cityeggs
Songster
Marek's positive flock (one hen died a little over a month ago - necropsied and diagnosed as Marek's). No one else has showed any symptoms before or after but, of course, everyone must be assumed a carrier.
We have a cockerel that we can't legally keep. I've posted around, but no takers from another Marek's flock (I know - it's hard enough to rehome perfectly healthy roosters, so it's no big surprise that I can't find a home for a Marek's carrier but I felt that I had to try). Neither my partner nor I have ever dispatched (much less butchered) a chicken, but this is the option we are left with, and we're both afraid that we will botch it and unnecessarily cause suffering through ineptitude. I had hoped that if the need ever arose to cull a suffering bird, I'd be able to enlist the help of an acquaintance who has done it numerous times, but with Marek's here, I can't ask them to expose their flock.
There is a "live animal" butcher nearby and my partner is really pushing for us to take our cockerel there. I don't think it's responsible - some people do buy chickens to keep there and I think they also sell eggs, so they probably have a flock either nearby or on site (but can't quite tell - there's no website), so it seems we'd be exposing lots of flocks, including other people who may keep flocks and bring their meat birds there for processing. Partner argues we'd only be there briefly and the place must have sanitary measures in place. But what measures can be in place for an airborne disease??
Is it irresponsible to take our cockerel to the butcher? Is there any justification that it's not irresponsible??
We have a cockerel that we can't legally keep. I've posted around, but no takers from another Marek's flock (I know - it's hard enough to rehome perfectly healthy roosters, so it's no big surprise that I can't find a home for a Marek's carrier but I felt that I had to try). Neither my partner nor I have ever dispatched (much less butchered) a chicken, but this is the option we are left with, and we're both afraid that we will botch it and unnecessarily cause suffering through ineptitude. I had hoped that if the need ever arose to cull a suffering bird, I'd be able to enlist the help of an acquaintance who has done it numerous times, but with Marek's here, I can't ask them to expose their flock.
There is a "live animal" butcher nearby and my partner is really pushing for us to take our cockerel there. I don't think it's responsible - some people do buy chickens to keep there and I think they also sell eggs, so they probably have a flock either nearby or on site (but can't quite tell - there's no website), so it seems we'd be exposing lots of flocks, including other people who may keep flocks and bring their meat birds there for processing. Partner argues we'd only be there briefly and the place must have sanitary measures in place. But what measures can be in place for an airborne disease??
Is it irresponsible to take our cockerel to the butcher? Is there any justification that it's not irresponsible??
