One thing to keep in mind about breeding chickens is you will always end up with a surplus of roosters. And you always seem to end up with more roosters hatched than there are hens! We have separated this seasons pullets and cockerels now and are in the process of deciding who stays and who goes. I will only keep the few best to continue on with the breeding program. I am slowly working to improve my lines each year. Today we put leg rings on the birds who are 'under observation' as keepers (the photo is of one of those contenders). I have spent hours so far just sitting or standing and watching them, chatting and interacting with them and looking at the strengths and weaknesses of the different birds as they develop. Some can change a lot and some can surprise you with changes for better and for worse. In addition to the ones that will stay, some will be sold. There are some though - all those excess roosters - that require another solution. No one buys roosters unless they are good ones and even then there is often a surplus. Truthfully you can't give them away either for the most part. Particularly in the numbers I have here. So the boys who are left will be culled and will go in our freezer to be eaten. Their life therefore has good purpose even if it is a fairly short one. Though it is a life far better than most if not all of those chickens found in a supermarket.
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