Poll: When is the right time to cull a chicken?

[Mrs. K]

In this chicken

I don't want this thread to be about this particular chicken. It's more about the general question so I and others can learn when when culling is appropriate (in general).
But I will answer the questions because maybe this could serve as an example of knowing when to cull or not. She is an older hen, but I have no clue how old since she came from a rescue farm. Likely 3-4+ years. My flock is currently eating DuMor 17% all flock with oyster shell on the side and crushed egg shells.

She's generally been a great layer but the past month I haven't seen any eggs from her. She laid a soft shell egg that was hanging from her vent the other day, and was acting lethargic. I thought she was dying. But with some calcium supplement (calcium citrate) she has perked up and is acting normal and eating/drinking again. But still, I see her in the nest trying to lay but no eggs. Maybe she has laid some soft shells that the others have eaten, but either way, something's weird since I see her eating her oyster shells and/or eggshells daily.

But I will answer the questions because maybe this could serve as an example of knowing when to cull or not. She is an older hen, but I have no clue how old since she came from a rescue farm. Likely 3-4+ years. My flock is currently eating DuMor 17% all flock with oyster shell on the side and crushed egg shells.

I would have this chicken on my non keeping list. If I was culling anything else at this time, I might cull her too. If I needed room for other birds. If I need to reduce my feed bill, I would cull her. But otherwise I would just let her be unless she takes a real turn for the worst. She is probably not hurting anything in the flock, and with spring she might perk up.

I would try not to hatch her eggs. They are old, and I would think there might be problem chicks if they lived that long.

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

My views on when to cull a chicken:
every option in your poll (except "never"), plus quite a few more.

The thing is, I like to eat chicken. I expect to eventually eat every chicken I ever raise, unless it is killed by a predator or has an illness. So the chickens that I like best will to stick around longer (ones that are pretty, healthy, lay well, and get along well with the other birds and with me.) The chickens I don't like as well get culled (butchered) sooner rather than later.

Reasons I have culled/butchered chickens include:

--I wanted to eat chicken
--I got tired of hearing him crow
--she sangs the "egg song" all day long for so many days that I got tired of hearing it
--I wanted to buy new chicks, so I needed to make space to house them
--the chicks grew bigger, so they became crowded, so I needed to remove some
--she bullied others
--she was bullied by everyone else
--she was injured, and I wasn't able/willing to provide proper care for her to heal
--there were too many males
--I had a breeding project, and this chicken was not the right color
--someone wanted to learn how to butcher a chicken, so I butchered one to demonstrate

I've probably culled/butchered chickens for quite a few other reasons as well, but I don't remember them all.

With small chicks, I have culled them (not butchered for eating) if the chick had a deformity or was failing to thrive, or occasionally if I was doing a breeding project and could identify from an early age that some had the wrong color or other traits. "Culling" healthy chicks can mean I give them to someone else, or that I dispatch them (behead) and dispose of the bodies. For me, "big enough to butcher" is about the same size as an adult quail, which is still pretty small but definitely larger than a newly-hatched chicken.

Thanks for the detailed response! This makes a lot of sense. Those are some situations I didn't really think of.

I also just remembered that we did have to cull a young chick. My fiance did it. It was a CX, maybe 2 weeks old and we wouldn't stop regurgitating and stopped eating and drinking. We put him out of his misery and I think it was the right thing to do. Thanks for bringing that up.

So far, we have only culled to put chickens "out of their misery", but as I think about things more, I may begin to cull before they get to that phase. Chickens, and most animals, don't show pain until they are REALLY sick/hurt, so I figure by the time they are acting very sick, maybe they have feel suffering for a long time. However, this is easier said than done because mine are all pets with names. It's a small flock.

@NatJ Are your chickens pets too or strictly eggs/food? I ask because I feel it is harder when they are pets, but I also respect people who can draw the line and cull anyway.

 

[NatJ]

@NatJ Are your chickens pets too or strictly eggs/food? I ask because I feel it is harder when they are pets, but I also respect people who can draw the line and cull anyway.

I'm never sure how to answer that question. It's either both, or some third category that falls in between the "pets" and the "strictly eggs/food" groups.

I like chickens enough to keep a flock even when that costs much more money and time than buying eggs & meat at the store. I like to have a variety of breeds, and I care that each one looks pretty to me. I recognize individual chickens and give them names. If you ask me about any chicken in the flock, I expect to be able to tell you approximately how old it is, who its parents were or what hatchery it came from, something about a hen's laying & brooding abilities, something about the genetics of his/her coloring, whether he/she is an escape artist or tries to peck me in the face or is very shy, and probably a bunch of other stuff.

But I also kill and eat chickens, including those same named chickens, and it doesn't bother me too much. They would die anyway at some point, since nothing lives for ever, but that usually happens at a time I decide when they are still in good health, and they are put to good use as meat rather than being wasted.

I'm not entirely sure how I ended up this way, but my parents did things similarly, so maybe growing up with these attitudes is what did it. I appreciate that I can have the pleasure of knowing each individual chicken, while not suffering too much pain on butchering day.

 

[1cock2hens]

I cull when money is tight and we need a chicken to roast

 

[Mrs. K]

duplicate

 

[Mrs. K]

I think NatJ - you keep a flock, I keep a flock. My hobby is having a flock of chickens. I try to have the healthiest chickens I can. But birds come into and go out of my flock. I do not expect forever friends, but I rather expect to keep a flock of birds for another 20 years.

I never quite understand the posts about the longevity of chickens, why would you want a 9 year old non laying hen? I enjoy them, but I have realistic expectations about keeping chickens.

Mrs K

 

[NatJ]

I think NatJ - is that you keep a flock. I keep a flock. Birds come and go over time in that flock. It is not static, it is not about individual birds, but rather birds in the flock I have.

If that makes sense.

Mrs K

That's not how I think of it, but I suppose you might be onto something with that explanation.

That might explain why I'm only a little sad about eating "Goldy" or "Galahad," because I do know that there I will still have the others for a while (until their time comes), and sometime before I eat them all, there will be new little chicks to name and enjoy.

I think NatJ - you keep a flock, I keep a flock. My hobby is having a flock of chickens. I try to have the healthiest chickens I can. But birds come into and go out of my flock. I do not expect forever friends, but I rather expect to keep a flock of birds for another 20 years.

I never quite understand the posts about the longevity of chickens, why would you want a 9 year old non laying hen? I enjoy them, but I have realistic expectations about keeping chickens.

Yes, that sounds a bit closer. You might be right.

 

[HumbleAmerican]

My Broody birds are the only one given a pass. All others are culled and canned their third winter.

 

[Alagirl]

I think NatJ - you keep a flock, I keep a flock. My hobby is having a flock of chickens. I try to have the healthiest chickens I can. But birds come into and go out of my flock. I do not expect forever friends, but I rather expect to keep a flock of birds for another 20 years.

I never quite understand the posts about the longevity of chickens, why would you want a 9 year old non laying hen? I enjoy them, but I have realistic expectations about keeping chickens.

Mrs K

true, but many of us are city slickers.
I think I know how to dispatch a chicken, but to be honest, safe for catastrophic developments my girls will drop from old age.
yes. O want the yummie eggs from them.
But I am also a chicken .
I have been removed from the farm far too long (2nd gen. My dad left anf never looked back. Mom was raised on homegrown meat. She doesn't want to do that anymore either.)
In the event of a catastrophe. 'sooner than later' should be the maxime....

 

[SueT]

I have culled aggressive cockerels.
I’ve culled a deformed baby chick.
My heart pounds for quite a while after.