic situations!! Not saying chickens will become the next pest but I'm sure they didn't think rabbits would be either - especially as they only were letting a couple out!!

Also you are not doing the bird any favours and signing its death warrant, if the fox doesn't get it then it will probably die of malnutrition. It will be cold and lonely as chickens are flock creatures and require company. You are no better than someone who abandons a dog tied to a rubbish bin in a layby - certainly not an animal lover!!!

*climbs down off soap box*

[Alison]

One of the other plot holders on my site who keep chickens discovered a cock in with them on morning a year or so ago! They've kept him and he's a beautiful bird - very happy he is too with his little hareem!

[Bramble-Poultry]

Di - nice way of putting it!

Organic - we have that in wrting hun - now when you get your chickens and you fall in love with them and get the addiction that we all have we can remind you of it everyone starts out with good intentions but somehow these little blighters worm their way into your heart!!! Even we have a cock or two we just can't bring ourselves to kill even though they were hatched with the sole intention, it really is amazing. I even have a turkey this year that has somehow managed to make the transition from rearing pen to breeding pen she was just soooo pretty coloured - honest Still have enough to cover orders though!!

[organic]

Haha.
No worries on that front Bramble. Quote me on it all you like.

Obviously I've not raised anything for meat yet, but I have butchered pheasant (hands on from plucking to plate) so am aware of the mess and smelly reality of the job. I think I'd take the same approach the rest of my family have taken and taken on the farm I worked on as a kid (school holidays). Genuinely caring for the animals but keeping "food" at the forefront of the mind all the time. I doubt it would be easy - I know well enough that animals have a sort of personality which can make the reality of meat rather difficult - but I'm comfortable with it (and the mess) so don't envisage trouble with it.

Then again - I might end up being the softest eejit going and end up with a flock of 50 and not the nerve to kill the one. Haha.

[Nicos]

A good thread RH

...maybe you could have called the thread " A chicken is for life - and not just for Xmas" ( or should that read 'turkey' ????)

Spot on though- we all owe a responsibility to any livestock we 'create'

[HayleyB]

I agree and I'm a coward so have decided against breeding for this same reason, if I can reconcile myself with the notion of cockerels for dinner then fine - I even have a friend who will do the deed in return for one himself and still I am too chicken...