Baby needs culled. Not mine, can't do it. Now what???

[firedove]

Freezing something small like a mouse does not take very long at all and when you freeze to death you do go through a period of pain but then you just feel really warm and relaxed in the end. It takes 10 minutes to freeze a field mouse solid in my freezer (I do that to the ones my cat tortures until they just sit submissively in one place. As soon as I get them in the juice bottle that I use they start running around inside it like they are fine, my cat just terrifies them to paralyzation, she is quite the sadist). With a freezing period as quickly as that they just are left laying in the bottom of the bottle looking like they fell asleep. I would never recommend freezing anything that would take a long time to die but with the mice it is the safest way for me and a quick way to go for them. I certainly don't want to get bitten by a wild mouse while I try to dispatch it.

On the other hand, I think with a chick that the removal of the head (as long as it is done quickly) is the way to go.

Interestingly the use of car exhaust to put down an animal is considered cruel and inhumane, what is the difference between that and creating a CO2 chamber? They suffocate either way.

Also that article on building a CO2 chamber notes that rats killed in their original cage don't seem to be stressed or fearful. It doesn't say anything about animals put into a strange bin or box and flooded with gas while the fresh air slowly escapes.

Really there are no ways to die that are completely without stress or some sort of pain. I think that if an animal gets an inkling that something is wrong they are going to stress out. People exposed to carbon monoxide poisoning, while NOT asleep already, experience terrible headaches, disorientation, and vomiting and say it is a very scary experience.

When it comes to killing you just can't "win" it's death no matter what and death is not pleasant, ever, unless you are lucky enough to die in your sleep.

ETA: Before someone says it, no, catch and release of the mice is not an option, no matter where I released it it would either come back or turn into someone else's problem. No unpopulated areas around here and lots of farms that do not want or need another mouse.

 

[rancher hicks]

I'd never knew this was part of chicken keeping and I expect I'll be strong enough when the time comes. I have a deeper admiration for the women and men on this site. Your really quite amazing aren't you. To do such a thing with is really very selfless. Kudos
Rancher

 

[birdlover]

I had to put down two chicks who were dying last fall. I'd never done it before and it was gut-wrenching. I received a batch of chicks from McMurrays and almost all were DOA but these were still alive and I tried to revive them. For the first few hours they just slept under the heat lamp. They never stood up to go eat or drink and I kept them hydrated as best I could. Then it became apparent that they were going to die. First, there was a third chick that died on it's own. Before it died, it started bringing it's neck and head up over it's back and would flip over. I kept trying to help it but it died. So, when the other two started to do that - plus making these awful, loud, SAD peeps - I knew they were suffering but I could NOT bring myself to break their necks and I knew it was my responsibility not to let them suffer. I wanted it to be instantaneous so I wrapped each baby in a soft rag, put it in a plastic bag and proceeded to run over it with the car. I know it sounds horrible but it was as fast as could be and they never saw it coming. Of course, I don't know that I could do this with a bigger bird but, anyway, that's how I dealt with the problem of two dying baby chicks.

 

[Chicken Fruit]

Quote:
Thats probably what I would do if I HAD to dispatch a chick.

 

[rancher hicks]

I'd never considered that I'd have to be doing such a thing and I'm not sure how I would do it. I don't think my wife would like me putting them in the freezer. Though I expect it would be as painless as possible. I have been reading some awful stories concerning McMurray's and I 'm won't be ordering any chicks from them.

 

[CTChickenMom]

I think with any news, bad news travels faster than good. When one person has a bad incident they tell 10 people. If they have a good experience, they may only tell 2 people. In a forum like this, I'm sure there are people who have had bad cases from many hatcheries. McMurray is the largest supplier of rare breeds. They don't breed all the hens at their place, I'm sure a lot has to do with who they get the eggs from. For their level of success and the number of chicks they send out each year...there chick mortality must be pretty low. This time of year with below freezing temps still at night, it doesn't take much for a newborn to be pushed beyond its limits. Add the carelessness of some of the people who may be delivering them and we've added a second whammy. I elected to wait and get my chicks the first week of April. Temps here in CT are getting warmer then and the nights stay above freezing.

 

[firedove]

I got 28 chicks from McMurray on Feb 23, only lost two, one was crushed in transit by the other chicks and the other died the next day, just never gained strength. The other 26 chicks are all doing great, no cross beaks or spraddle legs or any other problem with any of them. I would definitely order from MM again! They also credited back the cost of the two chicks I lost to my card, no questions asked.

 

[eggchel]

I would recommend dislocating the neck.

 

[girlsaint]

Quote:
The difference between Carbon Monoxide from a car exhaust and that used to dispatch animals is the cooling of the gases. Car exhaust is hot and putting a box at the end of a tailpipe with animals in it will scorch the lungs of whatever poor critter is in the box. When the gases cooled, they die more of a "go to sleep" death than a screaming "my lungs are on fire" death.

 

[reveriereptile]

This chick sounds like one from my first hatch. It was one that had spraddle leg, curled toes, and couldn't hold its head up either. I had to seperate it from the other chicks since they kept running all over it. Well at the time my FIL was on vacation and so I kept getting more attached to it. Since it was weak and had to be kept from the other chicks it would waddle over on its legs and be peeping to get in your hand. Once in your hand it would calmly sleep. I tried to fix its toe and leg problems but it was to weak. After a week it was half the size of the others and my FIL came back and said he had to put it down. I was upset but knew it had to be done. The next day I came downstairs and asked if he had done it yet cause I didn't want to see it still in the box and feel even more bad before he does it. It had died on its own during the night.

We've had others that had to be put down including a goose that we had to help hatch after not hatching for 24 hours but still making noises. She had a bent neck and couldn't straighten it and wasn't able to eat or drink without help. After a couple days she looked worse. My FIL put her down. Not to be gross or sound cruel but we live on a farm so it isn't anything for him to put something down. I watched him put it down just incase I'd ever have to do it so I know how to put it down fast. He took the bird and went out on the concrete steps and slammed the bird off and it died instantly. I watched him do it others times and they all died instantly. It sounds horrible especially watching it but it did work.

I've had a drawf hamster that had to be put down since she developed cancer lumps on her sides and her eye lids were sticky and wouldn't open. My husband said he would put her down for me. She loved climbing in a paper towel tube so we put her in that and taped the ends shut. He took her outside (I didn't watch but he had to tell me all the details since he had to put her down) and put the tube on the concrete and stepped on her (he weighed about 255 at the time) and gave it another step just to be sure and said he knew she was dead on the first cause it went flat and he seen some blood come out. I felt bad for her but she was 2 yrs. old and looked horrible. Also don't have the extra money to spend for a vet to do it.

I agree with birdlover to wrap them up and run over her with the car. You won't be seeing her die in front of you and would feel less horrified after it is all done and over from not watching it. If you try that method put a bad around them before running them over for easier clean up.

Another idea could be to wrap her up and use a large hammer but the car would be easier.