Naked Neck/Turken Thread

[ochochicas]

The culling is most definitely the hardest part. I'm closing in on having culled a dozen cockerels so far, and it still upsets me each time. I make multiple excuses NOT to cull until finally I know I just must.

I know what you mean. I wait and wait and wait and then finally they are fighting too much or doing something stupid and I have to make the call to cull them. It seems like it is getting easier, but I still put it off as long as I can.

 

[Sierra987]

Now that's a lucky break! I know my husband would probably do the killing for me if I asked him to, but I won't do that. I'm the one who wanted to start raising chickens, and I think it's only fair if I take on full responsibility for them. Besides, I hatch these guys, tend to them, cuddle with them....and eventually decide which ones will be dinner. It just seems right that I end their lives as well, and as silly as it may be, I always thank them for feeding my family.

I haven't culled a hen yet. I'm wondering how I'll handle that since they're usually more affectionate than (most of) my cockerels.

I can totally understand feeling like you should do it yourself even though it's hard to do. The Whiting chicks were hard for me because they were so friendly. One time I got home right after a half grown chicken had died. I did a necropsy but still really don't know why. But he must have flopped around violently before death because the other chickens were terrified of the body. They would not settle down until I went in and sat with them. A bunch of them sat on and around me and then they all settled down finally. The roosters becoming adolescents made it easier to cull some of them but the friendly ones were still hard. The Cornish X that I got this spring weren't hard because they never acted like normal chickens. But I hated the feed restriction and trying to keep their pen even somewhat clean.

What I would like to try this spring is raising some meat chickens with a broody. I won't have time to raise them by hand because of several trips that are planned. If the hens would do the work, it would be much easier. I just need to get some pens set up by March and then hope for some broodies. If that does work, I'll consider keeping a trio or quad of NNs or Biels or something so I can have hatching eggs throughout the year and just raise some chickens for meat whenever I have a broody hen. I'll still have to deal with the culling but it might be easier if I don't have to be so hands on while raising them. And I still want to see if I like the NNs for a meat chicken.

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

I can totally understand feeling like you should do it yourself even though it's hard to do. The Whiting chicks were hard for me because they were so friendly. One time I got home right after a half grown chicken had died. I did a necropsy but still really don't know why. But he must have flopped around violently before death because the other chickens were terrified of the body. They would not settle down until I went in and sat with them. A bunch of them sat on and around me and then they all settled down finally. The roosters becoming adolescents made it easier to cull some of them but the friendly ones were still hard. The Cornish X that I got this spring weren't hard because they never acted like normal chickens. But I hated the feed restriction and trying to keep their pen even somewhat clean.

What I would like to try this spring is raising some meat chickens with a broody. I won't have time to raise them by hand because of several trips that are planned. If the hens would do the work, it would be much easier. I just need to get some pens set up by March and then hope for some broodies. If that does work, I'll consider keeping a trio or quad of NNs or Biels or something so I can have hatching eggs throughout the year and just raise some chickens for meat whenever I have a broody hen. I'll still have to deal with the culling but it might be easier if I don't have to be so hands on while raising them. And I still want to see if I like the NNs for a meat chicken.

I'm planning to keep breeders from among mine and harvest the rest as meat chickens. Yeah, I anticipate the first harvest/processing will be pretty hard but like you guys, I feel I should do it myself if I plan to eat chicken. Alas, I went into their tractor to check on them today, and I made the mistake of squatting and leaning over (was looking at something). Next thing I knew, the four friendliest ones (Puppy, Sweetie, #2 [a friendly cockerel I refuse to name], and a black cockerel) were up on my shoulders and back. After they started the "fad", I think I ultimately had about 8 on me - finally had to get up and out, but they wanted to stay on me... They're certainly cuddlers...

