How to cull a chick?

[redhen]

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Ditto. No one at a petstore is "experienced professionals". Some things are even sold at petstores when they aren't even safe for animals. WHy do you think they sell them? For money.

Dill..you would or SHOULD if it was suffering!!..or you shouldnt own them..its cruel to let them suffer...i am a BIG animal lover, BUT,i know i could do it if i had to, becaus i care more about the animlas suffering than myself...its very selfish of people to let their animals suffer...when my RIR got stepped on..and i saw her flopping around on the ground in pain..i IMMEDIATLEY told my husband to go get the hatchet..and even though i am a whimp and it would have killed me after..i KNEW right then and there(when i saw her suffering), that i could and WOULD do it to end her pain..thankfully she passed before my hubby got back with the ax..(it was only a minute)..but, i would have done it in a heartbeat..for her..., Wendy

I'd bring them to the vet to be 'put to sleep'. Its alot harder than it sounds to kill an animal...​

ooh really?..how would you know?..you've never done it....and also, why should i drive 30 minutes with an paralyzed/smooshed chicken to a vets?..why prolong the pain?...think about it please...IF its supposed to REALLY be about the animals benifit...

and BTW..no...it dosent sound easy at all to kill an animal..(at least , not to me)...but..you can bet i WOULD do it in a heartbeat if if had to...

 

[mamaKate]

I think people get a little carried away with the whole culling thing. Death is a part of life, but so is pain. I wouldn't ( let's call it what it is) kill a bird except in the most extreme circumstances. Taking time to let nature run it's course IS a humane alternative; and it's true that unexpected recoveries happen.

 

[Dill]

Quote:
Ditto. No one at a petstore is "experienced professionals". Some things are even sold at petstores when they aren't even safe for animals. WHy do you think they sell them? For money.


I'd bring them to the vet to be 'put to sleep'. Its alot harder than it sounds to kill an animal...

ooh really?..how would you know?..you've never done it....and also, why should i drive 30 minutes with an paralyzed/smooshed chicken to a vets?..why prolong the pain?...think about it please...IF its supposed to REALLY be about the animals benifit...

and BTW..no...it dosent sound easy at all to kill an animal..(at least , not to me)...but..you can bet i WOULD do it in a heartbeat if if had to...

I've had ALOT of animals in my life and I've never had to kill any and hopefully never will. I haven;t even ever thought about it before this dicussion.. if one day an animal is suffering and i need to put it out of its misery maybe I will, maybe I won't. It depends on the situation too. If I'm able to bring it to the vet, I would. If not whatever method I decide to use depends on the animal, etc.

 

[redhen]

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i
m sorry..but in my opinion..letting it suffer isnt humane..but thats just me...i feel that if i take on an animals life and become responsible for it.it IS my responsibility to ensure that it does not suffer..if WE are in pain..we can go the E.R....and get morphine while we pass away...i wont let one of mine lie their and suffer...but again, thats just me....to each their own..., wendy
to add:..by suffering i dont mean a fading chick...i mean a injury or severe deadly illness...

 

[Roosterboy]

It is better to be careful and give them good care than have to do one of these may i point out.

And yes, some pet stores freeze animals. mostly reptiles.

the local farmer knows how to kill an animal and that freezing is cruel

 

[Sunny Side Up]

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Wow, let's not tar every pet store owner and employee with the same steaming brush. Certainly there are uncaring, unethical individuals in every business. However, there are many qualified animal experts sharing their knowledge and love of pet animals in their shops. Many have much more experience with animals than I have, and conduct themselves with admirable professionalism. You must admit that many pet store owners care deeply about the animals they sell, far beyond their commercial value. Even some of the big chain pet stores refuse to sell puppies, and provide a place in their stores for unwanted cats and kittens to find homes. You cannot condemn everyone in the entire business as cruel, greedy and ignorant.

I think this is a very essential topic for all chicken keepers to consider. We each have our own threshholds of how much money we're willing/able to spend on an injured/ill chick or chicken, how quickly we will decide to cull, and for what reasons. No matter your personal opinion, each of us will be faced at some time with birds that need to be -- let's be blunt -- killed. I think it's a good idea to know now what you will do, how to do it with the least additional trauma to the chicken, how to do it quickly & well.

