Rachel Hurd Anger
Adding to an exist flock in the metropolis is wily . Usually , we only want females . We are n’t let enough volaille on our property to breed , and because many roosters are prone to aggression and overbreeding , they ’re often too unsafe to have around our little good deal of laying hens . Plus , many city do n’t set aside rooster in the first position .
Sourcing chicks at a local farm memory is the most economic option , but when you ’re avoiding roosters , I do n’t commend it . A farm store employee might say , “ Yes , ma’am , they ’re all girls ” just to move all those peeping beaks . They just do n’t always know what they ’re sell , so ifyoualso do n’t know what they ’re selling , you ’re taking a gamble .
A booster of mine added to her dwindled flock of three this past bounce . She only wanted two more hen , but after running into some baby dame at a farm stock , she could n’t resist them and the learning chance of raising biddy with her minor . She make for home six that the farm store employee identified as female Red Stars . Then she ask for my advice . “ Are they Red Stars ? ” and “ Do you think they ’re female ? ” I could n’t excite the birds , but I was confirming they were n’t Red Stars .
Red Stars are a link chicken , sometimes called Golden Comets . It ’s a intercrossed stock made when crossing a turgid meat bird , usually the Rhode Island Red , with a prolific egg layer , like the Delaware . These chickens do n’t breed true , so you’re able to never spawn Red Stars from your own Red Star chickens .
What ’s unparalleled about sex - link chickens is that female person hatch one color and males another , so the chicks can be turn on without much noesis . Sex links are keen because you know on the nose what you ’re get — their color takes the guesswork out of adding to an existing flock .
All of Karen ’s chicks were the same color , so I told her , “ If these are Red Stars , you either have all females or all males . ” But , the gloss of their feathers did n’t look anything like the Red Star I had . They were much deeper ruby John Brown . I was certain that the fowl were Rhode Island Reds , not a hybrid .
Karen beam me a message last week with a exposure of the newest crybaby , almost 20 weeks old now . “ I ’m moderately sure we have cock . We ’ve heard crowing . ” Four roosters stick out of that photo like four towering disappointments , but she was n’t monish . “ I really only wanted two new hens , so I reckon we ’re all right . But , that ’s a bummer ! ”
“ What will you do with them ? ” I necessitate .
“ I think we might butcher them , ” she said .
Before I could recapitulate my ( single ) butchering experience , or ask if they knew someone who ’d butcher their wimp for them , Karen and her husband bound into encyclopaedism - by - doing , processing their roosters with the assistant of cyberspace tutorials .
It ’s not always wanton to make up one’s mind what to do with surprisal roosters , but the truth is that most of them are best eaten , specially if you end up with meaty Rhode Island Reds . Butchering a wimp can be hard emotionally , but when you know you ’ve raised your bird by hand with care , you may hope you ’ll butcher them humanely — it ’s the most responsible for way to be a kernel feeder .
Would you view processing an undesirable cock of your own ? Learn how to do it yourself with the Hobby Farms tutorial , “ How to slaughter a Chicken”part 1andpart 2 , staring my friend Tom Scanlan and UrbanFarmOnline.com editor Rachael Brugger .
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