Cruel disposal of unwanted chicks?

[iluvmybabiez]

Donrae has been anything but sarcastic or rude. Loose chickens do not survive for very long in the wild. They don't stand a chancel. You may feel that letting them loose in the wild is "choosing life" but in reality it would be an extremely cruel, very irresponsible act. Letting them loose will indeed result in them bring run down and getting ripped apart by a predator. But then I suppose that is nature taking it's course.

Not always.. The woods give the chicken plenty of room to run free away from predators, again they have way more of a chance.

 

[keesmom]

The vast majority of predators are nocturnal. Chickens are not. They do not stand a chance. I've even lost entire free range flocks (with access to woods) to predators in broad daylight when they do stand a chance.

 

[iluvmybabiez]

My roosters are free range, perfectly fine. I guess I'm the odd one out, but I still don't agree with it.

 

[keesmom]

I decade ago I had a cockerel escape one evening. I couldn't find him before it got dark. I looked everywhere. At 3 am we all heard his death screeches as something found him.

My first flock was taken by a vixen fox at noon. Didn't know that she had a litter of 6 under a neighbor's shed. A few years ago coyotes wiped out a flock of 15 mid morning one day in May.

You have been lucky.

 

[donrae]

Yeah, I was being sarcastic (but thanks for the back up, keesmom

) Yep, chickens are descended from wild fowl. And dogs are descended from wolves. I still say a domestic cockerel dumped in the woods has as much a chance of survival as a Pomeranian dog does. I think most folks agree dumping dogs is irresponsible, I'm not sure why chickens are any different. Getting literally ripped apart and eaten while still alive---no thanks. I've heard the screams of raccoon's dinner and would never wish that on my chickens.

 

[enola]

That's terrible... I keep all of my Roos, I never cull, I'd rather let them go free in the wild first.

My Roos I have now run free in my yard, I have over an acre lot.

I just don't have it in me to kill any animal.

Just as an example of what would happen to chickens that I "let them free in the wild".......

My neighbor's dog would arrive in a few minutes, and working as a team, would slaughter them one at a time. Would you like to know how they kill the chickens?

They tag team them, catch them one at a time and play tug of war with them, pulling them apart piece by piece until the chicken is dead. Then they catch the next chicken and do it again. Over and over until they are all dead.

So, when I hatch chickens for my flock and to sell as layers later, I hatch sex linked chicks. The roosters can be identified at hatch and humanely destroyed when they are removed from the brooder. I would NEVER purposely let chickens loose "to live out their lives and let nature take it's course", To do so is animal cruelty.

 

[iluvmybabiez]

Just as an example of what would happen to chickens that I "let them free in the wild".......

My neighbor's dog would arrive in a few minutes, and working as a team, would slaughter them one at a time. Would you like to know how they kill the chickens?

They tag team them, catch them one at a time and play tug of war with them, pulling them apart piece by piece until the chicken is dead. Then they catch the next chicken and do it again. Over and over until they are all dead.

So, when I hatch chickens for my flock and to sell as layers later, I hatch sex linked chicks. The roosters can be identified at hatch and humanely destroyed when they are removed from the brooder. I would NEVER purposely let chickens loose "to live out their lives and let nature take it's course", To do so is animal cruelty.

It's also cruel to kill a bird or anything for that matter based solely on its sex. I have 12 roosters, none were killed, they're doing fine here.

 

[enola]

Regardless of sex, a humane death is not cruel. Maybe you have good luck turning your roosters loose to fend for themselves, but I have already described what happens to loose roosters here.

 

[keesmom]

It's also cruel to kill a bird or anything for that matter based solely on its sex. I have 12 roosters, none were killed, they're doing fine here.

In your opinion. Some members keep chickens as pets. Others as livestock. Neither is wrong, so do not criticize those who cull their birds. Besides, not all cull on sex alone. I cull both sexes.

 

[iluvmybabiez]

I don't set my roosters loose, I keep them, but again id set them loose before I'd ever slaughter em.