All animal sanctuaries offering refuge to roosters are perpetually full, due to cockfighting seizures and the fad for backyard hen-keeping. The long-term solution is for people to stop buying chicks from hatcheries and to join us in challenging the stereotypes about roosters that lead to cockfighting and other abuses of roosters. Learn more here.
The preferred option is always to find a private home for a bird before seeking to place him at a sanctuary. Wherever you are located, please do reach out to your local humane society if you have not done so yet. Even if they do not offer care to chickens, it is still worth calling to ask if anyone in their network of supporters and volunteers might be open to providing a private home to a rooster.
Our primary sanctuary is located in Vermont, and we have a small satellite refuge for roosters in Maryland. With nearly 100 roosters in already in residence, we usually have a waiting list and are typically only able to consider birds in life-or-death situations.
If the bird you are seeking to place is currently in another state, then please reach out to any farmed animal sanctuaries in that state, as well as your local humane society, before turning to us. If the bird is in another state, please be aware that state laws require health certificates for chickens crossing state lines, and we do abide by those laws in order to keep the birds who are already here safe.
We receive inquiries about roosters from all over the country, several each week, so please read all of the information above carefully before filling in the form with the following information:
- the name and age of the rooster you wish to place
- the state in which you and the bird are located
- his breed or a general description that would give us a sense of his size
- how he came to be in your possession
- why you are seeking to surrender him
If you are seeking to surrender a rooster due to a behavioral problem, please tell us whether you would be willing to try to keep him, if we were to offer you expert advice to help solve the problem.
