How to kill male chicks

[dazz02]

Hi there, i am thinking of hatching some sex linked chicks. I am unsure of the best way to dispose of the males. Several methods i've heard of.

Gassing - using car exhaust fumes, but protect chick from heat so it doesn't burn but can still breathe the fumes in to kill it.
Break its neck - i've heard it can be a struggle when they are so small and i wouldn't know what to do so wouldn't want to hurt them.
Chop its head off - seems rather messy
Freeze them - unsure about it but would be easiest.

I was thinking i could sell them as reptile food to prevent wasting them. When they freeze them for reptile use do they just freeze them or do they kill them and then freeze them to preserve them and reduce suffering (if freezing is cruel). Obviously i couldn't sell them for reptile food if they were gassed as it would harm he reptile as with chopping their heads off as it would be messy and unsightly to sell them like that. I'm sure i could learn how to break their neck but how many would have to suffer before i learn to do it correctly so am not wanting to try.

Any answers to the above questions would be grate and any further advice would also be good. By the way i am from the UK so legislation may be different.

 

[merriweather]

You can also give them away. I gave 18 to my local farm store that sells chicks. I have also given them away on Craig's List. This is not an answer to your question- but another option.

 

[dazz02]

it would take time to find someone who want them as i don't know many people who raise them for meat and i wouldn't have thought they would pay for them as they know that people don't want them so why would they pay. While i have them they are costing me money so i thought it just best to get rid.

 

[my sunwolf]

Cutting the head off completely with SHARP scissors in one stroke over a container is the best, quickest, most humane way to cull baby chicks, IMO. It is not as messy as you might think.

Edited to add: freezing alive is extremely painful, and while we don't know if gassing is painful, it is definitely stressful. A quick smash to the head would do it if you wanted to preserve for reptile food.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Apparently you have Craigslist in the UK. Some people have been successful just giving the chicks away. Advertise them as just hatched roosters and see if you get any takers.

Talk to people at your zoo or maybe pet shops. Maybe they could use the free food?

This type of stuff has been discussed a lot on here. You will find all kinds of different methods. People use all of them. I don’t know that there is one best way for every single person in the whole wide world. To me the best way for you to do it is the way you can.

What I mean by that is that you have to go through the act without flinching, closing your eyes, or something where you can’t do it properly. You want a clean kill, not a wounding.

I’m not sure how humane freezing really is. They’ll set up a pretty loud plaintive cheeping if they get cold. I think you also should talk to the zoo or pet shop too. I’m not sure they would want them dead.

I think you are wise to get this sorted ahead of time. It’s surprising how many people don’t think of this before they hatch chicks.

 

[dazz02]

i was thinking of selling them on ebay, they seem quite popular. i will have to see what my local pet shop says. thanks.

 

[Sparrow]

Chicks sold frozen for reptile food are killed first. Gassed with something, but I can't remember what. Never put them into the freezer without killing first...that is just horrifying.

 

[Percheron chick]

Ebay doesn't permit the sale of animals.

 

[dazz02]

ebay do sell of dead ones for food - or at least i've seen seller's sell them as reptile food. I've read gassing chicks using co2 is ok to kill them and still ok to feed them to reptiles. Would gassing them using car exhaust be ok? i don't think so but thought i would check. i would have thought the gasses from the car would be harmful to a reptile however i also thought high levels of co2 would be dangerous to a reptile but i read it wasn't on several sites.

 

[conny63malies]

CO2 is used to euthanize them. http://www.alysion.org/euthanasia/index.php here is a link. Ask the local zoo if they want them for snakes, large turtles or birds of prey. Many snake owners will gladly take them.