Need to cull a rooster

[Mom2LotsOBoys]

What’s the best idiot’s guide to culling a rooster? My rooster has started getting out and coming after my kids so he needs to go.

Can I kill him while they’re still roosting and snoozing, and then let him hang til it’s light and I can get to processing? How do you catch a large unruly rooster if that doesn’t work?

Please don’t tell me how to keep him; he wasn’t going to make it past spring due to family things anyway and he’s had a lovely six months of fun til now.

 

[RUNuts]

What’s the best idiot’s guide to culling a rooster? My rooster has started getting out and coming after my kids so he needs to go.

Can I kill him while they’re still roosting and snoozing, and then let him hang til it’s light and I can get to processing? How do you catch a large unruly rooster if that doesn’t work?

Please don’t tell me how to keep him; he wasn’t going to make it past spring due to family things anyway and he’s had a lovely six months of fun til now.

Before first light, while he is on the roost, I grab his feet and hang him upside down. He will flap, so be ready for a tussle. I put him in a kennel. A large box will work. You can also tie or zip tie his feet and wait for the sun. Grabbing the feet is easier than a body grab.
After breakfast and first light, the deed is done.

you tube has several videos discussing dispatch. Even a couple articles on BYC to cover this. Pick one you are comfortable with. I will slice the jugular with him hanging in a kill cone made from a 1 gallon plastic jug. Once he bleeds out, butchering is done.

The broomstick method is good and so is a hatchet to remove the head.

If the weather is cool outside, yes, you can kill him at dark and let him hang until morning. It's too warm to do that here. I do like to cool the meat quickly, but don't have that luxury while hunting, so meat prep waits.

 

[Chicken poppy]

Before first light, while he is on the roost, I grab his feet and hang him upside down. He will flap, so be ready for a tussle. I put him in a kennel. A large box will work. You can also tie or zip tie his feet and wait for the sun. Grabbing the feet is easier than a body grab.
After breakfast and first light, the deed is done.

you tube has several videos discussing dispatch. Even a couple articles on BYC to cover this. Pick one you are comfortable with. I will slice the jugular with him hanging in a kill cone made from a 1 gallon plastic jug. Once he bleeds out, butchering is done.

The broomstick method is good and so is a hatchet to remove the head.

If the weather is cool outside, yes, you can kill him at dark and let him hang until morning. It's too warm to do that here. I do like to cool the meat quickly, but don't have that luxury while hunting, so meat prep waits.

Genuine question is hanging him like that humane? I’ve never done it so just asking. I’ve only done broomstick.

 

[fowltemptress]

I put mine in cat carriers the night before, and then just grab the carrier in the morning and take it to where I'll do the processing. If you have a red light on your head lamp or a red flash light it'll help when gathering up the birds you need in the dark. They can't see the red light and don't startle and shift the way they would with a regular bulb. It's how I administer medications at night, too; it makes everything a breeze.

 

[Chicken poppy]

How i put mine down is either CO2 from a car or i do a broomstick to the neck. Mine are smaller birds so not sure how that would work for a bigger one

 

[fowltemptress]

Genuine question is hanging him like that humane? I’ve never done it so just asking. I’ve only done broomstick.

It's not if you're not planning to slaughter the bird immediately. It's easy to accidentally kill an upside down bird since their bodies and organs aren't designed to handle it. The broomstick is quick and works, and if you're comfortable with that method there's no reason not to stick with it.

 

[Chicken poppy]

It's not if you're not planning to slaughter the bird immediately. It's easy to accidentally kill an upside down bird since their bodies and organs aren't designed to handle it. The broomstick is quick and works, and if you're comfortable with that method there's no reason not to stick with it.

Ah gotcha. OP poster mentioned leaving them overnight so i wasn’t to sure.

 

[HeritageFan]

@Chicken poppy, sometimes it has to come down to what is possible.

I don’t carry any of my birds by the feet while they are still alive, but I’ve also never had a super aggressive roo

I’d rather carry him upside down (doesn’t hurt him and he can’t spur you), than let him tear me up by grabbing him a different way.

Personally, I’d rig a kill cone.
I use a cervical dislocator, personally, but, I have one that I made (sort of my own twist on a “bunny popper” and I use for rabbits, ducks, and turkeys).

But it’s not hard to rig or go grab a cone and affix to something.
Make sure your knife is sharper than sharp.
Quick and easy.

If it’s cold where you are...he’d probably be ok until dawn. If not, I’d probably use a headlamp to remove the head, pull at least most of the guts (intestine and stomach in particular), and toss him in a cooler until the morning.

You will have to deal w some rigor by then, which will make the job a bit more tricky but it will also keep the meat more safe.

Otherwise- I’d grab him just pre dawn.
You can do the whole deed at once as the sun comes up, or, he’d be ok to hang while you run the kiddos to school/ whatever is necessary in the morning.

JMO

 

[RUNuts]

Genuine question is hanging him like that humane? I’ve never done it so just asking. I’ve only done broomstick.

Grabbing the feet and hanging him away from my body keeps me in control and I don't get pummeled by the wings or spurred. They calm down and are easier to get into a kennel. Shoving a flapping, crowing rooster into a small box in the dark is a neat trick by yourself.

Remember, just one bad day. The risk of not controlling him is that he gets away and then I have to chase him around the yard. That's not as humane as me staying in control. I don't recommend chasing one around the yard. A night catch is only marginally easier than the daytime. If his wings aren't clipped, he will fly faster than you can run.

How tame is he? My birds aren't tame and a chase is to be avoided.

 

[Chicken poppy]

@Chicken poppy, sometimes it has to come down to what is possible.

I don’t carry any of my birds by the feet while they are still alive, but I’ve also never had a super aggressive roo

I’d rather carry him upside down (doesn’t hurt him and he can’t spur you), than let him tear me up by grabbing him a different way.

Personally, I’d rig a kill cone.
I use a cervical dislocator, personally, but, I have one that I made (sort of my own twist on a “bunny popper” and I use for rabbits, ducks, and turkeys).

But it’s not hard to rig or go grab a cone and affix to something.
Make sure your knife is sharper than sharp.
Quick and easy.

If it’s cold where you are...he’d probably be ok until dawn. If not, I’d probably use a headlamp to remove the head, pull at least most of the guts (intestine and stomach in particular), and toss him in a cooler until the morning.

You will have to deal w some rigor by then, which will make the job a bit more tricky but it will also keep the meat more safe.

Otherwise- I’d grab him just pre dawn.
You can do the whole deed at once as the sun comes up, or, he’d be ok to hang while you run the kiddos to school/ whatever is necessary in the morning.

JMO

Ah okay. Makes sense. It’s probably more confusing to me since my roosters are bantams and very very tiny. They don’t pose much of a threat since i can just grab them in my hand. Now a big rooster with big spurs would probably prove more of a challenge.