Killed my second cockerel today.

[Snadger]

I would love to keep all my cockerels and hens but allotment rules say we can't!
I can understand this as it's in a built up area so I need to cull my self hatched cockerels.
I've culled the second one today and it was a different kettle of fish to the first one. This was a BIG bird.
I hung him upside down by his feet and stretched his neck, but unlike the first one I COULDN'T break his neck. The amount of pressure I put on I knew he was dead and I held him until he stopped flapping.
Also when I came to prepare him I couldn't cut through the sternum as it was solid bone, not the cartilage of a young bird.
I have watched utube video's on 'butterflying' the chicken, but these are done with Tesco's chickens which are barely a month old. This auld guy was 18 weeks old and a different proposition all together.

I still have two more to cull at some time in the future and fear it may have to be sooner than later.

I would like to keep my best Light Sussex and my best Faverolle cockeral if possible and hope that by showing willing and culling the others I am at least making an effort which will keep the allotment committee off my back.
I know other plotholders have cockerels as well but realise two wrongs don't make a right.
If I can whittle them down to two, I'll just try and wait until there's any complaints (hopefully not) and take it from there.

[RichmondHens]

Mature birds are always harder to kill. My father always used a metal bar for the bigger, older birds (I think Hilary has mentioned the broomstick method on another thread, so similar).

Perhaps offer some of your (potential) troublemakers an oven ready chicken to keep them sweet?

[janeyo]

Can you get someone to do it for you who is more experienced maybe? Might be easier for them?

[Nicos]

My sympathies...not an easy thing to do...I'm just relieved we have a neighbour able to 'do the deed'

We have 8 babies 7 weeks old...looks like there might be 5 lads there...to be honest, there's only so many gals we can house.......

[Snadger]

Can you get someone to do it for you who is more experienced maybe? Might be easier for them?

I don't think it's a question of experience..................... it's a question of a 16 stone strong fit male, who has done manual labour all his life, finding it quite hard to snap a large cockerels neck!

I wouldn't let anyone else within a mile of my babies, I helped them out of there egg shell and if they need to be culled, by God it will be me who does it...........I owe them that at least!

[Hilary B]

I don't think it's a question of experience..................... it's a question of a 16 stone strong fit male, who has done manual labour all his life, finding it quite hard to snap a large cockerels neck!

I wouldn't let anyone else within a mile of my babies, I helped them out of there egg shell and if they need to be culled, by God it will be me who does it...........I owe them that at least!

Use a bar of some sort (broomstick, iron bar, spare hoe handle........).
Did you bend the head backwards while pulling? This happens automatically with the broomstick approach, but 'by hand' it may not be apparent when learning how from watching.

[Snadger]

Use a bar of some sort (broomstick, iron bar, spare hoe handle........).
Did you bend the head backwards while pulling? This happens automatically with the broomstick approach, but 'by hand' it may not be apparent when learning how from watching.

I had it's head between my first and second finger facing away from me and twisted my wrist back on itself. After it had stopped flapping I realised the skin had actually broken where I'd snapped its neck. The only difference from previous bird I did was there was no pronounced 'snap'
I am sorry if this all sounds a bit gruesome to some people.(daren't even tell OH or else I'll be accused of being a murderer, sneaked the meat into the freezer)...........but it HAD to be done, and by ME I'm afraid!

[Hilary B]

I had it's head between my first and second finger facing away from me and twisted my wrist back on itself. After it had stopped flapping I realised the skin had actually broken where I'd snapped its neck. The only difference from previous bird I did was there was no pronounced 'snap'
I am sorry if this all sounds a bit gruesome to some people.(daren't even tell OH or else I'll be accused of being a murderer, sneaked the meat into the freezer)...........but it HAD to be done, and by ME I'm afraid!

Sounds about right. I always opted for broomstick, but then we had several turkeys most years, and broomstick is virtually essential with those, unless you are an orang-utan (long arms).
Main reason I ever got anyone else to do the deed was lack of certainty I was doing things right, and I soon learned the way that worked for me.