Culling Question - Sad Day in the Handbasket Household

[easttxchick]

If you or DH can make yourselves do it, the hatchet is honestly the fastest, most painless way for the birds.
Believe me, I feel awful for you-we've had to do it with both adult and baby chicks for their own sake.

You're doing the right thing for your birds.

 

[CMV]

So sorry for you and your family. This is the hardest part of owning chickens.

 

[chickenzoo]

So very sorry.......... I have a pair of Sharp, heavy duty loppers. I take the bird out and normally if it's nice out I let the bird enjoy the sun and grass while I get myself together. I give them some food and while they are eating I position the loppers. If they are in bad shape I will often put a sack over top of the loppers so I don't see it. Then in one good lop, it's done....... but they have to be very sharp loppers. I used the broom stick method before, and it works, but I had a bantam Polish I had to put down, and in using that method her head popped off.... still ingrained in my head.........

 

[Katy]

Quote:
Nope

....just quicker and less messy for me.

Where do you aim?

At the base of the back of the head where it joins the neck.

 

[Miss Lydia]

We use the hatchet too, fast and we feel like the best for us. So sorry your having to go through this.

 

[Happy Chooks]

I'm so sorry.

 

[ChooksChick]

Hubby says they pass out pretty quickly, but once they are unconscious, when the system starts shutting off, they flail. It isn't pleasant, he says, and takes around 5 minutes to complete. He uses a lot of fluid for a large bird, and the smaller the container (while still enough room for comfort, of course) the better, as it's more concentrated.

If I had to do it, I'd be okay with it, knowing they were out cold, but I'd run, because I couldn't listen to it.

I'm so sorry you have to deal with this.

Quote:

 

[PepsNick]

I haven't done this, and considering how much of a softie I am, I'd probably have her taken to the vet and get a shot or something heh... but in reality I think, like Katy, I'd just shoot her.

 

[clairabean]

I am sorry.

Quick is best. Don't mess around with exhaust or ether.

 

[HHandbasket]

It ended up being a really busy day (had some other stuff we also *had* to take care of), and by the time we got over to the big box home improvement store to get the sharpening stone for the blade and came home in traffic, it was already dark & the girls had already put themselves away for the night. We are going to do it tomorrow after the girls get up and run around a bit and we see how they are doing. I just keep hoping they get better, but I know it's not going to happen. We have a cone now (picked up a traffic cone thingie) and a sharp blade.

I saw a video on Youtube about culling chickens with a cone & I thought I was going to hurl. I wish there was someplace we could take them and pay to have it done. ::sigh::

I do not know how I'm going to handle this. DH has killed chickens before, but that was chickens that his family had raised for that purpose & they ate them. He has never had to put down a sick chicken he was attached to. Whole different ball of wax, I s'pose.