"Humane" way of culling chicken?

[Maiahr]

I have read a post somewhere here about human way of culling chicken. Put them to sleep first and then cull ..or something..
I don't want them to suffer, so if anyone could point me to that thread/article/post would be thankful.

 

[DobieLover]

I have read a post somewhere here about human way of culling chicken. Put them to sleep first and then cull ..or something..
I don't want them to suffer, so if anyone could point me to that thread/article/post would be thankful.

If you have any friends that hunt can you ask them to dispatch her?

All my birds that have needed euthanasia have been shot point blank in the back of the head with a .22 long gun after dark. By the time a hen needs euthanasia, they are typically very weak and don't struggle or try to wander off.

She is taken to the site (usually up the road in the woods well away from the coop/run/pen) and gently laid on the ground on her keel. Then I walk away and my friend puts the gun to her head and it's over in a split second.

My personal preference is to leave her where she lay. I'd rather some animal come along and find her for a meal and survive that night because she died than bury her. I think it is more natural and for me, it is just her body. The essence of her is no longer there.

 

[Dough Hill]

Yeah I was thinking that since I've never even tried the broomstick method, it could be twice as challenging with a larger bird. I don't know where I would get ether honestly and I think it's time for her to go tonight or tomorrow. If she even survives that long. Just wanted to see if I could help her out.

Are you a Farmer or a Pet owner? As a Farmer/Homesteader or whatever people call it these days when you get Poultry/Livestock you have to make difficult decisions like Dispatching livestock of any kind. Guess I’m just a old school Farm guy that’s calloused but when you get these animals before you get them you have to asked yourself if it comes down to it do I have what it takes to put this living thing down when it is suffering so bad or it’s time is up because of age and not producing anymore and why waste money feeding it and you are not getting nothing in return.I’m sorry if that sounds crude but that’s Farm life as I see it. I think a lot of people make this mistake when getting livestock.

 

[rolohman]

My husband and I used the broomstick method for the first time this fall on a young rooster. It was foolproof. We ended up pulling the head off by accident instead of just breaking it, which was messy, but at least gave us full confidence that he didn’t feel a thing.

 

[TaylorGlade]

A bit of a story about the passing of Bluey.
I had a ten year old hen once and I took her to a vet in France to be euthanised. Her legs had given way you understand, it was the kindest thing. Anyway, I went up to the reception with Bluey who was taking in all around her in the cat basket. As I was waiting not one dog or cat made a sound despite them all seeing her. I suspect, now, that it was surprise. I digress, when I got to the counter and explained I had a “Poule for le pique”, she looked at me and blinked twice. “Quoi ?” (what ?) I repeated my request. She looked in the basket somewhat aghast and sent me to see a vet who clearly was not amused to have his time wasted, then, after doing the job (twice coz he didn’t know how much to give her) he charged me 60€ for my pleasure. Me who was choking back the tears.
In France hens are for eating or eggs, not as pets. I will be doing any euthanasia necessary in the future … Or taking her to a hen farm and asking them to do it for me.

I am blessed to have an animal loving niece who works as a vet tech.

I don't care that he wasn't used to treating "livestock". People become attached to other living things. It's human nature and to treat you with anything other than respect is less than acceptable. Good for you for finding another doc.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Oh, it's a turkey. The broomstick method might be a bit more difficult in that case, due to the size of the bird, the length of the legs and the neck. There is a method that involves the use of ether (engine starter fluid) but I don't know how you would use it on a turkey either. Let me ask one of our educators, I'll bet she can give you the link to the article on it.

Help me out please, @Wyorp Rock?

For me, I would not try the broomstick method on a full grown Turkey. Even large roosters I don't use the broomstick method.

For a large bird, I'd decapitate, cut the jugular or shoot the bird. Whatever method is quickest.

Sorry, I'm not familiar with the ether and it seems like it would be a fiddly thing to do and would take time to gather supplies and get setup.

 

[igorsMistress]

it doesn’t matter how you do it, they are going to fight it so doing it the way that is best for you and quick for the bird is the best method. One method does not work better than another, it depends on the person doing it. We use a cone and cut off the head. It’s not pleasant if you’re an animal lover, but none of the options are anyway because you’re killing something.

 

[Loving my girls]

A bit of a story about the passing of Bluey.
I had a ten year old hen once and I took her to a vet in France to be euthanised. Her legs had given way you understand, it was the kindest thing. Anyway, I went up to the reception with Bluey who was taking in all around her in the cat basket. As I was waiting not one dog or cat made a sound despite them all seeing her. I suspect, now, that it was surprise. I digress, when I got to the counter and explained I had a “Poule for le pique”, she looked at me and blinked twice. “Quoi ?” (what ?) I repeated my request. She looked in the basket somewhat aghast and sent me to see a vet who clearly was not amused to have his time wasted, then, after doing the job (twice coz he didn’t know how much to give her) he charged me 60€ for my pleasure. Me who was choking back the tears.
In France hens are for eating or eggs, not as pets. I will be doing any euthanasia necessary in the future … Or taking her to a hen farm and asking them to do it for me.

 

[arazla]

Are you a Farmer or a Pet owner? As a Farmer/Homesteader or whatever people call it these days when you get Poultry/Livestock you have to make difficult decisions like Dispatching livestock of any kind. Guess I’m just a old school Farm guy that’s calloused but when you get these animals before you get them you have to asked yourself if it comes down to it do I have what it takes to put this living thing down when it is suffering so bad or it’s time is up because of age and not producing anymore and why waste money feeding it and you are not getting nothing in return.I’m sorry if that sounds crude but that’s Farm life as I see it. I think a lot of people make this mistake when getting livestock.

I hear what you're saying. The hard part is I didn't "get" this turkey. It came to us and started living here as did many of my neighbor's birds that often go days without fresh water, and seemingly without food at times (authorities have been called on them before, not by us, and we'd rather not go that route for various political reasons like needing to share a private road, emergency stuff, etc).

I'd say the chicks we raised ourselves are definitely more like "pets" to us, though we do keep them for eggs. The turkey was already sick for a long time before it started sleeping at our place, but I assumed it was respiratory issues since they've been going around and kept trying to treat it for that before the vet diagnosed it as heart failure. Its previous owner/neighbor was ready to dispatch the turkey when we told him about its condition, but since the vet was so hopeful the medications would help, we said we'd be willing to give that a try for a while. So now it's essentially ours.

But yeah, you're probably right and maybe I just need to figure out the broomstick. I lived on a ranch as a kid and watched plenty of chickens get decapitated, but perhaps because of that, I have a visceral reaction to the idea of it.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Thanks, I feel the same way about the ether. Not really wanting to run out and set all this up for now. If I used an axe, do you think it would be one swift blow or could it possibly take longer?

If your axe is SHARP, one blow will do it.