How do you cull chickens?

[3KillerBs]

Glad you were able to get the job done.

I also talk to my birds and tell them what good birds they are beforehand.

Was surprised the head did come off.

That happens sometimes. Ideally not, because then it doesn't make such a mess, but better than not getting a strong enough pull.

 

[John Canfield]

I’ve had to put down baby antelopes and it’s really hard to do. Once in a while I’ll have one that loses the use of their hind legs, usually an adult but not always. That fawn was struggling to get up to run from me. One time I found a baby antelope in the barn dying from cold. I put a heating pad on it but it died. I have more stories but that’s enough. Ranchers deeply care for the critters they are responsible for.

 

[NatJ]

Was surprised the head did come off. So I know she was gone and the body was running around quite a bit. I looked at my husband and said I know she is dead but this is weird.

Yes, it is weird. I personally prefer methods that remove the entire head, because that way I know the chicken really is dead-- no matter how much it moves around, if I can see the head completely separate from the body, I KNOW it must be dead.

I didn’t find any eggs whatsoever inside her and we were pretty thorough.

An active layer would have a whole clump of egg yolks: one full-sized (for tomorrow's egg), and one almost that big (for the next day), and one a little smaller yet, and so forth. They are up inside the back, but very obvious if you open the abdomen at all, because they are so big and bright yellow. So if you were pretty thorough and didn't see them, they weren't there.

That means she was not laying recently, and would not have laid anytime in the near future either.

 

[JoeTairei]

There've been a lot of answers already -- and I have read the entire thread -- but just wanted to share that I used a cone to harvest 7 meat birds last year. Put them in, head down, and quickly sliced the jugular, and let it bleed out. This is the method Joel Saletan uses (as well as Justin Rhodes and many other homesteaders whose channels I follow).

Joel states, in I think the same video which someone linked in this thread, that they lose consciousness when upside down, and the slice causes them to flatline within a second. It was hard for me to believe that, because each chicken appeared perfectly conscious and was struggling while upside down, then continued to struggle as it bled out. I have to hope he's correct, and you know, he raises thousands of birds and is widely respected as an expert.

It was really hard to do; Cornish Cross hens are a mellow, friendly breed, and when I picked them up for the final journey to the cone, they would bury their beak in my chest. I just wanted to experience it. I will likely do it again, but it does take shedding some of our city inhibitions and timidity and facing the cruel facts of Nature.

 

[geno 9129]

For cutting off the head, you can use any sharp tool that you can handle safely. Do make sure it's sharp enough.

That could be a knife.

Or it could be an ax, machete, or cleaver (use a chopping block so your cut goes through the neck into the block.)

I've also read of people using pruners or loppers (those things like giant scissors for pruning tree limbs).


I think cutting the head completely off can be just as humane as the broomstick method, but I agree with you about avoiding any method that just cuts the blood vessels and lets the chicken bleed to death.

It really comes down to what a particular person can do, without hurting themself and without messing it up (causing extra suffering for the chicken.)

RING THE DAM CHICKENS NECK THATS WHAT MY MOM ALWAYS DID AND WE WOULD HAVE FRIED CHICKEN BY NOON ,I HAD TO DO IT TODAY ONE OF MY HENS BROKE ITS LEG SHE WAS APOLLUCK , SO I DUG A HOLE AND BURIED HER ,I HAD HOPED SHE WOULD GET BETTER BUT SHE DIDN'T, I CAN REMENBER ONE TIME MY MOM RANG THIS FRYERS NECKAND IT STARTED RUNNING AT MY COUSIN WHO WAS A CITY BOY ,HE WOULDN'T EAT ANY OF THAT CHICKEN HA HA

 

[geno 9129]

all my CHICKENS ARE COCHINS BANTIES ALL ARE BLACK AND WHITE I DON'T CARE IF THEY LAY EGGS OR NOT THERE MY PETS LOVE TO WATCH THEM HAVE10 ALL TOGETHER,ITS SAD WHEN YOU HAVE TO CULL ONE BUT LIFE GOES ON

 

[3KillerBs]

RING THE DAM CHICKENS NECK THATS WHAT MY MOM ALWAYS DID AND WE WOULD HAVE FRIED CHICKEN BY NOON ,I HAD TO DO IT TODAY ONE OF MY HENS BROKE ITS LEG SHE WAS APOLLUCK , SO I DUG A HOLE AND BURIED HER ,I HAD HOPED SHE WOULD GET BETTER BUT SHE DIDN'T, I CAN REMENBER ONE TIME MY MOM RANG THIS FRYERS NECKAND IT STARTED RUNNING AT MY COUSIN WHO WAS A CITY BOY ,HE WOULDN'T EAT ANY OF THAT CHICKEN HA HA

Manual cervical dislocation takes skill and practice to do well.

The broomstick method is easier for a beginner.

 

[NatJ]

RING THE DAM CHICKENS NECK THATS WHAT MY MOM ALWAYS DID

Any way that works is acceptable. (By "works" I mean the person does not get hurt, the chicken loses consciousness quickly, and the chicken dies without becoming conscious again.)

Your Mom chose to kill chickens by wringing their neck.
My Grandpa chose to kill chickens by chopping their head off with an ax.
Both methods can work fine, and several other methods can also work fine.

Joel states, in I think the same video which someone linked in this thread, that they lose consciousness when upside down

He is wrong.

Holding a chicken upside down does not cause it to lose consciousness.

It's easy enough to test: hold a chicken upside down by the feet and watch what happens. They usually do hold still (some flap and struggle), but they keep their eyes open, they watch what is going on around them, if you walk around they move their head as they watch things, and they flap & struggle if something startles them (like a dog running towards you.) And then you can put the chicken down again, completely unharmed and able to go on with its day.

the slice causes them to flatline within a second. It was hard for me to believe that, because each chicken appeared perfectly conscious and was struggling while upside down, then continued to struggle as it bled out.

A live chicken can struggle, and a dead chicken with no head definitely struggles too, and I don't know how to distinguish the two.

 

[Mrs. K]

Bleeding from a very sharp cut into a major vessel really does not cause pain. The only way we have to judge pain is our own, and there are numerous human accounts where they were cut in a major vessel, and what they felt was the warmth of the blood on the outside of the body.

When I have slit their throats, what I notice is that they just get tired, they may jump or shudder a few times, but I do not think that is an indicator of pain, I have yet to see any animal die, either culled or naturally that does not move like this. Some much more violently than others. For me, the broomstick method often produces very violent movement. Disconcerting but the animal is dead.

Culling an animal is not animal cruelty whether it takes 5 seconds, or 1 minute. We should all be so lucky to have life ended like that. Many, many humans do not.

Mrs K

 

[Brooks_]

I'm sure it's been said, but any way that is humane and comfortable for the person is best. I prefer broomstick and then quickly restraining with my hands. For some that would be least comfortable, but it is most comfortable for me.