captain666
New Bee
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2020
- Messages
- 75
- Reaction score
- 17
- Location
- Co. Dublin, Ireland.
- Hive Type
- National
- Number of Hives
- 6-8
Hello beeno.
I take your point but what you are talking about are those poor broiler chicks that get dispatched at about ten weeks or younger. Any older and their legs would break of they would die of heart attacks. Most have a poor life before they are butchered.
What we here are talking about is how to dispatch home reared poultry when necessary. I would say that most beekeepers if they can, keep a few hens.
Dual purpose birds give both eggs and a good amount of meat.
For my own part I keep Light Sussex which is a dual bird and each year I hatch a few replacement chicks either by incubator or under a broody. What a wonderful sight to see a hen with chicks. Much better than incubator hatched.
This means I will have a number of cockerels, so what to do as I need to get rid of most.
In the past I would hang them and bleed them out. Not a very nice task and I no longer wish to do this.
So how to get rid of the cockerels?
So the other day I brought three cockerels up to my nearby wood and released them. Now about fourteen weeks old and having had a nice free range life with me. Sure, Charlie the fox will most likely get them but at least they will have some more time, As they are all male there is no impact on the forest.
Three more will follow them in a few days.
So needs must, as they say.
Fred.
I take your point but what you are talking about are those poor broiler chicks that get dispatched at about ten weeks or younger. Any older and their legs would break of they would die of heart attacks. Most have a poor life before they are butchered.
What we here are talking about is how to dispatch home reared poultry when necessary. I would say that most beekeepers if they can, keep a few hens.
Dual purpose birds give both eggs and a good amount of meat.
For my own part I keep Light Sussex which is a dual bird and each year I hatch a few replacement chicks either by incubator or under a broody. What a wonderful sight to see a hen with chicks. Much better than incubator hatched.
This means I will have a number of cockerels, so what to do as I need to get rid of most.
In the past I would hang them and bleed them out. Not a very nice task and I no longer wish to do this.
So how to get rid of the cockerels?
So the other day I brought three cockerels up to my nearby wood and released them. Now about fourteen weeks old and having had a nice free range life with me. Sure, Charlie the fox will most likely get them but at least they will have some more time, As they are all male there is no impact on the forest.
Three more will follow them in a few days.
So needs must, as they say.
Fred.