What uses are their for cockerels?

In this issue we want to touch on a subject that may ruffle a few feathers, but as a national charity helping 60,000 hens year in and year out we believe the topic merits some hard facts and an appeal for your support as readers of a popular poultry magazine.

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Cockerels are a largely unwanted by product both within the commercial industry and as a result of chick hatching programmes.

Let's take a look at the few instances where cockerels are considered useful first :

BROILER BOYS

Unlike the egg industry, the broiler industry can make use of both males and female birds. A typical broiler will take between 6-8 weeks to reach a weight deemed financially viable, and in the UK approximately one billion birds are slaughtered annually for their meat in an industry worth £4.6 billion to the sector.

If you're a cockerel being used not for rapid growth but for the purpose of broiler breeding then your lifespan will be longer but there will be welfare complexities around feeding. Broiler breeder cockerels are initially allowed to gain weight naturally (and thus rapidly as their genetics dictate), but in some cases will then have a 75% reduction in their feed ration to ensure they are fit enough to complete their role as breeders within a flock. Toe amputations and spur removals, once commonplace, are thankfully now considered unnecessary and not within acceptable welfare boundaries.

FIGHTING FOR THEIR LIVES

Hopefully all readers of Country Smallholding are firmly in the camp that agrees with UK law that the practice of cockfighting is illegal. Cockfighting is tantamount to abject cruelty for pleasure, and as such should be assigned to the annals of history as one of mankind's numerous unpleasant creations. Sadly, however, cockfighting is still prevalent especially in the north of the country and despite the law being clear about its illegality under the Animal Welfare Act 1999, it continues. The possession, training and breeding of birds for fighting is also illegal.