Culling chicks - how do you do it?

[PippinTheChicken]

Maybe this will help you.

How to Cull a Chick with Kitchen Sheers (Scissors) for Squeamish People *slightly graphic*

*No chicks were harmed in the writing of this article* Whether you hatch your own chicks, order them from a hatchery, or buy them from a feed store, sometimes, something just goes wrong. The chick doesn't thrive and just goes slowly downhill despite efforts to help. An injury or genetic...

• Redhead Rae
• Feb 7, 2019
• 5.00 star(s) 24 ratings
• Comments: 11
• Reviews: 18
• Category: Member Pages

 

[Agathe]

My friend taught me his way to cull quail which I'd assume works for chicks, it is to hold the bird in your left hand and grab the head in your right hand and literally pull it off. It is crazy how easy it is to separate the two and if done properly I don't see how it's different to cutting their head off.

It is what I did with the day old chick I had to cull and I think it worked well then. I've just not been sure how long this is possible to do. It was at least very quick and since I used my bare hands I was in complete control.

 

[ChicksnMore]

That is a very good suggestion! Do the chicks stay still when you hold them upside down? I wonder if a rock might do the same trick as a hammer...

They actually do. I hold their feet and wings together. When I flip them upside down they go still. Their heads are crushed and it's over in an instant.
Ive never tried a rock...you want something that's easy to be accurate and hit hard. I have used a large, heavy pair of tin snips before. Be careful of your fingers if using a rock though.

 

[Animal Export]

we use an ax it works fine

 

[yajra]

I have 8 chicks but the roosters need to go as soon as possible. I have no one to give or sell them to and no place to raise them for meat (I did that last year but now I have a grown rooster in the flock). So I need to cull. I have culled roosters previously using a cone. I've asked here before about culling chicks without getting very precise answers. I already feel terrible culling babies and I also have arthritis so I don't always trust my strength. I really would like some detailed guidance in how to cull a chick as quickly and painlessly and as fail proof as possible. They'll be 3 weeks, maybe 4 when I cull. My plan was to use an axe (I don't own a hatchet), but I worry that I'll cut myself seeing they are so small and my arthritis can sometimes make me a little clumsy. An alternative is scissors, but I worry it will take too long and more than one try. I just don't know how much strength it will take with a chick. It's been suggested me to knock the head against something hard before culling it, but I worry that I'll only make matters worse if I don't get it right. It might all come natural to me once I do it, I haven't had much of an issue with the roosters, but I feel I owe the chicks to have a clear idea what to do before I do it. I had to cull a day old chick after hatching and then I pulled its head off (it wouldn't have been able to sustain life on its own), but I assume that by now that may be too difficult.

I used the neck separation method on 4 1 month old Roos today. I was not expecting that the head would separate from the body as easily as it did.

Anything larger will be kill cone and sheers.

 

[Agathe]

Thank you so much everyone for your assistance! Today I did the deed for the first time based on your advice. The chicks are still younger than 3 weeks, but since we had the breed last year, I knew what to look for and one of them already stood out as a rooster. The rest I'm still not sure about. I had planned on waiting until I could do more than one, but felt so nervous about it that I decided it was best to get it out of the way as soon as possible.

I chose to knock the chick's head against the edge of a table. I think it was out cold right away, but I quickly used poultry shears to snip the head off. Since the head didn't come all the way off on one cut (but enough for it to be dead), I quickly tested a different pair of shears that I had also laid ready. The second one was to my surprise much more precise. I'm glad I could test on an already dead chick, because it is precisely things like this I was afraid of bumping into on a live chick. So now I know and I've tried and I'm not left to all the worst scenarios my brain can produce when I try to envision how to do it. I'm really happy so many of you shared your thoughts and I'll keep all the different methods in mind in case other methods work better for me in other situations.

 

[Banana01]

Any type of bladed armament also works if your aim is true. Personally I use a machete, and swing really hard and accurately. Poor things.

 

[reddingchicken]

I recently got some new garden shears, I hadn't thought of that! Should work better than scissors at least.

paper bag over an exhaust pipe, older vehicle works best. Or craigslist, or stop making chicks.

 

[Chickn Keaper]

I have 8 chicks but the roosters need to go as soon as possible. I have no one to give or sell them to and no place to raise them for meat (I did that last year but now I have a grown rooster in the flock). So I need to cull. I have culled roosters previously using a cone. I've asked here before about culling chicks without getting very precise answers. I already feel terrible culling babies and I also have arthritis so I don't always trust my strength. I really would like some detailed guidance in how to cull a chick as quickly and painlessly and as fail proof as possible. They'll be 3 weeks, maybe 4 when I cull. My plan was to use an axe (I don't own a hatchet), but I worry that I'll cut myself seeing they are so small and my arthritis can sometimes make me a little clumsy. An alternative is scissors, but I worry it will take too long and more than one try. I just don't know how much strength it will take with a chick. It's been suggested me to knock the head against something hard before culling it, but I worry that I'll only make matters worse if I don't get it right. It might all come natural to me once I do it, I haven't had much of an issue with the roosters, but I feel I owe the chicks to have a clear idea what to do before I do it. I had to cull a day old chick after hatching and then I pulled its head off (it wouldn't have been able to sustain life on its own), but I assume that by now that may be too difficult.

Maybe you should wait until you are 100% percent sure they are roosters. 3 to 4 weeks old is way too early!!! At that point there's no way to be certain((

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

I pull the head off with my hands and quickly step on it to crush it just in case is still conscious after the decapitation. Chick heads pop right off.