Newbie to culling - cervical dislocation questions

[Lilchook]

Hi, I’m new around here

I was hoping to get some members advice on the cervical dislocation method of euthanising chickens.

At this point it would only be for euthanasia of hopelessly sick/injured birds rather than butchering to eat.

I have done research on different methods and I think cervical dislocation is the method that I would be most comfortable doing, I wouldn’t be as confident with an axe or knife. I have never culled a bird before. I have taken some to the vet for euthanasia but I have a large flock and it’s pretty expensive & impractical compared to if I could humanely do it myself at home. I have a few specific questions, but any advice is appreciated

1. Broomstick method vs cervical dislocation device
In my research & video watching cervical dislocation is achieved utilising a broomstick/rebar/similar strong stick object. I also came across a device I could buy thats supposed to do the same thing. I have attached the link to that below & a couple photos from the site. Has anyone used something similar to this before? Did it work well? How would it compare to the broomstick method?

https://chookmanor.co.nz/products/humane-poultry-culler?_pos=1&_sid=7443575d6&_ss=r


2. Does this method work well on very small birds? E.g. OEGBs which mine are only half a kg/ approx 1 pound. I guess I am worried since they are so much smaller the dislocation might not occur in the correct place behind the head. Maybe something thinner like metal rebar rather than a broomstick would work better?

3. Any tips for a newbies first time?
I have watched videos of this method and feel comfortable with how to do it, and there’s nothing worse to me than an unnecessarily suffering animal, but I’m going to be very nervy the first time actually doing it.. I feel like if I can do the first one successfully it won’t be as stressful.

Also, I wasn’t sure if this came across as there are birds presently needing to be culled - there are none that need euthanising at present so there is no time pressure.

Thanks in advance

 

[Molpet]

I had never seen this so I had to look.
I did find this

 

[Penpal]

Thank you guys for letting me know about the humane poultry killer. I found a store selling them, Incubator Warehouse, and bookmarked the website.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Hi, welcome to BYC. Thanks for sharing this, it was really jnteresting. DH and I use the broomstick method if we need to dispatch* one quickly; i.e., if one is in distress, sick, injured or dying for some reason. For those going to the freezer we take them to a professional to dispatch and butcher, we're no good at that. Since we dispatch so seldom, not sure we would invest in this item at that price but it's interesting to know it exists, so thank you for sharing.

* In the interest of accuracy I say dispatch rather than cull, as culling means removing a bird or birds from the flock by any of several possible means, not necessarily killing.

 

[Weetamoo93]

Broomstick method isn't too hard. I use the equivalent of rebar, a repurposed gate peg from a chainlink gate.
What kind of advice are you looking for?

 

[rosemarythyme]

Interesting device, I've never seen it before so don't know how it compares to broomstick method. If anything it sort of reminds me of a bypass branch lopper, which I used when I couldn't figure out how to do the broomstick method the first time.

I actually use an axe handle (minus the actual head of the axe) because the oval shape helps keep it from rolling or slipping when I put my weight into it, and look for a spot on the ground with enough of a divot so the bird's neck can sit in there. I don't think the size of the bird or the stick really matters, it's more about getting the head securely in place and then stretching the neck right behind the head to sever the spine. Lighter birds are much easier simply because there's less weight to pull against.

The last time I did it it took about 20 seconds from putting the bird's neck in the divot to the process being over, so it's VERY quick once you get the hang of it.