I Have a Rooster: What Can I Do With Him?

Meyer Hatchery strives for 100% accuracy when sexing our chicks, however, when dealing with live animals an error may occur. Roosters can happen and they can be an excellent addition to your flock. 

Not all roosters have attitude issues, plenty are sweet yet effective at their jobs. They are great protectors and natural-born leaders. They excel in warning your ladies of any looming predators and will typically stand guard while the rest of the flock runs to safety. Additionally, they are skillful hunters and will alert the rest of the flock to a patch of food, treats, or anything else delicious they may happen to find. Bonus, if you happen to have a broody hen or incubator - when he's mature, eggs will be fertile for hatching! 

If you are unable to keep your rooster due to town laws, personality, flock size, etc. you have options. Depending on the breed you may be able to donate the rooster to a local 4-H club. Children often enjoy showing roosters due to their flashy plumage. You can also reach out to local farms to see if they are interested in adding a rooster to their free-range flocks. Some social media sites allow the advertising of available roosters too and if a rare breed, they can be quite desirable. Some folks will also grow out any extra roosters to stock their freezer. Again, depending on breed, roosters typically take 16-20 weeks to reach maturity for processing.

No matter what you decide, it's important to remember due to strict bio-security reasons, Meyer Hatchery is unable to accept the return of any poultry. Meyer does extend credit for sexing errors, just fill out this form.