Goodbye Boys.

[di]

Sorry,I've not really been here much lately and now need some advice.

We've decided that we really can't put of culling the boys for any longer...a couple of them are getting a tad intimidating....I want to get in there and give their home a darned good deep clean but as soon as I start doing anything they get suspiscious and give me scarey looks,so for the last two or three weeks they've just had a quick clean out while I'm watching my back ready for attack
The question is,would it be OK to kill them all in one day or do you think we'd be asking for trouble between the girls.(having the boys about has definately stopped any hen pecking between them)

In the run we have nine girls(*think) and four boys(*think).
*Up until a week or so ago we were certain that our youngest Buff Orpington was a little boy...'his' rather grubby back is leading us to believe otherwise!

Cheers for any advice.xx

[di]

Oh and if anyone would like to take this last opportunity to give the rather Gorgeous Boo a home....speak now!

[RichmondHens]

If you can bear to do them all at once then that would be the best way. Each time you remove a bird from the main flock the pecking order has to re-adjust. So doing them all at once means the others will only have to re-shuffle once, rather than several times.
Hope it goes ok.

[Nicos]

All the best- not a nice job, but they'll taste lovely.
What weights are they coming in at? ( sounds like horse racing!!)

My gals were pleased to see our 5 go- they were sick of all the squabbling and constant attempts at piggy backs!!

[Glutton4...]

We've got Roast Chicken tomorrow, but it's a free-range one from the Butcher. I'm looking forward to our first 'home' bird.

Bit early, I know, as the Cockerel's only been here since last Sunday!

Eat 'em and enjoy 'em!

[Snadger]

If you can bear to do them all at once then that would be the best way. Each time you remove a bird from the main flock the pecking order has to re-adjust. So doing them all at once means the others will only have to re-shuffle once, rather than several times.
Hope it goes ok.

Good advice...........makes sense to me anyway!

[di]

Cheers.I think we'd be better to get them all done with at once...alas it wasn't todayHowever Andi braved the boys and gave that run and coop a good clean whilst I did the 'All Girls'.

Will let you know weights when they're done...so far the Brahma(possibly crossed with Light Sussex)looks like the one that'll last us a week....he's mahoosive!Boo's not far behind,although I still feel a little odd eating him(although that said to look at him now he's so not the little penguin chappie we once knew).The puniest of the lot is the Cream Legbar(yet also the scariest)He's not really any bigger than the girls.

Other than Boo,we don't really feel bad about eating them anymore.I think once you've done it once it definately gets easier(at least for us)We know they've had a decent life and have known their destiny for long enough to stop us getting sentimental over them.(before the 'first' Ash wanted us to wait just in case it turned into a girl,now he thinks we should wait and see if they get any bigger!)

Maybe tomorrow?????

[RichmondHens]

I don't know if you've had them on a finisher diet or not, but we ate our Cream Legbars a few weeks ago and they had quite a lot of meat on them for their size. We hatched seven but couldn't breed from them as they were brothers of our hens. I sold two and Mike and Jennie (Bramble Poultry) had another, but the remaining four were destined for the pot. We did three and have one more to go.

So you may be pleasantly surprised when you prep him. As for your Brahma/Sussex cross, he sounds fit for a feast!

[di]

We've not had them on proper finishers,but as the girls were laying less there's been a few titbits mixed in with the morning mash.

We had a Legbar for Christmas...although there was enough for the four of us,it was just enough.Jolly tasty though.

I still need to find out how well Roo lays(our Brahma girlie).If she lays fairly well then I think if we hatch any this year it will be Brahmas...they're big boys and despite their intimidating hugeness,pretty placid too.

[di]

Well it's done...at least three of them.The Buff is still not crowing and as the freezer's already pretty full we thought he could wait.
Anyway,especially for Nicos!

Cream Legbar~3lb12oz

The Brahma Monster~4lb12oz

and Boo ~4lb14oz

Our neighbour killed them for us(Andi really struggled with the last two)so we gave them Boo....I know it's very sentimental of me but I couldn't face eating him.
I actually plucked the Legbar and the Brahma so feeling a little proud of myself...and get a nice reminder everytime I put my hands anywhere near my nose...I've scrubbed them several times.

On another note,we got our first blue egg yesterday!

[Nicos]

well done- it's not easy is it??? I kept bursting into tears for the next 2 days


They're very decent weights there
Nice idea about Boo too- they'll really be chuffed.

A blue egg- aw- that's lovely!
x

[OverWyreGrower]

We've got 4 light sussex crosses to do this weekend (as we currently have 9 cockerels altogether).... there isn't a lot of meat on them - they won't be roasting birds, but as long as I get plenty of chicken to dice up for curries/casseroles etc, that's enough.

We won't even pluck our cockerels - just skin them and take the meat off the carcass.

[dexterdoglancashire]

We've got 4 light sussex crosses to do this weekend (as we currently have 9 cockerels altogether).... there isn't a lot of meat on them - they won't be roasting birds, but as long as I get plenty of chicken to dice up for curries/casseroles etc, that's enough.

We won't even pluck our cockerels - just skin them and take the meat off the carcass.

You are braver than me. I guess you are talking about your big boys in the tunnel, not Fred and Barney.

[mr darcy]

We've got 4 light sussex crosses to do this weekend (as we currently have 9 cockerels altogether).... there isn't a lot of meat on them - they won't be roasting birds, but as long as I get plenty of chicken to dice up for curries/casseroles etc, that's enough.

We won't even pluck our cockerels - just skin them and take the meat off the carcass.

sorry but yukkkkkkkkk

[BUFFS]

dont say yuk...if they have had a happy life doing what they should do,then i see no problem in culling them,what i feel sorry for is their factory homed relatives...