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

[BarnGoddess01]

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I had VERY young chicks that were not going to survive. To be brief and blunt, I did not want the healthy chicks learning that unhealthy birds were good to eat.

OMG! Are you telling me the chickens will eat the sickly babies? I haven't had any babies, and not sure if I ever will. Like I said, I inhererited my hen, then got another hen and a roo from my girlfriend a few weeks back.

I had a couple of chicks that had not absorbed everything they should have when they hatched. It was VERY attractive to the other chicks and NOT fun to watch.

Chickens ARE meat eaters. They are attracted to blood etc. (Another big attraction is a prolapsed vent from egg binding.) Sometimes the kindest thing is to cull the bird that is in trouble. Not always. Sometimes it is just fine to let them go on their own terms. But sometimes, it IS kinder to cull them - as difficult as it is.

 

[Lizard Lady]

I am so sorry any of you have to go through this! I'm not one of those people who don't realize my fried chicken came from someone's "backyard", but it's hard for me to even think but killing something. I'm actually currently talking to a friend of mine about teaching me (and holding my hand through) slaughtering chickens. With the exception of my typical pets (and the not-so-appetizing lizards) I don't like the idea of having these "pets" without a purpose.

 

[202roosterlane]

This is why I really love BYC. Sweet, warm, kind, big hearted people that truely love chickens. I think the conversation got heated because we care so much for these chickens and want to do right by them. Yeah we like chicken nuggets, and those cute little eggs that make awesome omelets, but also the the love and companionship they give. Thinking about killing them is painful. When it comes to our sick dog or cat we (most people) take them to the vet to put them down. But our chickens for most of us are our family pets too. The pain is great but really to put them down without going to the vet for a one day old chick is something we should all be able to do. At ths point we should agree to disagree. But after reading all these threads I think it's safe to say we are all on the same sheet of music, regardless how we do it, it needs to be done, quickly and humanely. Good thread, good debate, good BYC family.

 

[Chinchilla2]

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[the Pollo Loco]

I decided yrs ago that I could not cull a chick by taking it's life because it had a cleft foot, or crooked beak, etc. If it was going to die, then fine, no problem. I just can't justify telling my 2 young boys that dad killed the little chick because he wasn't born normal, personally I felt that I was telling them that every living creature that wasn't born normal also needed to be culled. Now if I had a pet snake that would be different because I could justify that it was providing food for another pet...

 

[CammieSilkie]

all i can ever think about when i read these things is being in the chick's situation. i'd want my head snipped off if i had a choice. I just could never ever place an animal in the freezer or anything.. i'd make someone else kill the chick quick and easily for me. freezing to death and claustrophobia are huge fears of mine.

 

[CCourson05]

I either wrap the little fellow in a paper towel and smack it with a blunt object... (NEVER LOOK TO SEE IF IT'S DEAD. TRUST ME... IT IS!!!!!)

Or the pulling of the neck... Either way works...

 

[zzGypsy]

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I think you really have to take this in the context of *why* people have their chickens.
for some it's a pet, a hobby, something they put money and time into for the pleasure of doing it. it's about the fun and the emotion and eggs are just a bonus.

for some, it's a practical food producing thing - eggs and meat are the purpose, and any animal they keep has to be worth the cost of feed and time it will consume. less than ideal can be tollerated, but the overall effect of the whole flock has to be net production. chicks that need babying to get started are ok if they ultimately produce.

for some, it's a commercial thing - costs in food and time, as well as resulting production are essential factors, and an animal that cannot produce does not fit in the model. the time to get a weak or sub-par chick started detracts from their production value and isn't acceptable.

for some, it's a breeder thing - animals that have genetics that are less than their breed standard actively weaken the breed and are culled so their genes don't persist.

culling is done within the perspective of why the owner has chickens in the first place. "how quick" is relative to that context.

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not just eat, but peck them to death and eat them, or not wait until they are dead to eat them. this is one of the reasons I will cull should the need arise. because it's not ok with me for a baby to expire naturally if that means it's tortured on it's way out. with or without pecking, if it's suffering, and I can't make it comfortable, that's enough for me.

 

[Chinchilla2]

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Yup, and from a purely human point of view I'd almost prefer to be tossed out on the Antarctic plains with the penguins while wearing a bikini than face being pecked to death. While the freezer method may not be the most humane, it is by far more humane than allowing a chick that cannot defend itself at all, including not being able to run away, be tortured.

I'm a cross between the pet and practical person. I got started on chickens to add a little extra food to the pantry while enjoying the pleasure of having feathered friends. When I raised quail I did it for the same reason. While I have no problem culling a chick, I do spend that little extra effort on those that may make it. If I have a crossed beak chick, I'll watch it a little closer and even come up with small modifications to the food and water routine and containers. However, I do not hesitate to cull that very same chick I spent 2 hours or 2 days on making a modified food bowl for if that chick does not fight to survive. If it makes it to adulthood, I will not breed it and it becomes a freezer camp resident. The chick that just isn't going to make it due to a hatching defect no matter how many times I modify a bowl, fix a sling, etc. is culled ASAP. There is a point where constantly helping a chick to survive become the non-humane action and culling is the only humane thing left to do.

 

[naakte]

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Great question there... i do not know about the others, but my decision was based on the fear of an infection setting in and passing something to the other chickies. I only have one brooder. and secondly I didn't feel it would live anyway with its yolk coming out of its little tummy, and i didn't want the poor little thing to suffer so I could feel better. I have 8 more chicks due to hatch in 3 days and i will be looking to make sure there is no cord left. (its cord had dried and hobbled it which is what made me investigate).
No matter how we choose to cull our babies, I believe we came to the hard decision to cull based on what we felt was the very best thing to do at that moment for our babies. My decision was to twist its neck and there was no screaming not even any twitching. I think it was pretty painless.