Well, with little relish but clear resolve, we culled a Welsummer cockerel last weekend. We will do one a week for the rest of the month. That night it made a decent roast bird, served alongside all our own croft produce: broad beans mashed with fresh ‘green’ garlic, boiled Stroma second early potatoes, peas, shallots, and some of those funny ball-shaped Paris variety carrots. The bird’s liver was a succulent highlight. In the future, we will probably go the slow-cooked, braising route for our birds. Just a bit tough. A second bonus was, however, some delicious soup made from stock of the carcass and root veg such as parsnip