Old Hens

[JennH07]

Hello All,
I live in city limits so I have no roo's and only four hens. My conundrum is this, three of my hens are 5 years old the last is 4 years old. Only one of the hens is laying eggs, a 5 yr old and she has meat spots in like every other egg, no lie, no exaggeration there. So now that they're not laying I want to get a new flock but I'm having issues about taking my girls in and having them culled because really they're more like pets but I do depend on the eggs. Is it really hard to cull them yourself with the broomstick. I feel like I would be giving them more respect if I did it myself. Is it just me or does anybody else feel this way? Maybe I just need to put on big girl panties?

 

[Rose Quartz]

The first hen I killed myself was broomstick method, she was old and very sick. I grew up with my dad killing turkeys and chickens, so I thought I'd be fine. It was very emotionally stressful. I thought I did it wrong and I'm pretty sure I dislocated her leg. Ended up freaking out and taking her head off. It was 3am in my garage so my neighbors wouldn't see what I was doing.

If I could do it again I'd have gotten my dad to come up and do it for me.

The hardest part isn't killing them, even though you'd think it would be. It's when you aren't sure you've done the job and you don't know if they're suffering or if it's just normal for it to take that long.

Not that I'm saying taking them to someone else to be culled is better. The stress of travel is another thing to consider.

Personally I think a brand new, super sharp knife would work better for you. Older birds have thicker skin, use as much force to do it as you are capable of, you may have to do it more than once.

 

[Ridgerunner]

We all have different backgrounds and experiences, different goals and emotions. It doesn't matter how I feel, it matters how you feel. You have to do what you think is right.

What do you plan to do with the carcasses? Are you going to eat them or throw them away. What happens if you take them to someone else? I personally think it respects them more if they are useful even in death rather than discarded. Some people can't eat them if they were their own chickens. This would weight in my decision of whether I did it myself or sent them away.

Physically the broomstick method, cone and knife, cone and loppers, hatchet and stump, and other methods are not that difficult if you have the tools. The problems come in on how emotional are you and can you actually do it without flinching or closing your eyes. You don't want to falter and wind up injuring yourself or just injuring the chicken instead of a clean kill.

I don't know what the right decision is for you. I grew up on a farm. By the time I was 10 Mom would tell me to bring her a chicken (often telling me which one or at least which type). I'd deliver a plucked and gutted carcass to her. My emotions are going to be a lot different from yours. It's yours that count.

 

[JennH07]

I do plan on eating them, I do not plan on throwing the carcasses away. I just don't think that's the right thing to do they were good girls, lots of good eggs and they will be used in death also I just have a really hard time with doing it myself but then like you said if I'd have somebody else do it there's the stress of driving to that place for them. I'm just not sure what would be the best way.

Many years ago I had another flock and I had a very very nasty rooster Well to make a long story short I ended up having to chop his neck while my husband held him across a log and the stress of trying not to hit my husband caused me to only cut halfway oh it so horrible. Anyway this is why I'm thinking the broomstick method.

 

[Sally PB]

Do you have a firearm? I had to cull two nasty cockerels. I caught one in a fishing net, took him to a sandy area, and put a .22 bullet in the back of his head. He was wrapped up in the net, head on the ground, so the bullet exited safely into the dirt.

I was NOT prepared for the "death throes," even though I knew he was dead. The second one, I walked away after I shot him, until he was still.

I'm glad you plan to use their bodies as food. In case you didn't know, at that age the meat will be tough. "Rest" the carcass in the fridge for 2-3 days, or until rigor has passed. Cook in a pressure cooker, or use another long, slow moist cooking process.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I'd be lying if I said the broomstick method was "easy" (on you as the owner) but it does work very quickly once you do it. It's over in seconds. The most traumatic thing honestly is pulling too hard and taking off the head, but at the same time that guarantees the job was done...

 

[Mrs. K]

I did not start with the broomstick method. I started with the slit the jugular method, they just get sleepy and I hold them a while, then put them upside down in a bucket, which reduces the flapping and keeps the cleaner.

I now do the broomstick method, it works and it is done. However, I think the flapping is much worse with this method, but the flapping MEANS you got it done. People are afraid that it means that the bird is alive and you botched it, when in reality it means it is over.

I am 65 years old, and I can do this quickly by myself. If you do it in the dark, after they are a sleep on the roost, they will have almost no distress at all.

Put your broomstick or shovel handle so that it lies mostly flat against the ground, reach into the coop, pick your bird of the roost, bring out of the coop, grab her legs and hang her upside down, back away from you, put her head on the ground, bend and place the handles across her neck behind her head, stand, step and straighten and give a sharp jerk straight up. It really does not take a hard yank, but needs a sudden jerk. The bird will flap hard, and it is over.

Really it takes longer to type this than do it.

Clean the bird, and rest for a day or two, then stew. I love to have canned chicken on hand, and canning it just completely disassociates me from the bird. Although, once I have the bird killed, it ceases to bother me.

Also, do not think you have to do them all at the same time. Do one, then maybe two at a time. It is a bit of work. I used to think one mess is better. But really if you are doing this by yourself, a smaller mess is better.

I teach 7th and 8th grade, and nothing quite impresses middle school kids as when you tell them you harvested chickens over the week-end. haha