Keeping The Best, Culling The Rest

[Lelilamom]

So far, I've avoided thinking about culling, but that may have to change soon. I've got a broody hen now and most of the 11 eggs she's sitting on are probably fertilized by the rooster. On the one hand, I want to hatch chicks for the experience of it and for my kids. Also, my rooster has such a fancy crele color that I'm looking forward to colorful offspring. I also would like to have a self-sustaining flock so that I don't have to buy new birds in the future.
On the other hand, I really have a space problem. My coop is now already filled to capacity. If the hen manages to hatch chicks, I'll have to put her and them into a new coop or else find a way to enlarge the old one. Anyway I'll need a bigger run. Depending on how many chicks she hatches, even after the enlargement I'll have to "cull" part of the flock, either the young ones (especially cockerels) or the old hens or some of both.
There is no way I can reasonably keep 20 chickens or multiple roosters. I'll try to sell them or re-home them as a first choice. The ones I can't get rid of that way may have to be "invited for dinner". I don't like the thought, but on the other hand, no reason to be a hypocrite - we are not vegetarians. We eat commercial chickens regularly. Maybe, instead of eating unhappy commercially raised, neatly packaged and shop bought broilers, the time will come to eat some organic homegrown cockerels, after a short but hopefully relatively happy life... it feels cruel but maybe it's actually the more animal friendly way. (Though I still might dodge out and decide to give them to other people to eat - there are enough low income families here who would gladly accept a dinner donation).

Its never easy to cross the bridge from pets to food. And funnily enough, I never think of our meat birds as part of our flock so when asked if we ever "cull" any of our flock I say "No, not really". But every year we get 25 - 30 meat birds that we free range and then process ourselves. I will be honest. It's not easy to kill and process your own birds. But I will never buy chicken in the store again now that I know where my food comes from and know how much better it can taste.

That being said, I see alot of posters talking about culling their cockerels and keeping them for food. Why not? At least you know where your food came from and a 10lb bird in the soup pot goes along way. But if you are uncomfortable with the idea, I think donating to a family in need is a great idea. Lord knows every community could use a little generosity like that.

 

[Mrs. K]

Culling was very hard at first, one is inexperienced, and one really does not want to botch it. I never really like it, but once I decide, I start to distance myself from those birds. I don't watch them. They are cared for.

I have found, once the deed is done, it is not so bad. But I will admit, it was hard for me to eat the meat at first. In the beginning, they stayed in the freezer for a long period, till I could not remember who was who. This is another step in this hobby, and like any hobby, some people never move on to another level. Some people do.

If you are going to hatch, you pretty much have to have a plan that you can do.

I currently have a pen full of chicks, a lot of them roosters, only one gets to stay.

Mrs K

 

[TheTwoRoos]

I understand what your saying now,and honestly that is kinda of unfair.I would never kill a chicken because of its look or sickness,unless it was a serious,unfixable sickness.I do try to heal my hens the best I can,and most of our chickens are bare backed,don't care how they look,just care about the personality.
As in my other thread,I would a cull a rooster if it was aggressive,and unfix able,or hurt a family member of mine,if it was their fault,then I wouldn't cull him,but if it was the roosters own choice,he would get culled.


Edited by Staff

 

[ILuvMyFlock]

I understand what your saying now,and honestly that is kinda of unfair.I would never kill a chicken because of its look or sickness,unless it was a serious,unfixable sickness.I do try to heal my hens the best I can,and most of our chickens are bare backed,don't care how they look,just care about the personality.

As in my other thread,I would a cull a rooster if it was aggressive,and unfix able,or hurt a family member of mine,if it was their fault,then I wouldn't cull him,but if it was the roosters own choice,he would get culled.

I'm glad someone kind of gets me. I appreciate it when someone tries to rehabilitate at least first before they choose to cull.

 

[keesmom]

I wouldn't hesitate to immediately butcher any bird that shows any signs of an illness. Period. I maintain a breeder flock and a sick bird does not belong here at all. I also cull for a bird's size/weight, egg size, any genetic defects, temperament, as well as by sex (I excel at hatching cockerels).



Edited by Staff

 

[BantyChooks]

(I excel at hatching cockerels).

Ha, don't we all.

 

[ILuvMyFlock]

Nature is cruel, it favors the strong. Humans often favor the weak, which isn't always in the best interest of the survival of a species.

I don't think you have seen a gang of roosters repeatedly mate a hen, or watched roosters fight to the death. There's not enough homes for all the roosters of the world. Did you buy straight run chickens and keep all the roosters? Or did you allow others to kill the rooster so you could have all hens?

Chicken keeping is a wonderful hobby because it's so diverse and everyone can do something different and it's okay.

Others were pointing our forums where you could find like minded individuals who share you views, they weren't telling you to leave.

Yes, I absolutely do buy straight run, and I do keep every single rooster. I have never ever killed any of my birds. In fact I go on Craigslist to find and take in Roosters locally. And yes sadly I have seen much death, I've seen a hen mated to death, that's why I separate my Roos from the hens.

 

[duluthralphie]

I wrote the above in the middle of the night on my Iphone during and old person sleep break,,,

Trying to save everyone bird might seem noble on a micro scale but in actuality it is dangerous on the macro level to everyone of our birds.

You cannot save every bird. They will become overcrowded and disease will intensify and run rampant.

Even trying to save one bird that is extremely weak and injured can destroy your flock. Disease whether caused by virus or bacteria does not start by attacking the strongest bird in a flock, it attacks the weakest. Once in the weakest it grows,

Unless you have that bird in complete isolation with positive pressure and showering in and out with nothing it touches every leaving the positive pressure air space the germs will get out.



Responsible bird ownership requires culling at some point. Anything less that that is pie in the sky unrealistic utopia believing nonsense that endangers everyone's birds. One mutation of a nasty virus and we have an outbreak.




Edited by Staff

 

[Bantambird]

Since I hatch chicks, there is always a risk of a sickly, deformed chick occuring. Usually when this happens, I tearfully carry said baby to my husband to take care of for me. You bet I cry over every single one of them, but the others are right. It's more cruel to let them suffer, and breeding good birds requires that I not keep Sickies, no matter how I feel about culling. It's one of the hardest and most important aspects. I also eat extra cockerels, and keep a bachelor pen in the winter(to help preserve combs in the frosty north)

 

[Bantambird]

About 5 years ago, I learned a very valuable lesson. I had suffered a raccoon attack that decimated half my flock, and wanted to find some replacement hens. A co-worker offered to supply said hens, and the deal was struck. I should have followed my guts when I saw the birds, because they were coated in lice, and seemed off, but I knew how to clean that up and figured that lice was an easy fix, since I didn't want to drive out there, then be rude and leave empty handed. Wrong!
Once I got home, I separated them for about a month, treating their lice, and observing them. They seemed to perk up after treatment, so I put them with my flock. Within a few weeks, my old ladies started getting sick! I sent a hen to the state lab, and I had brought in avian leukoma virus. I had to cull them all and start from scratch. That was hard.