ROOSTER GENTLEMEN'S CLUB
Where FOWL language is okay.
If you've got a roo and don't know what to do, we are here for you.
Donations Appreciated
While there is a small one-time intake fee for each rooster, our average cost of long term care provided per rooster far exceeds the required investment. Donations and the families choosing to buy from our farm allows us to offer this service to care for the boys long term. If you agree with what we are trying to accomplish, any donations to help us expand our rooster habitat is deeply appreciated. Our current projects are building a raised garden bed of herbs for the boys and building more coops to house everyone for the winter. Material needs include: Trampolines (provide needed shade in our fields, T-posts, chain link fence panels, plastic sheds, cinder-blocks, retraining wall blocks, started perennial organic herb plants, and picnic tables.
Rooster Intake Information
Did you raise a Henrietta and find out later he is crowing more like a Henry? With most pets, an accidental boy is a simple shrug of the shoulders and a, “I love you anyways”. Chickens are the only pet that if you accidentally get a boy, it might be illegal to keep him. Thus, we established our Pet Rooster Gentleman's club to help our surrounding communities.
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To join our pet rooster Gentlemen's Club, your rooster just needs to be in perfect health (no missing feathers, no parasites, no injuries, and never experienced an illness requiring antibiotics to recover within his lifetime. While it is okay for your rooster to be COCKY and use FOWL language, roosters must be respectful of children. Roosters that are aggressive towards people are not eligible. Age limit: Your little man should be crowing and acclimated to being outside without supplemental heat). We require a small one time intake fee for each rooster joining our Gentleman's Club. We take on the responsibility of their life long financial and labor costs. Families can choose to contribute more if desired.
Sexing chickens is not easy. There sex organs are internal and vent sexing results are up to 15% inaccurate. The poultry industry standard is to sell chickens as sexed pullets. Professional sexers do their best to sort out males quickly. Customers are expected to accept that sexing accuracy is only 85% - 90% for standard breeds (no credit, or returns are accepted). Bantams and harder to sex breeds are sold as straight run resulting in >50% roosters. When purchasing an accidental rooster from a hatchery/ feed store, families are stuck with upsetting their city neighbors, fines, and having their chicken permit revoked unless they quickly find a loving home for their pet rooster.
Our family farm is completely different from industry standard hatcheries and feed stores!
We provide local families with a responsible source for female chicks to avoid the unethical treatment of roosters and the hardship of finding a home for the boys. We offer female coverage for every chick we sex with traditional methods. Not only do we provide a free home if a female chick from us ends up being a rooster, we issue store credit with healthy rooster returns. For families want to avoid the risk of falling in love with a rooster, we offer DNA sexing which is the only truly accurate sexing method for poultry.
While the low price of a feed store chick that has endured shipping from a commercial hatchery can be alluring. Your dollar is a valuable vote in how you want the world to be. Where you get your chicks from matters. For every girl a family purchases, you are deciding the fate for the boy you leave behind. Our fair priced female chicks takes into consideration humane care of the boys left behind and our ability to rehome accidental roosters. Most of our loyal customers find their way to our farm based on the hardship of needing to home a commercial rooster. Even if a rooster's purpose in life is to provide nourishment and is not a pet, there should be a difficult and emotional connection to the animal that offers its life and they deserve to be treated to the best possible life.
Don't fall for hatchery/ feed store cheep, cheep, cheap, chicks. Consider the total cost comparison of purchasing from an ethical, organic fed, local farm flock like ours. The emotional and financial hardship comes into play 2-3 months after families make their commercial female chick purchases. The first crow sounds the alarm that it is time to rehome what you thought was a girl. Those that have gone through removing a loving boy from their family flock, quickly realizes the value of how we care for families after the sale. For example, purchasing 100 female chicks from a feed store results in the burden of finding homes for 15 or more roosters. If you want them to live out a pet life rehoming fees are up to $100 each or $80 each for a vet to put a small animal down. Thus, the average female chick price of a commercial hatchery born chick and taking on the responsibility of caring for accidental roosters averages around $25 a female chick. Clearly, the lesser economical value.
Understanding Industry Standards and why there are so many unwanted layer breed roosters
Feed stores source their chicks from commercial hatcheries and lure families into buying a 'female' chick at a ridiculously low cost. Nature produces 50% males and 50% females, so for every female chick a city family wants in their backyard, there is an equal amount of unwanted roosters. Even in rural areas where roosters are allowed, only 1 rooster per 8 hens is needed for breeding and flock protection. Layer breed roosters take 5-6 months to mature enough for consumption versus meat birds which are ready in only 8 weeks. Based on the price of chicken at the grocery store and demand for larger breast meat, it is not profitable to raise heritage layer breed boys for consumption. To provide any type of profit for chicks at their ridiculously low prices, the hatcheries typically eliminate their expense of caring for any unwanted roosters. The high demand for female layer chicks far exceeds the ability to provide pet homes to all roosters born. Commercial hatcheries terminate day old male chicks through mass suffocation or grinding them alive, and stick city families with inaccurately sexed roosters. While we cannot house every rooster that large hatcheries produce, we intake what we can afford to care for (through our feed sales and donations).
For families lucky enough to add a rooster, please consider our Gentleman Club Roosters. They are the finest, friendliest gentleman. Most of these boys were held and loved on as family pets until discovering their manly voice. While they will have a great life on our farm, they would love their own flock of ladies.