Missing abdomen

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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.
 
Earlier in the year I was travelling back from an apiary site with some supers of honey. I stopped at the side of the road to adjust the load, and a bumblebee (introduced species) was quick to fly in and find the honey ... eagerly gobbling some up. Thing is, it had no abdomen. Before I had a chance to grab the camera it had flown off.
 
Earlier in the year I was travelling back from an apiary site with some supers of honey. I stopped at the side of the road to adjust the load, and a bumblebee (introduced species) was quick to fly in and find the honey ... eagerly gobbling some up. Thing is, it had no abdomen. Before I had a chance to grab the camera it had flown off.
So more of a blebee then as it was missing a bum?
 
"So more of a blebee then as it was missing a bum?"

That was pretty much the first thing I thought when I saw it.:giggle:
 
I never behead them anyway, either quick wring of the neck or (when I can find it) the humane despatcher. My grandfather had a neat trick, he had a small, long sharp pointed knive (looked like a well worn Sabatier), into the mouth, quick twist and it would cut the main blood vessels and also pierce the cortex of the brain for instant death, all the feathers would also come loose making plucking a doddle.

This is exactly how my father showed me how to do it emyr.
They would be hung upside down by there legs via some bailer twine and it was pretty instant.
Talk about recalling some memorys.
 
Phew. I'm glad the tone has lightened from the dispatching of poultry. Ooops another reply while I was typing. I spoke too soon!
 
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