How do you cull chickens?

[WI chickens]

I have a pellet gun, but it is a rifle so it is too long to hold up to their heads and I would likely miss trying to pick them off in the yard. A pistol would be better fo me at least.

I don't shoot them from distance. I do it at night. I carry them from the roost to wherever I'm going to dispatch them. They don't even move so I can put the muzzle exactly where I want it and shoot them directly thru the brain.

 

[WI chickens]

Do you do the same with smaller birds like adolescents or chicks? Sorry if it's obvious, I'm trying to find a way that works better for me than branch trimmers

I do. I wouldn't want to have to lopper their heads off.

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

I do it at night.

Ah, that makes sense.

Thx

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

So I finally got around to doing the deed, for one at least. I took the advice from @WI chickens and did it at night. I did not use my pellet gun. Before I took the condemned one off the roost I opened up the black plastic bag on the floor of the coop and leaned my new bypass loppers against the wall. With my red light on my head I picked her off the coop and laid her down in the bag and lopped off her head. I put my foot on her until she stopped flopping then picked up the bag sealed it and dropped in the trash. She would not have been eaten here so no processing.

I have 5 more to cull, next time I will finish the job all at once.

Sucks, but it is what it is.

 

[Companihen]

Done it for the second time tonight too. First time was a very sick weak hen. Husband did that. This time it was 6 2mo cockerels. I had tried the rehoming route first for 6 weeks but no takers and I couldn't keep them any longer.
Was fortunate husband was home too. I held the bird and he used sharp bush cutters to cut the necks. I held the chicken until I could feel it no longer trying to flap... 20 to 30 seconds ish. We were doing it over the waste bin so once they stopped trying to move in my hands in plopped them in the bag in the bin. Went and got the next one and repeated this until we were done.
It felt remarkably less dramatic than I thought it would.
What helped
- read up a lot on here about it and made sure I was comfortable with the method we chose.
- prepared the bin and tools before etc
- made a list of things to do that day and added it on the list. So it was one of a few tasks to complete not the most daunting thing of the day
- knew it had to happen and wanted to be able to do all parts of chicken keeping myself
- was grateful my husband was on hand too.

Off to let my remaining pullets out. I guess they're a bit confused with the lack of brothers and crowing in their coop this morning but they'll be in with the bigs asap

 

[BDutch]

I read the most humane to kill a chicken in another thread here on BYC: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/humane-way-of-culling-chicken.1615875/page-6#post-28513157

I bookmarked it in case I ever need it. Like @Bigbluefrog , the TS I don’t harvest my chickens.