Need to Vent

[aart]

I didn't eat them but here's what I DID do: I took their carcasses deep into the woods behind my house and left them on a fallen tree.

Yep, I've done that too.
Entire carcass was gone within 12 hours.
Something had a good meal.

A friend admonished me for leaving the birds out in the woods behind the house for animals to eat saying I was encouraging predation on my remaining birds but I don't agree. I figure any predator worth its fur or feathers is already well aware of the delicious chickens I have in my yard. That's what the fort-knox-like run is for

Exactly!

 

[TheresaV]

Good job. We are still able to process our own food, no need to be a pioneer. Modern improvements make it a lot easier now. It is just a normal part of keeping chickens.

Yes- I plan to scope out the easiest and fastest way. Dragging the chicken over to the chopping block is no longer a necessity thankfully.

 

[fawnda]

I'm sure they never felt betrayed, as their deaths were almost instantaneous. Roosters can be real jerks due to their hormones and you can only really have so many around, if any, so you did what needed to be done. Meanwhile, I have 4 cute little male Japanese quail that I really should do the same with (they're LOUD, they like to fight, etc.) but they are so cute and I raised them etc. It's hard!

 

[VictorVictoria]

Not like a chicken's vent... I just need to get some things off my chest and I figured that fellow chicken people would be good folks to vent to. I know many of you will think this is silly and some may get a good laugh out of my naiveté but that's ok. I like making people laugh and at least I'd be good for something.

I killed my first birds today.

As I mentioned in a previous post I ordered 8 chicks from a hatchery about 5 months ago that claimed a 95% success rate in determining the sex of the chicks. Three of the 8 turned out to be cockerels. I tried to re-home them but craigslist can be a strange and scary place. I got a few text message replies that may have been AI bots (broken English, run-on sentences, no capitalization and no or wrong punctuation such as exclamation point where question marks should be). The one person that I spoke with on the phone was oddly terse and rude. He basically demanded I give him all three roosters even though he admitted to having no coop, no other birds, and generally sounded sketchy.

I was remained hopeful I would find a home for them eventually but things started to go bad behaviorally. One of the cockerels - a Buff Orpington - would get aggressive and peck at me when I went into the run to give them leftovers/treats. I actually found it funny and enjoyed sparring with him but I'm a full-grown adult. I have young kids as well as young nieces and nephews that I did not want to be attacked. Then this morning another of the cockerels - a "Green Queen" - who had been increasing aggressive towards the hens attacked a fellow Green Queen hen and gave her a small cut on the left side of her head right at the base of her beak.

That was it. I knew they had to go.

I had studied up on how I would dispatch a bird when the time inevitably came so I had a plan.

I caught the first bird, lowered it into the cone I had screwed to a tree and placed a string with a loop at one end around its neck (not tight) that I used to keep the neck ever-so-slightly stretched. The other end of the string I attached to a screw that I had drilled into the tree about a foot below the cone. This was just to keep the head and neck still. The bird was comfortable - there neck was not overly extended and the airway was not blocked. Then I took a brand new (aka very sharp) pair of tree loppers and cut the bird's neck. I repeated this two more times.

Now I am experiencing waves of guilt. If it had been someone else's birds I think I would feel much better about it. But these birds I raised from small chicks. They trusted me and I can't help but feel I betrayed that trust. I know that probably sounds silly. Heck I had a chicken kabob salad for dinner last night. But I can't help but feel that after putting so much time and effort and - quite frankly - love into making sure these birds had a great life (ie building a massive coop with windows and a huge, predator-proof run, buying the best feed, keeping them warm with heat lamps when they were young, etc, etc) I killed them just bc they were born the wrong sex. It just seems... I don't know... like a betrayal.

Yeah I know it's dumb. I'll get over it. But does anyone else ever feel this way? I've eaten THOUSANDS of chickens in my life, so it's silly to feel this way about these birds. But I miss my buddies. I'm sorry guys.

Ok thanks for letting me vent. Gotta go. I've got a hot date with Mr. Daniels.

You did right by your birds. First, you did not plan on cockerels and it appearss that you did your best to make it work out. Second, you gave them the best life a chicken can hope for. You did all you could...they only had one bad day. We got our first batch often pulleys and that 95 percent success hare blessed us with one cockerel. Like you, we tried to make it work, but in the end the fella had to go. It’s sad, but I have no regrets and the ladies are happier than ever

 

[Padfoot22]

I’m so sorry you had to do this! Craigslist can be good and bad. I’ve found Facebook Marketplace to be better for selling everything now. I have 4 week old chicks I’m trying to figure out if two are cockerels now and dreading if they are. I did see there is a farm swap at a local Southern States (Creedmoor NC) on 3 weekends. Maybe there’s something like that where you are? Or a local chicken farm that breeds chickens and may take your others if needed.

 

[Vicker]

I'm with you all the way. And I love the nomenclature for "chicken venting".

