Raise Roosters for Meat

If you buy or hatch chicks, there will likely come a time when you get more males (cockerels) than you need or want. Maybe you live in an area where you’re not allowed to have roosters, or maybe you don’t want fertile eggs; or maybe you’re worried a rooster will become aggressive. If you find yourself in one of these situations, there’s no need to panic! With a bit of planning and perspective, surplus cockerels can become a valuable source of humanely raised meat.

Determining Sex

When hatching eggs under a broody chicken or in an incubator, the probability of males is approximately 50%, meaning roughly half the hatchlings should be male. With unsexed (“straight run”) chicks from a farm store or hatchery, the ratio of males to females could be lower or higher, but at least 50% males is a realistic expectation. (Remember, some of the chicks from the original hatch might’ve been purchased already or been removed for other reasons.) Even if you think you’re buying female-only chicks (“pullets”), vent sexing has a margin of error. Hatcheries claim an accuracy