Culling Advice Please!

[Gizabelle]

So sorry you have to go through this.
Just one thing to add. Have your husband do it at night if possible. Use as much light as is necessary to get the job done, but low light is good. If he can take her directly from the roost and do it immediately, she won't have time to get really stressed.

 

[room onthebroom]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ping-block-or-kill-cone.1333246/post-21777555

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...re-culling-the-injured-and-sick-babies.72140/

 

[ANiceKaren]

After a few heartbreaking mishaps with beheading my sweet hens after they got sick, I finally gathered up the courage to try the broomstick method. There is a video in the thread I'm linking below (you have to scroll a few posts down, it's an age restricted youtube video) which helped me tremendously.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/broomstick-method-tips.1248944/#post-20037468
It was incredibly hard the first time, emotionally speaking, as I was afraid of doing something wrong but it ended up being quite peaceful (at least compared to using a hatchet).
It's still just as sad everytime I make the decision to cull, but it IS the most humane and its not as hard (technically speaking) as it seems....my best advice would be to follow through and not hesitate.
Please take some comfort in knowing that you did all you could for your sweet girl. I am sorry you have to make such a hard decision.

Thank you sooo much

 

[ANiceKaren]

So sorry you have to go through this.
Just one thing to add. Have your husband do it at night if possible. Use as much light as is necessary to get the job done, but low light is good. If he can take her directly from the roost and do it immediately, she won't have time to get really stressed.

Very good point thank you

 

[ANiceKaren]

Trying to get a sleeping pill down her might stress her out. She also might choke to death on it. There are a few good articles on building a sort of gas chamber. (Give me a minute to see if I can find them.)

The idea is that the gas makes them sleepy & they pass in their sleep. Birds are pretty good sleepers at night. In theory you could take her out of the coop at night when she’s already sleepy & put her in the gas chamber.

She is pretty used to taking pills… I’ve gotten good at giving her them.. it is super tiny… smaller than calcium I used to have to give her… I know it seems weird to give her a sleeping pill I just thought maybe it would relax her first…

 

[swampfox440]

My husband is confident for sure and I’ll find some technique videos for him prior. He is a pretty strong guy so I assume he can handle. Can I ask you… is it quick? Painless for them?

It's fast and not messy .

 

[room onthebroom]

She is pretty used to taking pills… I’ve gotten good at giving her them.. it is super tiny… smaller than calcium I used to have to give her… I know it seems weird to give her a sleeping pill I just thought maybe it would relax her first…

Whatever works. You need to do what’s right for you & your bird & only you will know which method that is. I’m sorry. It’s a tough call to make.

 

[Hannahnic14]

I'm sharing this info with all the sympathy in my heart for you and your bird
So please please don't take this as I'm being mean or heartless. Just sharing what we did.

My husband put some of ours down by placing them upside down in a cone of some sort, we used a gallon vinegar bottle with the top and bottom cut off, they calmed right down because they were upside down. It sounds terrible but he severed the jugular vein along with the spinal cord in one quick stroke of a knife blade. Its a bit messy but it's the only method I was comfortable with since death is immediate, like within a millisecond. Now take into account these were MEAT birds and NOT pets. And this isn't for the faint of heart, but I had peace with it since death was immediate and I didn't have worry if they were dead or suffering.

As far as the gas chamber, I don't have any experience but I've heard horror stories where the chickens just suffocated to death since the gas chamber makes carbon dioxide. I'm not sure that's a great idea.
Just my opinion, none of this info may help you but maybe it will help someone else

 

[room onthebroom]

Every method of culling has gone wrong at some time or another. Hopefully it will go as smooth as possible for the OP.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/culling-gone-very-wrong.1472134/post-24525648

 

[U_Stormcrow]

When the need arises - and it does - you must be able to shoot your own dog. Don't farm it out - that doesn't make it nicer, it makes it worse.
~ Heinlein.

The same is true for your chickens. It is a good and responsible thing you are doing, to end this bird's suffering. Also that you are doing your research first, in seeking a swift and painless end. I have (almost) no advice regarding method - there are numerous, effective, methods for swiftly dispatching a bird, any of which could work.

Now, the (almost) no advice I do have to offer. I use a SHARP! knife and decapitate in a single draw stroke of my chef's knife, after first sharpening the thing. DO NOT use my method. It sounds like you are too emotionally bound to the bird to deal with the aftermath, even if you or your husband have the fortitude to draw the knife in a swift sure stroke and the skill to lay the blade between vertebrae before making the cut so it slides cleanly thru. It required practice on my part, you don't want to be "learning" for this.

Be aware that, for every method I've looked into, some movement of the bird post mortem is as normal as a lizard's tail continuing to wiggle after its separated from the body. Complete decapitation, whether by knife or axe won't prevent it. Cervical dislocation won't prevent it. a .22 to the skull won't prevent it. Possibly some form of poisoning might - but as I generally consume the birds I end, its not something I've researched extensively. This is something you need to be prepared for.

Whatever method you do use, do it swiftly and with confidence - a half done job is no courtesy to you or the bird - and ultimately will be a trauma you will have to live with, and a period of suffering the bird need not experience. ...and if something does go wrong, in spite of all contrary efforts, be swift. Better for everyone if its over quickly. Won't make you bad chicken parents, just unlucky ones.