First time culling a mean rooster

[SparkleBerryFarm]

We decided we needed to cull some roosters. We have 24 chickens and 7 of them are roosters that have been fighting. We researched and prepared and bought a hugging cone and decided to just take care of one first the meanest one and to process it to eat and then decide what to do with the rest after seeing how the first one goes.
Well my husband took on the hardest task and it did not go as planned at all. Both of us grew up with parents that hunted and processed their own animals so we have seen the process, never done it ourselves, but it was definitely not smooth like the blogs and videos I had watched. And I’m feeling really upset by it. How did your first time go? Is there a way to move past this feeling because we do believe it is our responsibility to treat these birds well and when necessary give them an easy quick ending.

 

[Molpet]

We decided we needed to cull some roosters. We have 24 chickens and 7 of them are roosters that have been fighting. We researched and prepared and bought a hugging cone and decided to just take care of one first the meanest one and to process it to eat and then decide what to do with the rest after seeing how the first one goes.
Well my husband took on the hardest task and it did not go as planned at all. Both of us grew up with parents that hunted and processed their own animals so we have seen the process, never done it ourselves, but it was definitely not smooth like the blogs and videos I had watched. And I’m feeling really upset by it. How did your first time go? Is there a way to move past this feeling because we do believe it is our responsibility to treat these birds well and when necessary give them an easy quick ending.

Yes the first time was upsetting. It does get better but taking a life shouldn't be easy. Satisfaction for providing food that had a good life and one bad day is my goal.
I hunted in my youth and was surprised it was so emotional, but hands on killing is different than long distance with a gun.

 

[3KillerBs]

We decided we needed to cull some roosters. We have 24 chickens and 7 of them are roosters that have been fighting. We researched and prepared and bought a hugging cone and decided to just take care of one first the meanest one and to process it to eat and then decide what to do with the rest after seeing how the first one goes.
Well my husband took on the hardest task and it did not go as planned at all. Both of us grew up with parents that hunted and processed their own animals so we have seen the process, never done it ourselves, but it was definitely not smooth like the blogs and videos I had watched. And I’m feeling really upset by it. How did your first time go? Is there a way to move past this feeling because we do believe it is our responsibility to treat these birds well and when necessary give them an easy quick ending.

Everything has a learning curve. You can read other threads about bad first culls here on this forum and be reassured that this has happened to many people before.

I was taught to use the broomstick method.

My first try was too tentative and I didn't get a clean kill, having to do it again (I take comfort in the idea that the bird was, at least, stunned and not aware of suffering). Another was a complete miss because I didn't have my weight on the broomstick correctly and it came out from under my feet.

Another in that batch I pulled the head clear off, which was messy and alarming.

I eventually learned to make the correct jerk with the correct weight balanced in the correct spot -- and discovered that a quick, clean kill by this method results in a VERY strong flapping reaction.

Holding a violently-flapping bird by its ankles was thoroughly disconcerting before I understood that the extreme flap was my signal that the spinal cord had been severed perfectly for an instant death.

When I make my first attempts with the knife and killing cone I expect a similar learning curve. But our intent to do our best to dispatch culled birds in the quickest, cleanest, most humane manner DOES matter.

 

[Ridgerunner]

HI, welcome to the forum from Louisiana. Glad you joined, just wish it were a happier topic.

How did your first time go?

I can't remember my first time. I grew up watching my father butcher a chicken and don't know how old I was when I took over that chore. He used an ax and stump so I did too. We all have different experiences.

Is there a way to move past this feeling because we do believe it is our responsibility to treat these birds well and when necessary give them an easy quick ending.

This topic gets discussed a lot on here. Most of us agree that casually taking a life should never be that easy but we have a responsibility to make it as quick and easy as we can. We give them a good life until they have one bad moment. Try to make that one bad moment as quick and sure as we can.

My general thought on the best way to do that is how you can. There are lots of different techniques for taking that life, hatchet and stump, broomstick method, and various ways with a killing cone. You don't want to close your eyes or flinch at the wrong moment. You can get hurt yourself let alone just injuring the chicken. How you can do that is your best way.

It sounds like you tried to use a killing cone. I don't so I can't give any specific suggestions about that. But different people use different methods with a killing cone. Some use a knife to slit the throat where they bleed out. Some use other methods, like pruning loppers, to totally remove the head. People use different tools and different methods. If you can find someone on here that uses your specific method perhaps they can give you some pointers. There are usually little tricks that can make a lot of difference. The details can be important.

 

[Parront]

We decided we needed to cull some roosters. We have 24 chickens and 7 of them are roosters that have been fighting. We researched and prepared and bought a hugging cone and decided to just take care of one first the meanest one and to process it to eat and then decide what to do with the rest after seeing how the first one goes.
Well my husband took on the hardest task and it did not go as planned at all. Both of us grew up with parents that hunted and processed their own animals so we have seen the process, never done it ourselves, but it was definitely not smooth like the blogs and videos I had watched. And I’m feeling really upset by it. How did your first time go? Is there a way to move past this feeling because we do believe it is our responsibility to treat these birds well and when necessary give them an easy quick ending.

