ell me what is the best way to, what do you guys do?

[Gazinga]

OK, i know the dictonary definition of cull, so i assume when all of you say you had to cull your bird, that you mean you had to kill the poor little thing. Can you give me any pointers or just how to "cull" the chick? Or what does it mean to you? Just so i dont get mixed up with info being given out.

Thnx agian

Thank goodness im not to that point yet, but just so i understand all of the info here a little better.

 

[MissPrissy]

When I cull a chick I take the chick outside, give it time to feel the sun, the grass and say my good byes. I use a sharp pair of scissors. The bones are soft and one snip takes off the head. There is no pain and it is over in an instant.

 

[Gazinga]

sigh.....

.....i thought it would be something like that, thanks for the info.

 

[NYREDS]

From Dictionary.com:

cull
–verb (used with object) 1. to choose; select; pick.
2. to gather the choice things or parts from.
3. to collect; gather; pluck.
–noun 4. act of culling.
5. something culled, esp. something picked out and put aside as inferior.

So as you can see cull doesn't necessarily mean kill. I culled about 35 birds last weekend that didn't meet my requirements to be kept for show, sale or breeding. I sent them to a local auction where they were bought by people who just wanted chickens, a role they should fill just fine.

If you do have to kill a chick the method cited works fine. Another less hands on method that also works well is to place the chick in an air tight container with a cloth soaked with starting fluid [either]. The bird just goes to sleep and dies. This method doesn't work as well with grown birds for some reason?

 

[kees]

I'm afraid that cull means to eliminate an animal from your flock by whatever means possible.

 

[arlee453]

Cull just means to take the chicken out of your flock - not necessarily by lethal means.

You can cull by selling, giving away or killing the birds.

Miss Prissy has the right way to euthanize a chick.

For older birds, I have used the two nails in a log/board method and a very sharp hatchet. You place two nails a little distance apart, and then use to secure the bird's head and stretch the neck out so you get a very clean, quick kill.

How to humanely dispatch a chicken is a common thread around here and I'll still stand by the fact that a quick, clean beheading is by far the quickest and easiest for the chicken. NOT for the human, but for the chicken.

 

[Gazinga]

Sigh..........as depressing as this subject is, i only want the best for the flock. i think i am really taken with the idea of having chickens for the rest of my life. And with this as a possibility, i only feel it right to show the proper respect to the animal. I luckily havnt had the need to cull yet, but i know if i intened to be around chickens as much as i thin i might, i need to properly prepare myself for the best interest of the chickens. Thank you all for the input, you have been quite clarifying, and should the day ever arrive to cull, il be back here agian to clarify before any action.

thanks to all.