The chicks are no longer chicks, but full-fledged roos and pullets and the roos are headed for the butcher block.
I ended up with 6 roos and 4 pullets and I sold one of these handsome Black Copper Marans roosters, so I have 5 left. When I finally separated them and put the roos into a coop by themselves, one of them got out. He’s a nice rooster…and I’m wondering if I should keep him…
He’s been hanging out with the older hens and is already watching out for them…
One hen is broody. Let me say these Marans get broody often, but she is not laying on any eggs. Just biding her time in the nesting box…
Then I have 4 new Black Copper Marans pullets that will start laying any time now… This one looks like the most mature one…
And this one appears to be the least mature…
And here are the butcher block buddies…I hate this part of it all…
So, to keep or not to keep…that is the question…
Rosemary, Lavender and Thyme 
I love your chickens!
I understand your love and desire to keep them all!!
I also have a broody hen.
I love the way my Marian rooster protects the hens.
My Buff Orpington rooster is learning to protect.
I did have to put some roosters in freezer but too many roos meant fights and more tummys to feed!!
I look forward to seeing my Marian/ Buff cross this spring!!
Both are good layers. Buffs are gentle and I hope the Marans will be too.
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Thanks, Debbie…I would love to see some pictures of your chickens. Do you have any way of posting some?
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Great post! This is why I couldn’t hatch. I couldn’t deal with the difficulty of dispatching the roos. I say keep the nice roo. If he’s being good to your girls and isn’t mean, that’s a great thing.
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Thanks, Jen… He’s nice now, but sometimes they get mean when they get older, but if that happened I could deal with it later…
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This year’s flock has been super layers and really thought about a roo since Buckeyes are so hard to come by and she turned out to be a rocking layer for us. Seeing your post made me once again think about keeping a roo around.
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There are a couple of people in my family who don’t like the crowing. It doesn’t bother me at all…so there are good things about keeping one and not so good things. It’s really hard to decide.
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We like our roos and how they balance flock dynamics. Hard decision.
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Yes, it is.
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I can’t believe they grew up so fast! He sure is pretty, and sounds like a gentleman, possibly helping a but with the predator situation? I say put him on probation. Maybe he’ll be a Mr. Darcy? 😉
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Ha-Ha… I love it!!! I will have to call him Darcy!
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I know it’s a necessary thing because it will just cause issues as one other person has already said. But I do feel for you all the same. I couldn’t physically do the ‘thing’ myself… I reckon you should keep one?
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Fortunately I have a son who will do it for me. He raises sheep and cattle and doesn’t mind the butchering process. I’m so glad I don’t have to do it. I’m not sure that I could.
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We hatched 5 chicks under a broody hen last year and 4 turned out to be cockerels and only one a pullet. We kept them all as they were pure breeds and I managed to find a home for one of them, but now the other 3 live harmoniously in the flock of 25 chickens. I think because they were all hatched at the same time and brought up together they don’t fight and there are enough hens to go round, so to speak. We couldn’t think of killing them because they are so handsome being pure breeds.
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That’s wonderful that you can keep them. I would definitely prefer that, but I only have 8 hens and the roosters can get overwhelming for them. Probably 8 hens to 1 rooster is a good combination.
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That’s a shame. do you have Freecycle over there? where you can advertise things you don’t need anymore free to a good home – you could try that rather then kill them, or anywhere locally you could advertise them?
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I tried selling them first. I did sell one. 🙂 These roosters were raised on really good organic feed, so I know the meat will be good. That’s a plus. I’ve decided to keep the one rooster and my son is going to come and put the others in the freezer today.
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I love the two roo’s we have. On the other hand, we raise meat birds for the freezer every year, and the extra roo’s or the mean ones get processed with the meat birds. I always want to keep the pretty ones though.
P.S. I followed you here from The Chicken Chick link up
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Thanks for stopping by. I guess this is something that one can get used to when raising birds for meat. Well, I’ve decided to keep this roo, but the others are going to meat today. It’s just something I’m not accustomed to doing. I’m thankful to have a son who is willing to do it. 🙂
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