[Marches Farmer]

My neighbour asked me to take a few of her poultry into market next time I attended.  Being an obliging sort of person I agreed.  She turned up last night with four Silkie X cockerels (which she'd been chasing around the garden for an hour trying to box them).  I apologised to the auctioneer when I sidled in with them and hoped their presence was mitigated by the two Buff Laced Wyandotte POLs I'd taken in.  I didn't have the nerve to tell him she was planning another box of four cockerels for the next sale.

[Q]

  Really shouldn't hatch unless you are prepared to despatch.
Dare I ask what price she got for them?

[Marches Farmer]

50p each!  I think she was enchanted by the chicks .... up until the point where all the cockerels started to crow and the eight hens got thoroughly fed up with them (and not a little overworked!)

[twizzel]

Our local poultry sale won't take cockerals on their own, they have to be paired or in a trio with hens.

[goosepimple]

You're right Q and I've told many the same when they 'think about getting some hens'.


RSPCA is inundated with cockerels that people can't dispatch.  I wonder what they do with them eventually?    Sure they can't keep them all.


There must be a good market for coq au vin somewhere with all the freebies going around.  The sales in Lanark have a whole pen of cockerels regularly, maybe as many as 8 in a large cage. 

[Marches Farmer]

I suspect some folks may despatch them for feeding to their ferrets.  On the other hand ours have sometimes gone for very good prices at the rare breeds sale at Ross-on-Wye, because we take in young pure bred birds and folks want new blood in their flock.

[AJ]

One of my friends got £42 for a light Sussex cockerel at the sale at Ross on Wye last year, I don't even get that lucky when selling pullets!