Culling, what do you do?

[Knittycat]

So many folks have talked about culling. Being sad to do it. Culling sick or deformed chicks. Culling angry or extra roosters. etc.

So folks, if your bird doesn't have enough meat on them to make it worth butchering them (i.e. chicks), how does one go about culling?

 

[RidgesideBeauty]

Long-stewing chicken and wild rice soup?

Okay, somewhat joking, but somewhat serious. I generally keep dual purpose breeds, and do have plans to raise meat birds too. But I recently had to cull an extra (mis-sexed) aggressive rooster of a small breed not normally considered as a meat breed. I figured it would taste like chicken... if I was killing him for reasons other than being sick which would not be safe to eat, I didn't feel it was right for him to go to waste. Obviously that wouldn't apply to sick or deformed chicks.

I was raised in a gated community in Northern Virginia (my father was military, and it was the last place he was stationed)... all the chickens of my youth were plastic wrapped from the grocery store. So here I was on my rural property in East Tennessee... armed with YouTube, an article from Backyard Poultry on homestead butchering, and a copy of Mettler's Basic Butchering of Livestock and Game. I took no pleasure in it, but it was very character building and gave me more appreciation of where my food comes from. This was my first time, and I know after doing it once that I could do it again both for meat birds, or putting a sick/injured bird out of its pain.

No, Sparrow didn't have a whole lot of meat on him (okay, I'll give... he was a Golden Campine with a Napoleon complex and intense fiery hatred of me)... but into the soup pot he went with veggies and wild rice, and it was very good.

I'm not sure I answered the question.

But obviously I needed to get that out.

 

[Barred Rocks forever]

i cant tell if your asking how they process them or what do people usually do with them
Quote:

 

[Knittycat]

I may have to get that recipe for soup from you

I know how to butcher a bird to eat, but how do you go about dispatching, oh say, a two week old chick with a terminal flaw? I don't have that problem *now*, but I'd hate to be faced with the "well how do I do it??" when the time comes.

 

[Barred Rocks forever]

i used very sharp scissors and they worked nicely

 

[Knittycat]

Quote:
Thanks!

 

[CMV]

Here's a link to an old post on here regarding euthanasia guidelines. It's a bit dry and clinical, but is very informative.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=5112773#p5112773

I, myself, use cervical dislocation as my method of choice. Quick, effective and done before the bird knows anything is happening.

Good luck.

 

[Beekissed]

Quick neck snap to dislocate and a toss to the wild side for scavenger consumption or dog consumption.

 

[donrae]

My honey shoots them. A pellet gun will take out a chick, or a large/grown bird if you're a good enough shot and get close enough. If left to my own, I'd probably shoot them, too.

 

[calicokat]

I admit it, I'm a weenie!

I call my neighbor and chicken friend - she handles it for me

I might work up to it someday, but for now I'm just working up to making the call that it needs culled, that's progress for me!