 

[writerskramp]

Not like a chicken's vent... I just need to get some things off my chest and I figured that fellow chicken people would be good folks to vent to. I know many of you will think this is silly and some may get a good laugh out of my naiveté but that's ok. I like making people laugh and at least I'd be good for something.

I killed my first birds today.

As I mentioned in a previous post I ordered 8 chicks from a hatchery about 5 months ago that claimed a 95% success rate in determining the sex of the chicks. Three of the 8 turned out to be cockerels. I tried to re-home them but craigslist can be a strange and scary place. I got a few text message replies that may have been AI bots (broken English, run-on sentences, no capitalization and no or wrong punctuation such as exclamation point where question marks should be). The one person that I spoke with on the phone was oddly terse and rude. He basically demanded I give him all three roosters even though he admitted to having no coop, no other birds, and generally sounded sketchy.

I was remained hopeful I would find a home for them eventually but things started to go bad behaviorally. One of the cockerels - a Buff Orpington - would get aggressive and peck at me when I went into the run to give them leftovers/treats. I actually found it funny and enjoyed sparring with him but I'm a full-grown adult. I have young kids as well as young nieces and nephews that I did not want to be attacked. Then this morning another of the cockerels - a "Green Queen" - who had been increasing aggressive towards the hens attacked a fellow Green Queen hen and gave her a small cut on the left side of her head right at the base of her beak.

That was it. I knew they had to go.

I had studied up on how I would dispatch a bird when the time inevitably came so I had a plan.

I caught the first bird, lowered it into the cone I had screwed to a tree and placed a string with a loop at one end around its neck (not tight) that I used to keep the neck ever-so-slightly stretched. The other end of the string I attached to a screw that I had drilled into the tree about a foot below the cone. This was just to keep the head and neck still. The bird was comfortable - there neck was not overly extended and the airway was not blocked. Then I took a brand new (aka very sharp) pair of tree loppers and cut the bird's neck. I repeated this two more times.

Now I am experiencing waves of guilt. If it had been someone else's birds I think I would feel much better about it. But these birds I raised from small chicks. They trusted me and I can't help but feel I betrayed that trust. I know that probably sounds silly. Heck I had a chicken kabob salad for dinner last night. But I can't help but feel that after putting so much time and effort and - quite frankly - love into making sure these birds had a great life (ie building a massive coop with windows and a huge, predator-proof run, buying the best feed, keeping them warm with heat lamps when they were young, etc, etc) I killed them just bc they were born the wrong sex. It just seems... I don't know... like a betrayal.

Yeah I know it's dumb. I'll get over it. But does anyone else ever feel this way? I've eaten THOUSANDS of chickens in my life, so it's silly to feel this way about these birds. But I miss my buddies. I'm sorry guys.

Ok thanks for letting me vent. Gotta go. I've got a hot date with Mr. Daniels.

My dear friend.. I have suffered many years of combat experience.. Killing has never gotten easier.. I have slaughtered half of a straight run (roosters) of Free Range meat.. It was awesome food, too feed my family. I apologized to the first few.. 'Too feed my family' I explained, times were tough.. I used to hunt and fish in my youth.. I no longer do, but would if required. It's the taking of life.. plus the guts thing. A little squeamish. That is life. Taking one whether man or animal is a hard thing.. I don't enjoy it.. had I enjoyed it. I would have never stopped. You are a good person, stay that way. Do what you have too.. with no remorse. Sorry.. Take care.

 

[writerskramp]

Not like a chicken's vent... I just need to get some things off my chest and I figured that fellow chicken people would be good folks to vent to. I know many of you will think this is silly and some may get a good laugh out of my naiveté but that's ok. I like making people laugh and at least I'd be good for something.

I killed my first birds today.

As I mentioned in a previous post I ordered 8 chicks from a hatchery about 5 months ago that claimed a 95% success rate in determining the sex of the chicks. Three of the 8 turned out to be cockerels. I tried to re-home them but craigslist can be a strange and scary place. I got a few text message replies that may have been AI bots (broken English, run-on sentences, no capitalization and no or wrong punctuation such as exclamation point where question marks should be). The one person that I spoke with on the phone was oddly terse and rude. He basically demanded I give him all three roosters even though he admitted to having no coop, no other birds, and generally sounded sketchy.

I was remained hopeful I would find a home for them eventually but things started to go bad behaviorally. One of the cockerels - a Buff Orpington - would get aggressive and peck at me when I went into the run to give them leftovers/treats. I actually found it funny and enjoyed sparring with him but I'm a full-grown adult. I have young kids as well as young nieces and nephews that I did not want to be attacked. Then this morning another of the cockerels - a "Green Queen" - who had been increasing aggressive towards the hens attacked a fellow Green Queen hen and gave her a small cut on the left side of her head right at the base of her beak.

That was it. I knew they had to go.

