Killing Barry

[The Riff-Raff Element]

I thought Id post this here as there does not appear to be a separate section concerning the dispatch of livestock.

My problem is this. We have a cockerel called Barry who has become something of a liability. While he is no doubt a performer, he is a little on the vigorous side and he is damaging hens during mating. Half of them now have bald backs I know that Barry is behind this as two of the most badly afflicted recently went broody and a few weeks away from the crowing menace has allowed them to become fully feathered once again. Its only a matter of time before he kills one of them, so Barry has to go.

Now, I have no problem in principle with sending him to the next life we rear our own birds for the table, so the act of killing him holds no concerns in itself. The thing about Barry is that, even for a cockerel, he is big, highly aggressive and paranoid. He wont willingly let me within 6 feet of him. He always roosts on the perch facing the door of the hen house, with one eye open at all times, so I cant even sneak up on him when he is asleep (I am not above snatching sleeping chickens from their perches and wringing their necks before they know what time it is in fact this is by far the best approach in my opinion). Frankly, if I did manage to get hold of him, Im not sure Id actually want to keep hold of him. Barry is a hard chicken.

His early morning crows have an edge to them that clearly says come and have a go if you think youre hard enough! Make me laugh you and whose ten brothers?, etc. His spurs are over two inches long and I can testify that they are sharp. Im fairly sure that he keeps a whetstone for his beak. If I get too close he simply goes for the eyes, throat or groin, often at the same time. If Mad Frankie Fraser were a chicken, it would be this chicken.

So I am looking for suggestions on how to catch him and kill him without losing any fingers and preferably without using firearms. I have a nasty feeling that if I pulled a gun on Barry, hed pull one right back at me.

[Moorejw]

We have a very flighty bantam that won't let us catch her and we use a large landing net when we need to capture her - fishing variety! You could also try throwing a large sack over him. You really should clip his spurs (yes, I know that might pose its own problems!)to reduce the damage to your hens. Good luck - Coq au Vin coming up?

John and Angie Moore (17)

[Piprob]

Move house.
Rob

[Deby]

Very funny!

Why is it that life in France brings out the barbarians in us all - I have no problem murdering snails which eat my plants and as for those moles I smirk when they have drowned! Wont tell you what we did to some birds that we crapping over our doorstep!

My English friends would have nightmares!

As to the problem of Barry, you could use a shovel.
Deby

[Pucette<P><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>Pucette<FONT><P><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt">"Qui ne connaît pas la campagne lhiver, ne connaît pas la campagne et ne connaît pas]

crack of dawn is best in my book and so is 100% confidence... there are little ladies who strange big dogs obey from first sight, I'm not one of them but am quite convinced that the principle applies to all livestock...

[Hoddy]

I think that this is all your own fault for having called him Barry. It's not a dignified name for a cockerel. Perhaps if you changed his name things would get better.

Hoddy

[The Riff-Raff Element]

Thank you one and all for your suggestions. I'm going to try and do for him at sparrow-fart tomorrow. Ordinarily I would proffer a last cigarette (they NEVER smoke it - health freaks the lot of them) and a chance for a few last moving words (just working on the miniscule chance that I might have a talking chicken with which to make my fortune), but in Barry's case I'm taking no chances and will administer the coup de grace (French for lawnmower, my mother maintained to the end) without ceremony.

I have equipped myself with a well sharpened billhook, a face mask I normally don for use with the chainsaw and a heavy denim apron as used by blacksmiths to protect the lower regions (usually from hot metal rather than enraged chickens but I think it will serve).

I would have liked a can of mace to cover any retreat, but Leclerc were fresh out so I'm hoping that the suggested sack to throw over him might help, though how I'll be able to launch it accurately while he's disembowling me I'm not sure.

For the record, he was named Barry after the late great Barry White, which seemed like a good idea at the time (ie after drinking) but upon sober reflection may be at the root of his social abhoration. As to breed....Light Sussex crossed with Rottwieller (sp?). And, yes, I am scared of him.

I'll let you know how it goes.

[Joh]

Simple solution.. cut his bl@@dy toenails.
Solution No2. Fit hens with protective (leather) back wear.
Have heard that if you pull a chickens neck it can still run around (alive) for up to half an hour.
Terry

[Diana]

Years ago when we were first married we lived in a small modern terrace house in suburbia with an equally small garden. Somehow we ended up owning 2 Rhode Island Red chickens and called Gladys and Ethel. Gladys and Ethel spent a very happy 2 to 3 years with us and produced beautiful eggs. When they got too old to lay my husband said rights thats it we are not running a chicken home, you wring their necks, I said no way if you want them dead you wring their necks yourself. This conversation went on for days and eventually he realised that if he wanted them disposed of he would have to do the deed himself. Well after having called me every name under the sun he turned out to be no better. So we started to devise cunning plans, I remember for one idea we were going to electrocute them. I cant remember any of the details but needless to say that it did not work. Oh I forgot to mention that he also said that if you kill an animal you should have the courtesy to eat it, well this made for even bigger problems as it meant we could not gas them or poison them, as we would probably end up poisoning ourselves. In the end a friend appeared with a shotgun and the deed was done. I was then told I should pluck them and prepare them and we started to go round in circles again. So in the end I took them to the local butcher and he did the business. As I was paying him I said I would buy a couple of extra chicken legs. That night for supper I made a chicken casserole but I also cooked one of the extra legs. Guess who had the one full of shot and who had the nice tender one.

Diana