Not to be insensitive; when babies have to be culled.

[naakte]

I just had to cull one myself whose foot got caught on the ambilical cord and it pulled its yolk out of its tummy. It was my first cull and i did it twisting the neck. My stomach is knotting up again just thinking i had to do that to that poor lil baby. sooooo sad, sooo upsetting, but if I want to have chickens I have to deal with the ugly as well.

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

I don't think I would put babies in the freezer, they would feel the cold and shiver for a bit before actually dieing. I just use a dull pair of scissors and snip the neck, the head doesn't even come off. No blood and an instant death.

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

Quote:
x2

 

[Chinchilla2]

I grew up in the country and between cows, chickens, rabbits, etc. I guess I would seem a little cold hearted to some but if a chick has to be culled, I just snap its neck or bag it and use a hammer on the head. I feel sad when I have to do this but it is a fact of farm life, some creatures just are not meant to be. In the wild they either succumb to predators, the weather, or the mom takes care of the problem in ways that are far less humane than my Stanley framing hammer or my hand.

 

[dwegg]

Wow! I just this minute did this to my sweet crossed beak 4 week old...I read a lot on here first then researched online and decided that I was going to use the vinegar and baking soda chamber. I spoke to her and kissed her and told her everything was going to be ok...ok now I am crying writing this...

It didn't take long at all but she did take three big gasps of air like she was gasping for air and then threw her head back!!! Not quite the falling to sleep I had expected but I waited till I couldn't see her breathing and then I did it again...it seemed quick and quiet..it took seconds...

Then I laid her in my hands and watched closely to make sure she wasn't breathing t all....

 

[PegramPoultryProprietor]

Ok, I just want to be clear, I wasn’t talking about a week or two old chicks; I was referring to those a day or two old that just aren’t handling life very well. Most of these guys are probably going to die in the brooder overnight and I really didn’t want the others pecking on them. IE trying to be humane. So just to tally up, we have:

Freezing- 7
Co2- 1
Smash Heads- 3
Decapitate or break the neck- 4
Pay a Vet- 1
No Comment or Judgment- 1
Against freezing but with no opinion; at least not about how you should do it- 5

Is this better than just talking nicely about something we all hate to do?
Would it fell better if I let some of you come and kick me?

 

[dwegg]

No thank you for bringing this up...I searched on here about people talking about what to do then I made up my own mind...it was because of people like you that gave me the resolve to do it myself just now...no matter how we decide to end our babies lives we are all doing it with the best of intentions with the information we have...

So thank you for putting this information out there for us newbies...thank you

 

[SaraFL]

Pegram, I'm sorry I didn't mean to imply that what you did was wrong. From the posts that I've read on here, it seemed like freezing was 1 possible way to do it, and I'd be more likely to do that than decapitation. I just find the topic interesting (sad, but interesting). Hugs to you. This is not an easy thing to do no matter what.

 

[ReikiStar]

Quote:
Just want to give you a

. We had to let our 6 week old cross beak go a while back and I cried so hard I could hardly breathe. Cross beak is such a sucky way to lose them. An otherwise healthy bird but a bad beak. I'm sorry you had to go through that.

And for Pegram's record, my DH dislocated her head/neck.

 

[warmfuzzies]

Quote:
I'm sorry if you thought people weren't talking nicely. I thought it was a good discussion and something we should all have a plan for ahead of time so we know what we will do if the time comes.