It is always sad for me to have to dispatch unwanted cockerels at this time of year. Whilst I do try to re-home a few, it is never easy. Everyone that hatches chicks will have this dilemma and many people will purchase an incubator and hatch chicks, planning to re-home unwanted cockerels when they can be sexed around 8 weeks old. Many don’t realise how many other people out there are also trying to re-home their cockerels.

When I speak to people about this, there is usually no sense of urgency, but one thing I must say is if you leave the decision and keep them, they are costing you money to feed. If you keep them over the winter, they are costing you in feed but also grass and other resources that are best given to your hens. Ultimately, as spring approaches next year, they will start to fight unless they are kept in a large enough area with enough hens.

If you think you are going to have to dispatch them, it is usually better to do it sooner than later. The more a cockerel grows, the harder they become to dispatch by hand.

How to dispatch a chicken gives you a step by step guide of how to do this but ideally, ask someone to show you how to do this for your first time.