- Ant Farm

 

[Sierra987]

I'm planning to keep breeders from among mine and harvest the rest as meat chickens. Yeah, I anticipate the first harvest/processing will be pretty hard but like you guys, I feel I should do it myself if I plan to eat chicken. Alas, I went into their tractor to check on them today, and I made the mistake of squatting and leaning over (was looking at something). Next thing I knew, the four friendliest ones (Puppy, Sweetie, #2 [a friendly cockerel I refuse to name], and a black cockerel) were up on my shoulders and back. After they started the "fad", I think I ultimately had about 8 on me - finally had to get up and out, but they wanted to stay on me... They're certainly cuddlers...

- Ant Farm

Yep! After I moved the Whiting meat chickens to a hoop house, I would sit down on a bucket after I filled feed, water, etc and just observe them for a few minutes to make sure they were all ok. But the next thing you know I would have chicks sitting on my legs, under my legs, on my shoulders, etc. Geez!

 

[DesertChic]

I'm planning to keep breeders from among mine and harvest the rest as meat chickens. Yeah, I anticipate the first harvest/processing will be pretty hard but like you guys, I feel I should do it myself if I plan to eat chicken. Alas, I went into their tractor to check on them today, and I made the mistake of squatting and leaning over (was looking at something). Next thing I knew, the four friendliest ones (Puppy, Sweetie, #2 [a friendly cockerel I refuse to name], and a black cockerel) were up on my shoulders and back. After they started the "fad", I think I ultimately had about 8 on me - finally had to get up and out, but they wanted to stay on me... They're certainly cuddlers...

- Ant Farm

And herein lay the greatest dilemma....how to keep friendly, lovely chickens...and then later kill them. Those of us who are nurturers by nature really struggle with this. I had an online conversation with an accomplished breeder who lives not far from me regarding a very young bird I had some concerns about. She was very blunt about culling this chick...and it WAS still a chick...and I felt something in my head gasp and withdraw in horror. Kill a chick? I can't kill a chick! I literally stand over the incubator willing each chick to emerge healthy, and the fluff up and take their first steps before I dip their beaks to teach them how to drink an scatter food on the floor of their brooder to teach them to eat....and she wanted me to kill the chick? Yeah...well...she was right. I couldn't bring myself to do it, always hoping it would get better and start hopping around, but instead it died a slow, miserable death and I felt more guilty over letting it suffer than I would have had I mustered up the courage to cull it quickly.

And right now I've got one little hatchling with an injured leg. It's been three days since it hatched and it's still holding up it's right leg, rarely putting any pressure on it and seemingly unable to fully straighten it out. I check on this little guy multiple times per day, pick him up and inspect the leg, weigh him to see if he's eating and drinking and monitor his behavior to see if he's even interested in food. Day 3 and he doesn't appear to be getting any better. He'll eat and drink small amounts and his weight has stabilized, but I know his leg is deformed. I know what I should do....I just haven't been able to bring myself to do it.

 

[chickengr]

And herein lay the greatest dilemma....how to keep friendly, lovely chickens...and then later kill them. Those of us who are nurturers by nature really struggle with this. I had an online conversation with an accomplished breeder who lives not far from me regarding a very young bird I had some concerns about. She was very blunt about culling this chick...and it WAS still a chick...and I felt something in my head gasp and withdraw in horror. Kill a chick? I can't kill a chick! I literally stand over the incubator willing each chick to emerge healthy, and the fluff up and take their first steps before I dip their beaks to teach them how to drink an scatter food on the floor of their brooder to teach them to eat....and she wanted me to kill the chick? Yeah...well...she was right. I couldn't bring myself to do it, always hoping it would get better and start hopping around, but instead it died a slow, miserable death and I felt more guilty over letting it suffer than I would have had I mustered up the courage to cull it quickly.

And right now I've got one little hatchling with an injured leg. It's been three days since it hatched and it's still holding up it's right leg, rarely putting any pressure on it and seemingly unable to fully straighten it out. I check on this little guy multiple times per day, pick him up and inspect the leg, weigh him to see if he's eating and drinking and monitor his behavior to see if he's even interested in food. Day 3 and he doesn't appear to be getting any better. He'll eat and drink small amounts and his weight has stabilized, but I know his leg is deformed. I know what I should do....I just haven't been able to bring myself to do it.