Taking a chicken or chick to the vet is simply NOT an option for some folks. Some find the cost prohibitive, some do not have a local vet that treats chickens. That's one of the reasons for forums like BYC, so that we can share information that laypeople need to care for our chickens ourselves. Including humane culling and butchering information.

I will certainly re-think the freezer option for culling chicks. That was the best advice I had heard previously, but now I'm not so sure. I will continue to research this issue and let you all know what I find.

 

[aiwetir]

i guess everyone missed my post hypothermia may not be an awful way to go.

 

[DulcyDoll]

In some states, it is ILLEGAL for any pet store to euthanize feeder animals (be it mice, rats, chicks, bunnies..whatever) by freezing and blunt force trauma, so obviously they are not considered humane.

"The establishment is not properly euthanizing animals when required; or is using methods of inflicting death that are inherently cruel or illegal under law. [For related information, see the protocol on cervical dislocation below.]

NOTE: The legal form of euthanasia for animals in this jurisdiction is lethal injection administered by a licensed veterinarian. Any other form of inflicting death -- including drowning, suffocation, strangulation, poisoning, blunt force trauma, etc. -- are illegal and will be prosecuted. If your establishment provides "feeder animals," the legal method for immobilizing such animals is spinal dislocation. "Thumping" feeder animals against a hard service, freezing them or breaking their necks are all illegal."


Sunny_Side_Up- All pet stores are not inhumane and irresponsible, but most are. The person you got your information from should be stuck in a freezer and left to see how it feels. If an animal is to be culled at home, it should be done with the least amount of time and pain to the animal, not sitting in the cold for what could be hours (i have a hard time believing that chicks experience euphoria before they freeze to death, people..maybe, but is their any proof that animals can experience euphoria??)

Removing the head/spinal dislocation are the quickest, easiest ways to go, maybe more pain for you..but it's better for the creature....

 

[island.girlie]

Sunny: I could understand your situation. You had a job to help you pay the bills, and you did as you were told or as you were trained to do.
Cruel or not, professional or unprofessional, you can't feel bad. Life "is" cruel, and not just to chickens. It is what it is. I mean children die everyday from starvation all over the world. "Imagine that". A frozen chick is not that detrimental. This is coming from a die hard animal lover by the way.

Now, if it was me and I had a choice, I would slam it hard on the pavement (as mentioned here earlier). I did it once before to a parakeet that was taking too long to die from illness. I couldn't bare to watch it lay motionless and still making sounds. It was killing me, I wanted it to be over, and it was, the very moment it hit the concrete. I think I shed a tear or two, but I understood the reality of it all.

 

[tattooedchickenlady]

Since getting my chickens, I have had a few tragedies. I had a hen get sick (we still don't know from what) and fade in a day. I had my chicks mauled by my dogs, and some died slowly because I was unable to DO anything about it. I had a chick with leg problems (first spraddle leg, then tendon problems) and we chopped her head off. BY we I mean, my husband.

I think by this point I could do it myself, but I have to work up to it.......and thankfully I haven't had enough opportunities to practice that.

So, my choice for dispatching a lame, sick, not thriving, suffering chicken is the ax. Get them out of their misery quickly, get on with the business at hand.

And I also am an animal lover, I rescue dogs, and yes, I take my dogs to the vet. Unless it was an extreme situation, that I KNEW without a doubt that the animal wouldn't make it, then they'd probably be shot. AM I cruel? I think I'm just being practical. My dogs have cost me a small fortune from injuries and maladies in the recent past. My vet could put a down payment on a house from my bills. Actually he upgrades his office after each of my visits....

I am an animal lover, always will be, but we all have circumstances beyond our control that dictate what route we have to take. Everyone needs to remember we are individuals, and have different levels of experience, both with chickens and life. Lets' not throw mud and be mean, we're all trying to do the best we can here. And it was said before, and I'll say again, death is part of our lives, we just need to know how to deal with it.