Official BYC Poll: How and When Do You Decide to Cull a Bird?

[Altairsky]

The poll is missing the most common reason: when a bird is sick/injured and the ilness/injury is not survivable.

 

[BYC Project Manager]

Thank you @DukesDucks for this great poll idea.

 

[RubelliteRose]

I cull (kill) for non survivable illness/ injury and for aggressiveness. Now that we have 2 good roosters, I have decided to be intolerant of aggressive behavior from our males towards humans or hens.
I cull (remove from flock) excess cockerels.

 

[Ridgerunner]

One of my goals is to raise them for meat so I took that into consideration and voted for several other causes. To me in this poll "cull" means to permanently remove from the flock, it does not necessarily mean to kill.

I try to solve for the peace of the overall flock, not for the benefit of any one specific flock member. Depending in what the problem is I may try isolating a chicken from the flock for a while to see if that solves the problem. But if it is not resolved that chicken, male or female, is gone.

Health reasons. Basically quality of life.

Heredity. I hatch my own replacements. If a chicken exhibits traits I do not want in my flock I remove them. I will not let them breed. That could be a hen with brittle feathers where the feathers break off and create bald spots or a hen that does not lay well.

Human aggression. A human aggressive chicken is not safe around my grandkids or me. They are soon gone.

 

[Pampered chicken girl]

I don't kill mine but I cull them out if my flock by selling or giving them away. Usally if they are aggressive or if I'm thinning my flock and getting rid of some extras, I just pick who I like best to keep.

 

[NorthwoodsChick]

Like most others, I cull for severe injury or illness with no chance of recovery, physical disability that progresses to the point of intensive care, or aggressiveness that inflicts injury.
I have been luck to find homes for a few cockerels, but I would cull extras if necessary for peace, and for poor genetic traits.

 

[nuthatched]

Serious injury, or serious defect and quality of life.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

1. Aggression
2. Extra cockerels
3. Injury that results in permanent poor quality of life.
4. Genetic issues that I don’t want to continue on to the next generation.
5. I haven’t needed to yet, but if one had an illness that caused overall decline and poor quality of life I would cull.

 

[DukesDucks]

Thank you @DukesDucks for this great poll idea.

Thank you for posting this poll. I believe there is a common theme as to the "why" that I share. I also wanted to learn the "how". I don't want this thread to become too graphic and definitely not judgmental.

I must confess that I ask a neighbour who is willing to do the job for me. A vet is not an option for me, and I believe for many others.

So what is a way to quickly and humanely cull (yes kill) a fully grown bird when necessary.

 

[rosemarythyme]

So what is a way to quickly and humanely cull (yes kill) a fully grown bird when necessary.

For hens at least (as I've heard it can be tougher with roosters, though I haven't tried), cervical dislocation, often called the "broomstick method" - it doesn't require a lot of strength and it's extremely fast with relatively little mess, even if you accidentally take off the head.