How to cull a chick?

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

Snip off his head real quick with VERY sharp scissors or lopers, so quick and painless...

 

[GreenGoddess]

Ok.. I have to get in on this one... I will never ever ever ever EVER try to break another chick(ens) neck!!! I had a chick that was about 6 weeks old.. He had eaten so much that he started suffocating (was a golden comet roo) and I couldn't even see what was stuck let alone get it out.. After trying some olive oil and trying to rub his crop to get whatever was caught moving, I saw his face turning purple and I knew I had to cull him.. I took him outside, grabbed his shoulders with one hand and just behind his head with the other, turned and pulled.. I heard a pop and he went limp.. As I started to walk down the stairs to bury him, he picked his head back up, still trying to gasp for air.. HE WAS STILL ALIVE!!!!! I started to panic since it was my first cull and tried doing it 4 more times and each time, he would go limp and then pick his head back up!! I finally put him on the ground and did one more pull and decapitated him! I felt so horrible.. If I would have thought for one second, i would have used the shovel to decapitate him in a much quicker and nicer way.. I didn't mean for that to happen and had nightmares that night... I now have a machete that is all shined up and sharpened if I ever need to do it again!

Goddess

 

[aduplantis]

I'm glad I never had to be faced with culling. I would have to get my husband to do it. There is no way I could kill an animal. I would feel so horrible. I understand certain situations you have no choice, but my animals are my babies and I totally understand how hard this is to do. Good Luck !!

 

[centrarchid]

Quote:
Not always. Usage is to indicate an individual is simply removed from group based on some undesired characteristic. When I cull bitties from from potential breeding flock / population, the culled chicks are simply transferred to either the poduction flock or sold to neighbor lady that uses them for eggs. If problem more serious then yes, individual is terminated immediately.

 

[daytonfarm]

If this little guy could stand and hold his head up I would certainly give him a chance, but he can't, he chirps constantly, he calms down after I give him some water and will sleep for awhile. He slept in the zip lock bag no struggling, but after 4 hrs he's still with us. My husband just took him out to finish him off. Don't know what or how but he said he would make it quick. So it's done.
Thanks for all the tips and techniques, if I do this again I will have a plan before they hatch. I would have no problem culling an animal in pain and have done that, but this little guy just wanted to live and I kept giving him time to "get up" but it didn't happen.
Any ideas why he wouldn't have the top part of his beak?

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

Quote:

x2

 

[5acrehome]

If I have this problem I take after the french and there bloodiest of inventions. Your going to bury him anyway so go dig the whole next to your garden or flowers. put chick on ground closed to the hole you just dug pin him with a shoe and sever the head then scrap the new fertilizer you just made into the garden or flower bed. If you have to kill one at least make use of what you can even if it's to feed a marigold.

 

[Petej]

I had a quail cjick here on the farm that wasn't doing well a day or so ago.


I was going to do the "flick skull" method, but mother nature beat me to it.

It's never a fun thing to do, but it sure beats watching an animal suffer. I feel for you and can sympathize.

 

[daytonfarm]

No it wasn't fun and I was hoping that he would have died on his own. I figured if he was missing a beak and couldn't stand or hold his head up there should have been something internally that would have quit. But not so with this little bugger. All the others are very vigorous and growing by the hour.
Thanks for everyone's support. I'll be better prepared next time.

 

[chkinut]

Quote:
oh wow! what a story!!! i can only imagine how you must've felt! i would have nightmares too! you poor thing! and poor thing to the chick too!