Must I withhold food before culling our rooster?

[Ebony Rose]

By the way... mean roosters taste the best.

 

[ryneaeiel]

When I've had to cull animals, I've never taken them off food. I even feed them a last meal and let them have their fill about an hour or so before the cull. Usually of whatever food they enjoy most.

In the case of birds, the food goes into the crop and there isn't enough time to digest it before culling. The same applies for mammals.

It's a matter of respect between keeper and animal -- think of it as similar to a prisoner's last meal. For me, it's a final gesture of affection for an animal that has to die.

(This may just be anecdotal, but I've personally noticed that animals are usually more docile after they've had their fill of their favorite foods. Maybe it's just the laziness that comes with a full stomach, or maybe it's an understanding of what's happening. Only the animals know, I suppose.)

 

[aart]

I do withhold food, often butcher in the morning, so might pull it late afternoon, BUT I rather like to give a small amount of grain, 10 minutes before... make the crop just a little easier to get a hold of and loosen.

Mrs K

Same here.
I crate them the night before with just water, for slaughter in the morning.
Also do the grain thing for ease of removing crop.
Have slaughtered a few dozen birds and still do this.

 

[Tre3hugger]

I often process first thing in the morning, so I remove the food the night before at bedtime. I have tried just giving a bit of corn in the morning before doing the deed, but I found the crops harder to pull through the carcass whole without ripping the esophagus. It is equivalent to us not having an early breakfast as soon as we wake up. I don't believe withholding food the morning of is not compassionate, and in my, admittedly limited, experience (about 40 birds) makes for a cleaner job.

 

[aart]

I found the crops harder to pull through the carcass whole

I remove the crop at the neck end of bird.

 

[Molpet]

I remove the crop at the neck end of bird.

So do I

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I remove the crop at the neck end of bird.

^^^ me too.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I remove the crop at the neck end of bird.

I don't, but I part mine into serving pieces as I go. By the time I get to crop removal and most of the other internals the breasts are separated from the rest of the carcass so I have full easy access to most of the internals, not just the crop.

 

[Ebony Rose]

I am cooking for one, so I too, butcher the birds that I process into portions suitable for my cooking needs. Some portions are for my personal use, while others are intended as dog food for my two pups. By the time I get to the middle, the organs are easy to access.

 

[aart]

I don't, but I part mine into serving pieces as I go. By the time I get to crop removal and most of the other internals the breasts are separated from the rest of the carcass so I have full easy access to most of the internals, not just the crop.

I am cooking for one, so I too, butcher the birds that I process into portions suitable for my cooking needs. Some portions are for my personal use, while others are intended as dog food for my two pups. By the time I get to the middle, the organs are easy to access.

Well, that's a totally different way to do it.
Do y'all skin or pluck?