Welcome! Sure do wish it was on a happier topic.
But, I hang my birds and use a knife to cut their necks so that they bleed well, a sharp knife and go under the feathers. Do not cut through the neck feathers, just slide the knife up under the feathers, to the point where the beak meets the neck. A long & smooth slice with a very sharp knife ought to cause a lot of blood to flow. If it does not seem to be free flowing enough, do the same thing on the other side of the neck. This is why some prefer to cut off the head with limb pruners, you know that the bird is dead if the head is off and you do not have to worry if you did it right or not.
There will be flapping, as previously discussed, that is a good sign. The cone is supposed to restrain the bird, but you will see flapping any way. It is upsetting when they flap, like they are still alive. You might even have to hold the bird to keep it in the cone. But, the blood loss causes unconsciousness right away. The flapping is just a nervous reaction, and means that the bird is dead. Leave it in the cone until it is still and let it bleed out completely, could take 2 or 3 minutes.
We raise these birds since day-old, of course you hate to have to process the cockerels. Our birds have had a great and lucky chicken life, far better than any commercial broiler. They live longer and happier lives, and have a much better ending. You can congratulate yourself on being able to do this. Not everyone can, it is not ever supposed to be too easy. Best wishes for your flock, your girls will be happy when there are less males!

 

[B-Goock]

I grew up on a homestead farm. We didn't buy much at a grocery store so growing raising and processing food was more like a job. I would compare it to say a Dr could do a tracheatomy on someone and not think about it much (just 3-2-1 Done.) but for me doing it would be very difficult.

Mostly dad did the hatchet & stump. Sometimes we had so many chickens to process doing one at a time like that would take all day. We did a broom stick style method. Just as quick as you could grab one wherever they are at lay them down, step, & pop. Done. Next.

 

[avidity]

We decided we needed to cull some roosters. We have 24 chickens and 7 of them are roosters that have been fighting. We researched and prepared and bought a hugging cone and decided to just take care of one first the meanest one and to process it to eat and then decide what to do with the rest after seeing how the first one goes.
Well my husband took on the hardest task and it did not go as planned at all. Both of us grew up with parents that hunted and processed their own animals so we have seen the process, never done it ourselves, but it was definitely not smooth like the blogs and videos I had watched. And I’m feeling really upset by it. How did your first time go? Is there a way to move past this feeling because we do believe it is our responsibility to treat these birds well and when necessary give them an easy quick ending.

My first went very poorly. I tried the broomstick method, and it isn't nearly as simple as videos and articles make it out to be. Don't beat yourself up too much, and give it time. A botched culling can be traumatic, and I've found time to be the best healer in this instance. Practice will likely help move you along spiritually, too.

Good luck! Don't let it deter you from trying again.

 

[Mosey2003]

You didn't specify what exactly went poorly, so I'm going to assume since you got a cone that your knife cuts did not go well. It's a real learning curve figuring out how to slice a neck properly, and with the right amount of force. Did he gather up the skin on the back of the neck to hold it taut first? That's a common mistake, not stretching the skin taut. Did he get a knife full of feathers and have to make multiple swipes? Also common. You want to use the back of the knife to part the feathers and then rotate the sharp edge up under them.

If you still want to use the cone, you can get a very sharp pair of tree loppers and simply lop their heads off, rather foolproof and death is instant.

You can also try to learn the broomstick method (that's what I commonly do) but there's also a learning curve to feel how much force to use there.

One thing I found about watching processing videos (and I watched hundreds before I tried it by myself) is that a whole lot of them show butchering Cornish Cross broilers. A 7-9 week old CX is an entirely different beast to a 16+ week dual purpose cockerel or an older hen. The CX is so young and rather inactive (in comparison) that all of their connective tissue is much softer. The legs are easier to cut off, their heads are easier to dislocate, they're easier to skin, they're easier to pluck, and their cavities are typically a bit larger because they're physically large birds, and everything comes out easier. I was very discouraged that everything looked so much easier in the videos than it ended up being for me.

It does get easier with practice.

 

[ellen60]

We decided we needed to cull some roosters. We have 24 chickens and 7 of them are roosters that have been fighting. We researched and prepared and bought a hugging cone and decided to just take care of one first the meanest one and to process it to eat and then decide what to do with the rest after seeing how the first one goes.
Well my husband took on the hardest task and it did not go as planned at all. Both of us grew up with parents that hunted and processed their own animals so we have seen the process, never done it ourselves, but it was definitely not smooth like the blogs and videos I had watched. And I’m feeling really upset by it. How did your first time go? Is there a way to move past this feeling because we do believe it is our responsibility to treat these birds well and when necessary give them an easy quick ending.

Why doesn't everyone just wrap their bodies tightly in a burlap sake, no wing flapping or struggling...and hold their head in a bucket of water til they are dead then bury them?
That is what I do with mean roos and young cocks.

 

[Sussex19]

Why doesn't everyone just wrap their bodies tightly in a burlap sake, no wing flapping or struggling...and hold their head in a bucket of water til they are dead then bury them?
That is what I do with mean roos and young cocks.

Because drowning is not humane, and is not something I hope to ever do to an animal.
Also, if you want to eat them, they need to bleed out an least a bit.