Had to cull my crippled chick- Vinegar and Baking Soda Method

[aidenbaby]

Man, I wish I had known about this when I had to euthanize my last 2 ferrets. They both ended up getting adrenal disease and it causes a VERY prolonged and painful death. I ended up ODing one with Tylenol and the second went to the vet. I couldn't handle doing the Tylenol way again. I din't let the second get as far along as the first either. If I need to euthanise again, I'll do it with the vinegar and baking soda.

 

[pascopol]

Quote:
I believe breaking chicks neck is more humane than gassing or suffocating it.

Breaking the spine causes instant death, but gassing or suffocatting?

Who knows, but it is not instant for sure.

 

[ears73]

Quote:
I believe breaking chicks neck is more humane than gassing or suffocating it.

Breaking the spine causes instant death, but gassing or suffocatting?

Who knows, but it is not instant for sure.

True. Asked emt husband about this - he said co2 is what causes the want to breathe in creatures and that essentially this method would make the chick continually want to breathe but not be able to... There is no great method, but something fast would be better than continuous gasping. If I had to, I would chop/cut head off with a VERY sharp tool and a swift heavy hand.

 

[rhythmicgoldfish]

Quote:
it is not harmfull to humans in such small quantitys, CO2 is naturaly in the air already besides this combanation is what pregnant mothers and new parents are told to clean with i use the combination in my house cleaning all the time

 

[jywel417]

Thanks for the useful post information everyone !! Luckily I have not had to cull anything yet and I am also very lucky in the fact that I work at a vet and could take any sick/injured baby/chicken I had into work and it could be euthanized. If I had to cull anything at home this would probably be the method I used because I could not bring myself to cut or break the neck of a baby I had raised. Also from reading replies of people who have done this it doesn't sound like the chicks are in the chamber very long at all before they pass away so even tho it is a culling thru suffocation it does not sound like the chicks suffer very long at all. I also know working at a vet that neck breaking does not always result in immediate death, even if the person knows what they are doing. I just hope I never have to cull any of my flock w/o the benefit of taking it to work with me and having it done thru injection.

 

[cwc362]

Quote:
I believe breaking chicks neck is more humane than gassing or suffocating it.

Breaking the spine causes instant death, but gassing or suffocatting?

Who knows, but it is not instant for sure.

I think you are right pascopol. Breaking the neck is surely the Most fast way. Growing up we always cut off head or wrung the necks or chopped the heads off of sick chicks or the ones we were killing to eat. The reason I culled this chick this way is my kids and my mom were throwing a fit and not wanting me to cut off its head. I was still satisfied with this method because I could see him through the plastic and he was down and out in a matter of a few seconds. Not sure this would work well with a larger animal. I culled my little mean banty rooster last week and I used the old school method- I broke his neck and he was gone instantly. But I was outside and the kids and Mom were nowhere around.

 

[cassiadawn]

New here, but saw this topic and just had to respond.

I used to raise mice as food for other animals, and used a CO2 chamber (with bottled CO2)to dispatch them. I looked into it rather extensively at the time, and it seemed to me to be the most humane method that still left them suitable as food animals (injection is still the most humane otherwise, or course).

To the person that asked about euthanizing chickens for dinner with CO2, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) says

Carbon dioxide is the only chemical currently used for euthanasia of food animals (primarily swine) that does not result in tissue residues.

For a full grown animal though, I think you'd need to use bottled CO2... vinegar and baking soda is very difficult to control, and you could end up just causing the animal severe discomfort, or brain damage from low levels of oxygen.

Freezing isn't generally considered to be humane in birds or mammals (I think there's still some controversy about reptiles/amphibians) - it's potentially a very painful way to die, as ice crystals form in the tissues.

AVMA's euthanasia report: http://casemed.case.edu/ora/arc/Text%20Documents/AVMA_panel_Euthnasia.pdf


Oh, also with vinegar and baking soda, another reason to use a bag separate from the chamber where the animal is, is to control the gas. CO2 is heavier than air. If you have the mix in a jar, the CO2 has to build up and flow over the sides of the jar, then down into the larger container. If you use too tall of a jar, the CO2 could theoretically not make it out into the rest of the container. Or just enough could get out to make the animal uncomfortable, or pass out without completely suffocating it.​

 

[realmofthewoodsranch]

Another method of CO2 euthanization is to use dry ice instead of trying to mix baking soda and vinegar. It can be used on larger animals, too, if there was ever a need to cull a full grown bird. For larger animals, I use a cooler. Make sure the lid fits good!

 

[Maryallison]

thanks for posting, now I know just in case I ever need to.

 

[cassiadawn]

With dry ice, you need to be careful that the animal can't come in contact with the ice - it's so cold that it will "burn".

It also sublimates into gas relatively slowly, so ideally you need some way to allow it to melt for awhile before introducing the animal to the chamber. That can be tricky, because introducing the animal disturbs the air and some of the gas can be lost.