ANGELFIRE1 Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 So many that I have lost count I'm afraid. I used to have a small holding on which I reared ducks, geese, chickens, quail, guinea fowl, and sheep. Some went to a local abbatoir some I dispatched myself. I tended to take the sheep and geese to the slaughterhouse as dispatching them humanely was difficult in situ. Small and local abbatoires meant that I could see the animals in and count them out. The rest were killed on site. Breaking a chickens neck is not a difficult thing the same can be said for duck and guinea fowl, quail as you can imagine are very easy. None of this is to say that I enjoyed the job only that as a meat eater, having reared them and seen them live a good life I was prepared to give them a good death. Eventually I invested in 2 'humane dispatchers' I will post a link once this is posted, due to the sheer numbers that I was dealing with especially at Christmas, when I was also dealing with rabbits. At the most I had a flock of 100 chickens and a smaller flock of pure breeds numbering 20 or so. Geese there were 40, sheep the number varied on the number of lambs produced , guinea fowl the flock was small being only 12 as they were not particularly popular. If there is anything else that you would like to know about my killing methods and the smallholding please feel free to PM me. http://ascott-dairy.co.uk/acatalog/Humane-Wall-Mounted-Dispatcher-PY91.html I used to do similar when I was a school boy, brass came in handy around Christmas time. It's quite surprising that some people believe meat is born in a polystyrene box with a film lid, with bloody Tesco stamped on it. Cows also have nests where they lay bottles of milk - ready to be collected by the milkman. Oh to be an urban dweller and believe in the tooth fairy and the above tales. Angel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Squirrel Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Exactly, you are on the money - If you have Grey's in the City (which you will have) all the Reds WILL have either been driven away, or sadly killed by your friendly Grey's. Nature is not all about little cuddely furry anlmals, it has a dark side if you care to look into it. Angel. Do you not read too good? Grey Squirrels are not aggressive toward Red Squirrels. Greys do not kill Reds, they are simply a more 'hardy' species than the Red. They fight predators better than the Red, fight infection better than the Red and are better foragers than the Red. Reds and Greys will live happily together but the Grey is stronger, fitter and more adaptable than the Red. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ANGELFIRE1 Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 More urban mythology. Greys are indeed not indigenous to the UK and they are larger than the Red but thats where the truths in your post end regarding the Red/Grey issue. Reds are indeed protected and must not be killed under any means but they are being killed off by deforestation and destruction of their natural habitat by man along with a disease at the turn of the century that near wiped the Red out. Red were also hunted by man for many years and is why the myth that the greys are more aggressive came popular. In fact, Greys are simply more confident when it comes to interaction with humans as humans have not been any natural cause for threat, whereas Reds are more timid and scared of humans. Greys are surviving Reds due to their natural robustness and their foraging techniques. Greys will forage at ground level where Reds are reluctant to do so. There is no evidence that Greys are aggressive to Reds whatsoever and there are many examples where Greys and Reds coexist happily although interspecies breeding is almost non existant. Hope that clarifies things. I have been shooting the damn things for going on 45 years, hope that clarifies things. I don't have to read the "facts" about them, been there, seen it and done it. Rats with bushy tails - it's as simple as that. Been shooting rats for 45 years as well - before any one asks, and most other stuff you can eat when shot as well. It's called living in the countryside and reaping natures harvest. Angel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Squirrel Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Thats fine and dandy Angel. Good hunting i say. It isnt a crime to kill Grey Squirrels and obviously killing small animals with your big gun is a turn on so get on with it mate. I have heard about you 'country folk' before.. Are you sure your wife isnt your sister? My only beef with your posts is that you seem to be under the impression that the Greys are aggressive toward the Red and are responsible for the Reds demise. I am merely addressing your inaccurate portrayal of 'Fact' and attempting to inform you of the reality surrounding this myth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phanerothyme Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 All the shooting in the world isn't going to make much difference to their numbers. They just do what they do, and they happen to be better at it than the reds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisT70 Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 We have a frequent unwelcome visitor in our garden a grey squirrel he pops in about half a dozen times a day.He is a persirtent little swine at eating all the nuts and seeds plus the fat balls I put out for the wild birds,he,s destroyed quite a few of the food holders I,ve been using,the ones I have now are very robust but he chews through them in short time.Our lass is getting paronoid about him I can,t help but laugh watching her chase him off with the yard brush,he,s costing me a fortune in bird food so I may have to execute him,the question is can I shoot him legally or will I be lining myself up for trouble with the RSPA or any other body?.Anyone on the Forum can you help with my dilemma??. you can get proper heavy duty squirrel proof feeders from the net but they are about 20 quid. the posts and wire are much thicker than the cheap "squirrel proof" ones that local garden centres sell. we have about 4 regulars who have eaten plastic and wire feeders until recently when we spent some cash on a proper one! we have had to wire the lid down though as they are persistent chuffs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shogun Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 I got one the other day I was in my 4X4 going along Firth park road and it came bouncing across the road in front of me I tried to swerve out of the way but Im afraid I flattened it like a pancake I stopped and had a look at it hoping I mite be able to give it the kiss of life or some thing, but when 3 tones of 4X4 have just gone over it it did look a bit worse for ware,poor little thing:sad: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootsBooster Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 I got one the other day I was in my 4+4 I want an 8 wheel drive too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
e barker Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 I've had many so called squirel proof feeders over the years. This is the only one ever to work. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stainless-Steel-Squirrel-Proof-Feeder/dp/B000TAI9WW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1327267738&sr=8-2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conrod Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Do you not read too good? Grey Squirrels are not aggressive toward Red Squirrels. Greys do not kill Reds, they are simply a more 'hardy' species than the Red. They fight predators better than the Red, fight infection better than the Red and are better foragers than the Red. Reds and Greys will live happily together but the Grey is stronger, fitter and more adaptable than the Red. But when food and natural resources are in short supply, the greys will dominate the area and get the best of it - which is why they have driven the red squirrel out of England on the whole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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