Killed my first hen yesterday by broomstick method (mercy kill) and I need some affirmation

[BigBlueHen53]

Is WD-40 the same as starter fluid?

 

[aart]

Is WD-40 the same as starter fluid?

No.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

No.

Thought not. DH does the shopping. Apparently his family has used it as such due to the high humidity around here. Thanks.

 

[aart]

Thought not. DH does the shopping. Apparently his family has used it as such due to the high humidity around here. Thanks.

Just curious what that has to do with killing chickens?

 

[UrbanChickie]

I'm in agreement with the other posts. Sounds like you did it correctly. I generally just cull naughty/aggressive roosters which is easy to emotionally justify, but my favorite roo had an injury that I didn't think he'd recover from, and my experience of culling him effected me much more. I think that second-guessing is normal, but ultimately its better to keep an animal from suffering a long time.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Just curious what that has to do with killing chickens?

Somebody above said they spray it on rags and put it in a plastic bag to give the bird a peaceful, quick mercy passing with no flapping. But don't eat the meat, of course.

 

[sourland]

A necessary job well done on your part. It's one of our biggest responsibilities as caretakers to end suffering of our charges. I congratulate you on accepting that responsibility.

 

[thepick4uchicks]

Wow! Hard to do even for hard people. The older I get the harder this would be even though I would do it, it stays with you for a long time. Last dog had to put down I cried like a baby.

Right now I have three dogs. One of them is 12 years old and she is especially mine above all four family members in our house. I am her person. She has been my faithful companion, friend, nurse, bodyguard, and side kick in all things mischievous and fun around our house. She does not go anywhere in our property or our lives without me or vice versa unless I have a doctors appointment or have to go shopping which is a rare occasion because I’m not able to do much of the later. The other two dogs are a 7 month old 70lb English Cream Golden Retriever puppy who is supposedly my husbands dog primarily but he is very attached to me also my daughters dog is two years old and she is a Shichon which is a stubborn Bichon Shitzu mix. She really minds me more than my daughter because my daughter is away at school all day and I hold doggy daycare. I’m the dog person in the house and they all know it so my thoughts as I have prattled on are that you are absolutely right. Never be too hard to have feelings of compassion and sadness when an animal passes or needs to be put down so they don’t suffer anymore. Never allow your hear to harden against these things. If you allow that to happen you should not have anymore animals come under your care any longer because you will not take care of them properly if you don’t have proper feelings for their feelings. That is how I feel about it.

 

[jameverywhere]

I killed a rooster for the first time using the broomstick method today. I was afraid of a slow death, so I accidentally pulled his entire head off.

He flapped. a LOT. I would have thought he was still alive if his head hadn't literally been severed from his body.

There's a reason we have that saying, "running around like a headless chicken" ... don't let the death throes make you feel bad!

 

[U_Stormcrow]

"When the need arises - and it does - you must be able to shoot your own dog. Don't farm it out - that doesn't make it nicer, it makes it worse." - Robert A. Heinlein

You were responsible, did your homework, educated yourself, and offered your bird care in its illness. When that proved unsuccessful, you were responsible, did your homework, educated yourself, and ended its suffering. Now that its done, you are being responsible, you've done your homework and educated yourself about expected responses, checked for them, found them to be present.

You did a thing many find difficult, and for the right reasons, and you did it well. As important, you did it yourself instead of pushing this problem onto another.

Sleep easy. You can be disappointed that this was the outcome of the birds illness, but there is no cause for remorse, self-doubt, or guilt. Rather you should be proud that you faced your responsibilities, did your best, and did it humanely.