Advice on culling to creating good, strong breeding stock. Am I a monster?

So upon further research with tn state agriculture, they only accept livestock with a vet referral. I don't have a vet for my birds so this is the plan:

This weekend: Cull any noticeably sick birds. Attempt home necropsy to just see if we can identify anything off.

This spring/summer: Keep new chicks on the front of our 7 acre property. (current flock is on the back of the 7 acres) Watch current flock for any issues, if they continue to have any respitory issues we will cull the sick birds, possibly the whole flock if need be. If all birds need to be culled, leave the area vacant for as long as possible (several months at least, research says several weeks is good🤷‍♀️) before introducing new chicks to the area.

In the mean time no birds are to leave my property just in case. This is my plan if it's not good enough for some of you, I'm sorry. These birds are essential to our homestead and will not be culled immediately.

That's the plan I have to keep my sanity.

I'm not an expert, but it sounds like a viable plan.

Have separate shoes and smocks for visiting the two groups and tend the new birds first every time. :)
 
So upon further research with tn state agriculture, they only accept livestock with a vet referral. I don't have a vet for my birds so this is the plan:

This weekend: Cull any noticeably sick birds. Attempt home necropsy to just see if we can identify anything off.

This spring/summer: Keep new chicks on the front of our 7 acre property. (current flock is on the back of the 7 acres) Watch current flock for any issues, if they continue to have any respitory issues we will cull the sick birds, possibly the whole flock if need be. If all birds need to be culled, leave the area vacant for as long as possible (several months at least, research says several weeks is good🤷‍♀️) before introducing new chicks to the area.

In the mean time no birds are to leave my property just in case. This is my plan if it's not good enough for some of you, I'm sorry. These birds are essential to our homestead and will not be culled immediately.

That's the plan I have to keep my sanity.
I think that’s a great plan. You are not a monster for building a strong flock. I do the same. I will give a sick bird a few days to look/act better, but don’t take them to the vet. Same with a bad injury. If it’s not improving within a few days, I will re-evaluate the bird and how much time and effort is needed to fix it, and move from there. I learned the hard way to cull a bird with ascites right away. No way would I keep one that needs to be repeatedly “drained”. Nor would I keep a bird prone to vent prolapse. Harsh? Maybe, but that’s how you build and maintain a healthy flock. Personally, I think it’s more cruel to continually poke a bird with a needle to remove excess fluid that is obviously making it uncomfortable, or to have to keep stuffing a bird’s innards back in than it is to end its pain.
 
I think that’s a great plan. You are not a monster for building a strong flock. I do the same. I will give a sick bird a few days to look/act better, but don’t take them to the vet. Same with a bad injury. If it’s not improving within a few days, I will re-evaluate the bird and how much time and effort is needed to fix it, and move from there. I learned the hard way to cull a bird with ascites right away. No way would I keep one that needs to be repeatedly “drained”. Nor would I keep a bird prone to vent prolapse. Harsh? Maybe, but that’s how you build and maintain a healthy flock. Personally, I think it’s more cruel to continually poke a bird with a needle to remove excess fluid that is obviously making it uncomfortable, or to have to keep stuffing a bird’s innards back in than it is to end its pain.
Agreed with all the above. If it's an ongoing issue the poor bird can't be living a good quality life. Thank you for your input! It's greatly appreciated.
 
So upon further research with tn state agriculture, they only accept livestock with a vet referral. I don't have a vet for my birds so this is the plan:

This weekend: Cull any noticeably sick birds. Attempt home necropsy to just see if we can identify anything off.

This spring/summer: Keep new chicks on the front of our 7 acre property. (current flock is on the back of the 7 acres) Watch current flock for any issues, if they continue to have any respitory issues we will cull the sick birds, possibly the whole flock if need be. If all birds need to be culled, leave the area vacant for as long as possible (several months at least, research says several weeks is good🤷‍♀️) before introducing new chicks to the area.

In the mean time no birds are to leave my property just in case. This is my plan if it's not good enough for some of you, I'm sorry. These birds are essential to our homestead and will not be culled immediately.

That's the plan I have to keep my sanity.
Your plan is reasonable. Stick to it.:highfive::thumbsup:highfive:
 

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