I have put this off for a long long time. I kept him around to be sure there was a rooster to watch over the hens and younger birds until some of the new batch grew up enough. There is also a lot of pressure from my family, particularly my adult son who lives at home. None of us like killing an animal. I just hate slaughtering birds. I don't mind the processing--it's the killing that I find incredibly difficult.
I really need to do this for all the reasons you've given. He IS a serious risk to people. If I'm out, I always am aware of where he is. My property has a lot of live oak trees and there are a lot of dried leaves on the ground that make a lot of noise when he rushes me, but this is no way to live. I have a gated property, so no one can come on my property without me opening the gate. I'll meet them at their car and escort them into the house, but it is darn inconvenient. I can always put him in a spare pen if people are coming, but he just has to go.
I just had surgery on both wrists last week (carpal tunnel) and will have to wait for awhile. I slaughtered a group of 10 or 11 month-old cockerels last winter and they were really hard to process. I had to use a knife to release the guts from the body. They took brute strength to process and I don't have any strength in my hands right now. There was nothing easy about processing that group and this one is a lot older. I'm dreading it.
