Eggs for food vs eggs for chicks...sound off please

[MROO]

If they know how, yes it would work....I wouldn't try it.

Yup ... and practicing until you "know how" would likely involve a lot of suffering birds!

 

[Beccazon]

I've heard some people claim they just grab the chicken by the neck, pick them up, and a quick swing of the body to snap the neck works. Is this real? Seems this would be the most humane way for me.

That seems needlessly barbaric and as stated, "practicing" til you get it right would be even more so. There is no suffering save for some anxiety immediately prior, in a quick chop.

 

[MROO]

That seems needlessly barbaric and as stated, "practicing" til you get it right would be even more so. There is no suffering save for some anxiety immediately prior, in a quick chop.

According to my Dad, the quick swing method had the advantage of being less stressful on the bird. All his Dad did was pick them up as if he was carrying them, grip them around the neck and give them a quick whip to break their necks. The kids appreciated the neck snap more than the head chop simply because they had charge of cleanup - and there was no bloody mess if the still-animated body was somewhat mobile. Apparently, that was quite common, and a few of the boys found it entertaining (hey, it was decades ago!) I'm SO glad I wasn't around when Pop butchered the birds ... I'd have been scarred for life!

 

[JRCOOKFL]

it is much easier to tend to chics in the warmer months. I just recently got into the chicken biz and i have hatched about 150 eggs. My hens were about 10 months old when we started incubating eggs. I have 9 hens and one rooster. Mr rooster stays with the girls 24/7. Our eggs are super tasty and his fertilized egg ratio is greater than 90%. We have pure bred RIR. We have recently started keeping simple records and that will help you remember what to do and not do. GOOD LUCK

 

[Ebony Rose]

it is much easier to tend to chics in the warmer months.

High on the list of problems with chicks during rainy season is coccidiosis as the rain seems to bring the parasite closer to the surface, making it much easier for unsuspecting hosts (your chicks and chickens) to ingest them and their eggs. Baby chicks haven't had the time to develop a strong resistance to this opportunistic parasite. I typically treat my flock's water with CORID® (amprolium) for the specified duration as soon as rainy season hits since prophylactically treating them causes no harm to them, the environment, nor causes a withholding period of ingesting the meat or eggs that your older flock produces.