Most humane way to cull

[Sunny Side Up]

Quote:
Awww, I'm sorry for the loss of your crossbeak, it must have been a difficult decision to make, but you did the right thing to end the suffering of a miserable bird. Sometimes it brings you peace to be the one there at the end of an animal's life, but other times you need someone more impartial to do the job for you. A person not as emotionally attatched can often do the job more efficiently & effectively, and therefore more humanely. It's a good idea to have someone with whom you can trade these sad tasks with -- and hope you won't need each other's services too often.

 

[tulie13]

Quote:
I would like to know this, too. I have a chicken that I have been nursing through extended crop problems, and may end up having to cull. She's fine RIGHT NOW, but with me having to start traveling for work soon and liquid feeding being a 2-person job...

 

[swift081702]

I would like to know this too? Did Benadryl really work?

 

[tammye]

I am sure you have tried everything, I have not seen your other post but when you said he was alert and eating but could not walk , I just wanted to add my two cents for a last ditch effort to save him if you have not already tried this: sometimes the inability to walk can occur from a vitamin deficiency have you already heard this? if not it can take two weeks of vitamins added to there food, but I have seen it work on my hen. they need extra vit B12 and E.

I think I would check out a vet too, this is a tough one as we can see from the posts. I will call my vet this week to make sure they can do it if I ever need it done and how much it will cost. Worse part of having pets is the end. sorry you have to do this, but I bet you would not trade the joy of having him for the pain of losing him. I hope what ever you choose works out for you and him

 

[euiduc]

I called around to put my chicken to sleep and the vets office told me it will cost me around $130~$150 - depending on if I wanted to take care of the dead body or not. I could not bring myself to take my chicken to the vet to cut her life short, so I sent her back to the farm that I got her from - I hear she is still alive and recovering.

 

[Turken Lover9847]

I have had to euthanize a chicken before. We put her in a large pot with a lid on top of 4 bricks . Then we put in equal amounts of Vineager and Baking Soda . We wrapped her in a towel so she wouldn't struggle and in about 10 min. it was all over. I hope this helps . I am sorry you have to do this.

 

[triplepurpose]

Well there's all kinds of ways to kill a chicken, many of which are humane, but if there's any doubt about cervical dislocation (which I agree is among the quickest and most dignified, every bit as effective as the "chopping block" but less gruesome and without the possibility of missing and maiming the chicken instead), why not just hit the chicken's head with a hammer? severe blunt trauma to the head is probably how I would choose to go if I had to... Surely this would cause instant death and only a millesecond of pain, if any. No good for slaughter, so kind of a waste of life IMO, but ok if you aren't eating the bird I suppose...which it sounded like the OP has no intention of doing.

But by the way, cervical dislocation, if done right, doesn't just cause paralysis, it also, importantly, severs the blood vessels to the brain--we're not talking about a broken neck injury, more like decapitation--everything is severed, save the neck skin which, being stretchy, stretches such the head doesn't actually "come off" unless you are using more force than necessary to dislocate. Sorry to be so graphic, but death is death however it happens, and I just wanted to try to explain what ACTUALLY physically happens, for the benefit of the OP or others who might want to know the basic facts about it...

I also agree that dragging a chicken to the vet, through strange new environments--a car, a crowded parking lot, a vet's office--is likely more traumatic in itself that any home killing method. The chicken may seem calm when it's handled, but is usually playing dead as a defense mechanism, and not generally enjoying itself, but is under some amount of stress. IMO The quicker you take him out of the coop and get it done with, the better--Ugly Cowboy has a point on that, however ham-fistedly it was made...

And lastly, Turken Lover! No offense, but are you for real?! I really, really hope your post was intended as a sick joke somehow, and I just don't get the humor.... And I dearly hope no one interprets this as a SERIOUS way to humanely "euthanize..." I almost lost my lunch thinking about it (and I slaughter chickens).

 

[SheilaV]

Quote:
They stick a needle in its heart and it give's 'em a heart attack, and that's humane? What's nicest for you and nicest for the bird are totally differant, folks need to stop carin about what makes them feel best and worry about the task at hand, HUMANELY killin the bird. The quickest, most painless way is cervical dislocation, hands down. I'd rather have my neck snapped or my head chopped of than have some weirdo stick a needle in my heart.

I doubt any vet would do it that way when there are so many easier ways to euthanize an animal when you are well equipped. Some animal shelters do as you describe, but most will not be that brutal. It is not only hard on the animals, it is hard on everyone. A vet can literally "put the animal to sleep" before it dies. I cannot say how your vet would do it, but I'd suggest you discuss it with him/her. It will give you a lot more comfort in the long run to know that your friend died in gentle hands. I do not know your relationship with this vet, but I've had to euthanize a number of animals, and I've always made a practice of having the vet sedate the animal in my presence, while I either held him or was at least close, then once asleep, I would leave and they would finish the job. It is hard, but I made it a requirement for me to attend. I was making the decision for them, and right or wrong, I owed it to them to do what I could to make them feel loved right to the end. I cry as I write this, for I cannot count the number of animals I have seen out this way, but on those rare occasions that I have not done so, I have regretted it immensely. It does not matter to me if it is a chicken, a hooded rat or a snake from the road. I would do the same. Remember, it is not JUST your pet's welfare at stake here ... yours si out there as well, and do not discount the value of that. Your friends here will support you, no matter what.

 

[Opa]

As difficult as it is to euthanize a living breathing creature sometimes there is no good alternative. I agree that cervical dislocation is by far the most humane and economical method to use. For many of us $130-150 is a lot of money to spend on a $10 chicken.

 

[WallTenters]

I think the gas chamber is humane if you aren't able to break the neck or cut the head off. I think few minutes in the gas chamber is much less stressful than the ride to the vet's office, going in there, waiting in the waiting room, being taken to the exam room, being injected etc etc.

Still, I agree with a lot of posters on here that breaking the neck (completely) would probably be the best way. Me. I'd rather completely remove the head. And no, you don't have to do it with an ax - use a pair of garden shears, it's over in a second for the animal. If you hold the neck over a small bucket the blood will drain into there, and it's really not messy if done right. Just have conviction that you're doing the right thing by your critter!