How do you cull unwanted chicks ?

[Youngfamily1989]

This is cooool... I may try all of them !

 

[silkiechicken]

Quote:
Relax. Culling means humanely killing an animal for the benefit of ending their suffering. If you had a bird who's leg got torn off and had a massive infection you didn't see till it was too late, would you rather cull it or let it suffer till it dies due to "natural" causes? Same with a chick who has hatched out wrong and has had a ruptured yolk sac so bad that all of it's internals came out. Would you rather cull it quickly or let it just dehydrate and die? Thousands of dollars at a vet can't fix a chick with no internals. Culling is a skill that people should learn correctly so that they can reduce the suffering of birds when necessary. It is to the judgment of each member on this site with what they want to do with their birds and we are here to be a place for informative answers to their questions.

 

[lilsouthern228]

oh ok... i thought the person jus didnt want them and there was nothing wrong with them.

 

[speckledhen]

Certainly, if it's just a matter of extra birds and they are healthy, culling can simply mean removing them from your flock, by giving them away or selling them. We've had several discussions on the board about the meaning of "cull". In days gone by, it always meant kill, but of late, when we say cull, it can mean kill or remove from your flock by other means.
If you raise chickens, putting one down may one day become necessary. In fact, I'd say it's inevitable and just a reality of owning a flock. Some birds cannot be sent to another person's flock for health reasons and therefore, must be euthanized humanely.

 

[Youngfamily1989]

Sorry, humor is a way I deal with the serious situations sometimes. You all have been very helpful. I dred when the time comes. My wife may have to do it. Shes a nurse shes used to tortureing things.

 

[JenniferJoIN]

 

[luvzmybabz]

My grandparents had an ostrich farm when I was a teen and talk about not wanting to put down a bird ($$$ this is when the ostrich market was huge) but there are time that it had to be done because of injury. We had a few that had the gut outside problem that we were able to save but it was a long and tedious journey and an ostich chick is huge comparatively. Oh the stories about ostrich chicks I could tell you. I am just hoping that chickens are easier, as I am just getting started myself.

 

[Barnyard Dawg]

We never have been in this predicament. We will usually wait until they are 4 months old then cull them to reduce our flock. We just slice their throat and bleed them out.

 

[Hotwings]

Quote:
Welcome aboard! I look forward to hearing your ostrich stories. I am sure once you have experience with an ostrich, chickens should be a peice of cake! A ostrich is just another 500lb chicken anyway ha ha. Imagine having a full grown ostrich and the poor stupid predator that came into that yard hoping get alittle KFC to go lol!

 

[suburbanhomesteader]

For lack of a better term, I euthanized one of my black broilers; he was not eating or drinking, getting weaker by the day, could barely stand up, and was 1/2 the size of the other chicks the day he came in.

I had my #2 Felco garden shears at the ready, and rubbed his little belly until he fell asleep. Then I dispatched him; he never knew what happened, and in fact his body didn't even spasm like I expected it to.