What do you do with chickens you've culled?

[BarefootMom]

Depends on the age if they are just chicks they get thrown in the pile where all the manure gets thrown.

If they are older we take them to the back of the field to decompose. We never even think of burying them. They are animals not humans.

With that said I don't cull unless they are super mean, or have some present illness that cannot be cured. If they are healthy and just mean I will cook depending on the age of the bird.

 

[Meghalu]

Quote:
Why hello there! We seem to be "neighbours," I'm from the Okanagan.

And as for culls, if they aren't sick then they go in the pot. It's such a waste to throw them away. If I couldn't stomach it (I can) then I would find someone less squeamish who would use the meat.

 

[ozark_chickies]

I keep the ones that have traits I want to keep in my flock, and cook the ones that don't make it. I canned the last bunch we culled,and the first group were frozen. I have given a a few away to friends , not really culls, just roosters I didn't need, and they wanted for thier flock.

 

[zzGypsy]

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some of us keep chickens because we're carnivors, some for the eggs, some because we like them as pets. all of us have to face the question at some point.
For my hubby and me, it's about respect for the animal... it's here to serve a purpose. treat it well while alive, be swift and merciful when you kill, don't waste anything that can be used.

we love and care for them while they're alive. we cull for behavioral and genetic reasons, overpopulation, and because that's why we raised many of the animals in the first place. we try not to give adorable names to those we know we will cull.

we eat the culls if they're healthy. we dispose of the ill if we can't effectively treat them and the ones with unknown deaths. those that died healthy bun unexpectedly of identifiable causes like a broken neck, and those we cull for old age and quality of life issues, we feed to the dogs and cats.

we don't find all parts of the process easy or fun, but that's ok, its still part of the process. if that's clinical, that's ok too... we think of it as practical, or pragmatic.

 

[cows and chickens]

If I can't sell them, we butcher them. They become dog food.

If it's sick or mean, we butcher it. Sick ones get disposed of in a hole in the ground. Mean ones are dog food.

 

[Oregon Blues]

My culls get eaten. Me, or the dogs. It's disrespectful to end a life for no purpose. Birds are thanked and used, which gives their death meaning.

If you use good animal husbandry, there should not be many sick chickens.

 

[cindylo]

Unfortunately, I had to euthanize one due to illness in June. Ophie was much loved, she was a people chicken. Her casket was a running shoe box lined with cloth dinner napkins. Her grave was dug as deep as I was able. Now a 12X12 inch pink tile marks her final resting place. Call me nuts, but my girls are pets who provide breakfast (eggs). And I had baked chicken breast for dinner last night - just not someone I knew. Call me a hypocrite, but I can't eat something with a name like Tootsie, Hennie, Kung Po, Chicklet, Angel or Bennie!

 

[Avalon1984]

Quote:
some of us keep chickens because we're carnivors, some for the eggs, some because we like them as pets. all of us have to face the question at some point.
For my hubby and me, it's about respect for the animal... it's here to serve a purpose. treat it well while alive, be swift and merciful when you kill, don't waste anything that can be used.

we love and care for them while they're alive. we cull for behavioral and genetic reasons, overpopulation, and because that's why we raised many of the animals in the first place. we try not to give adorable names to those we know we will cull.

we eat the culls if they're healthy. we dispose of the ill if we can't effectively treat them and the ones with unknown deaths. those that died healthy bun unexpectedly of identifiable causes like a broken neck, and those we cull for old age and quality of life issues, we feed to the dogs and cats.

we don't find all parts of the process easy or fun, but that's ok, its still part of the process. if that's clinical, that's ok too... we think of it as practical, or pragmatic.

We do the same. We incubate a lot and naturally, there are many roosters. The pesky ones or the ones that don't develop well get culled humanely and we eat them. Diseased ones are put down and dug up. I don't throw my chickens in the trash and we have coyotes that would be attracted if we just threw them out in the field. We have a farm animal cemetery with a beautiful flower patch on top.

 

[LittleDarlings]

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I think that is so sweet. I am all for them having a purpose and definitely enjoying them FOR that purpose, but they are still a tiny piece of our family and our history. I chose to raise chickens just for that reason. I wanted a link to my family's food that was more than a non-chemical, non-tortured way of life for them. Btw~Chicken is my MOST favorite food!

 

[stoopid]

I had a chick got squashed, and broke its neck, I tried to bury it in the compost pile. Wouldn't you know those cannibals dug him up and ate him? Yuck!!
I give my culls to a nice young man who feeds his family with them. He says they taste much better than store bought.