I took a chick with the leg problem from the breeder. I knew she would not make it but at least she died naturally. that is my way of dealing with it.

 

[Kassaundra]

And herein lay the greatest dilemma....how to keep friendly, lovely chickens...and then later kill them. Those of us who are nurturers by nature really struggle with this. I had an online conversation with an accomplished breeder who lives not far from me regarding a very young bird I had some concerns about. She was very blunt about culling this chick...and it WAS still a chick...and I felt something in my head gasp and withdraw in horror. Kill a chick? I can't kill a chick! I literally stand over the incubator willing each chick to emerge healthy, and the fluff up and take their first steps before I dip their beaks to teach them how to drink an scatter food on the floor of their brooder to teach them to eat....and she wanted me to kill the chick? Yeah...well...she was right. I couldn't bring myself to do it, always hoping it would get better and start hopping around, but instead it died a slow, miserable death and I felt more guilty over letting it suffer than I would have had I mustered up the courage to cull it quickly.

And right now I've got one little hatchling with an injured leg. It's been three days since it hatched and it's still holding up it's right leg, rarely putting any pressure on it and seemingly unable to fully straighten it out. I check on this little guy multiple times per day, pick him up and inspect the leg, weigh him to see if he's eating and drinking and monitor his behavior to see if he's even interested in food. Day 3 and he doesn't appear to be getting any better. He'll eat and drink small amounts and his weight has stabilized, but I know his leg is deformed. I know what I should do....I just haven't been able to bring myself to do it.

That is one reason I love the pellet gun so much, the hands on killing w/ the babies is just to much for me. I place them on top of the sand in a bucket full of sand and one quick pull of the trigger and it is all over. It is overkill in a large way, but I KNOW it is instant.

 

[Sierra987]

And herein lay the greatest dilemma....how to keep friendly, lovely chickens...and then later kill them. Those of us who are nurturers by nature really struggle with this....

It is terribly hard when your nature is to take care of these critters. I believe Temple Grandin in one of her books says that the person who takes care of the mothers and baby animals is not the one who should make the decision and do the deed of culling. That makes sense to me in a way because that decision and act is harder for the nurturing person.

I've had to cull several chicks. The first meat chicken, I tried carbon dioxide but I wasn't happy with how it went. In retrospect, I didn't have a good method. With a Cornish X with severe ascites, I tried the broomstick method. Because of the flopping, I wasn't sure the chick was dead so ended up pulling it's head off. Not happy with that at all. Then with the last cull I did carbon dioxide following instructions on this website - http://www.alysion.org/euthanasia/2-uncategorised.html
It worked ok and I would do it again this way. I would also try a pellet gun like suggested above although I don't own one at the moment.

I know there are those rolling their eyes at this topic and I understand that. But it is hard for some of us, much as we struggle to be practical and understand the necessity of culling. That still doesn't make it easy.

 

[Sierra987]

Operation Chicken Rescue tonight. I was working outside after having done chores. It was dark but i hadn't closed up the chicken hoop houses. I heard the chick screaming and looked over to see mama on top of the hoop house. The screaming stopped before I made it into the pen and I couldn't find the chick. I got a head lamp and still couldn't find him. Finally I stopped to listen and could hear him quietly fussing - under mama 6 feet up on top of the hoop house. I had to bring out a ladder to reach them and put them on a much lower roost inside the hoop house. I guess there's nothing quite like the determination of a 3 1/2 week old chick to be with his mother!

She has been a good mother but is definitely getting restless. I think this weekend I'll let them in with the other chickens and he'll be able to get up on the roost with her. I have one quite bossy hen so had been putting this off.

 

[Sierra987]

And I don't blame the hen for getting restless and wanting to roost. 6 1/2 weeks is a long time of not getting to poop at night!