I had studied up on how I would dispatch a bird when the time inevitably came so I had a plan.

I caught the first bird, lowered it into the cone I had screwed to a tree and placed a string with a loop at one end around its neck (not tight) that I used to keep the neck ever-so-slightly stretched. The other end of the string I attached to a screw that I had drilled into the tree about a foot below the cone. This was just to keep the head and neck still. The bird was comfortable - there neck was not overly extended and the airway was not blocked. Then I took a brand new (aka very sharp) pair of tree loppers and cut the bird's neck. I repeated this two more times.

Now I am experiencing waves of guilt. If it had been someone else's birds I think I would feel much better about it. But these birds I raised from small chicks. They trusted me and I can't help but feel I betrayed that trust. I know that probably sounds silly. Heck I had a chicken kabob salad for dinner last night. But I can't help but feel that after putting so much time and effort and - quite frankly - love into making sure these birds had a great life (ie building a massive coop with windows and a huge, predator-proof run, buying the best feed, keeping them warm with heat lamps when they were young, etc, etc) I killed them just bc they were born the wrong sex. It just seems... I don't know... like a betrayal.

Yeah I know it's dumb. I'll get over it. But does anyone else ever feel this way? I've eaten THOUSANDS of chickens in my life, so it's silly to feel this way about these birds. But I miss my buddies. I'm sorry guys.

Ok thanks for letting me vent. Gotta go. I've got a hot date with Mr. Daniels.

..and stay off Craigslist. It's sick

 

[Kriscam]

Not like a chicken's vent... I just need to get some things off my chest and I figured that fellow chicken people would be good folks to vent to. I know many of you will think this is silly and some may get a good laugh out of my naiveté but that's ok. I like making people laugh and at least I'd be good for something.

I killed my first birds today.

As I mentioned in a previous post I ordered 8 chicks from a hatchery about 5 months ago that claimed a 95% success rate in determining the sex of the chicks. Three of the 8 turned out to be cockerels. I tried to re-home them but craigslist can be a strange and scary place. I got a few text message replies that may have been AI bots (broken English, run-on sentences, no capitalization and no or wrong punctuation such as exclamation point where question marks should be). The one person that I spoke with on the phone was oddly terse and rude. He basically demanded I give him all three roosters even though he admitted to having no coop, no other birds, and generally sounded sketchy.

I was remained hopeful I would find a home for them eventually but things started to go bad behaviorally. One of the cockerels - a Buff Orpington - would get aggressive and peck at me when I went into the run to give them leftovers/treats. I actually found it funny and enjoyed sparring with him but I'm a full-grown adult. I have young kids as well as young nieces and nephews that I did not want to be attacked. Then this morning another of the cockerels - a "Green Queen" - who had been increasing aggressive towards the hens attacked a fellow Green Queen hen and gave her a small cut on the left side of her head right at the base of her beak.

That was it. I knew they had to go.

I had studied up on how I would dispatch a bird when the time inevitably came so I had a plan.

I caught the first bird, lowered it into the cone I had screwed to a tree and placed a string with a loop at one end around its neck (not tight) that I used to keep the neck ever-so-slightly stretched. The other end of the string I attached to a screw that I had drilled into the tree about a foot below the cone. This was just to keep the head and neck still. The bird was comfortable - there neck was not overly extended and the airway was not blocked. Then I took a brand new (aka very sharp) pair of tree loppers and cut the bird's neck. I repeated this two more times.

Now I am experiencing waves of guilt. If it had been someone else's birds I think I would feel much better about it. But these birds I raised from small chicks. They trusted me and I can't help but feel I betrayed that trust. I know that probably sounds silly. Heck I had a chicken kabob salad for dinner last night. But I can't help but feel that after putting so much time and effort and - quite frankly - love into making sure these birds had a great life (ie building a massive coop with windows and a huge, predator-proof run, buying the best feed, keeping them warm with heat lamps when they were young, etc, etc) I killed them just bc they were born the wrong sex. It just seems... I don't know... like a betrayal.

Yeah I know it's dumb. I'll get over it. But does anyone else ever feel this way? I've eaten THOUSANDS of chickens in my life, so it's silly to feel this way about these birds. But I miss my buddies. I'm sorry guys.

Ok thanks for letting me vent. Gotta go. I've got a hot date with Mr. Daniels.

 

[Kriscam]

My dear friend.. I have suffered many years of combat experience.. Killing has never gotten easier.. I have slaughtered half of a straight run (roosters) of Free Range meat.. It was awesome food, too feed my family. I apologized to the first few.. 'Too feed my family' I explained, times were tough.. I used to hunt and fish in my youth.. I no longer do, but would if required. It's the taking of life.. plus the guts thing. A little squeamish. That is life. Taking one whether man or animal is a hard thing.. I don't enjoy it.. had I enjoyed it. I would have never stopped. You are a good person, stay that way. Do what you have too.. with no remorse. Sorry.. Take care.