Sensitive subject...culling :(

[tofumama]

CMV, thank you for that info. I think that would be out for me then as well, as that is too long to wait. The method I used was too long(though I'm sure it felt longer than it was) for me and though it was peaceful, for the most part, there was a point I wished I could have done it quicker. Sadly, neither my husband or I are able to do it. What I did not think of, until you said something about a neighbor Pawprint, is I DO have a neighbor who has chickens for eggs and meat and his family seems like they probably could have helped me out. I am sure I could have asked him to come down and help me out. If there is a next time, that is probably what I will do. I am hoping there won't be a next time for a LONG time.

 

[Clay Valley Farmer]

I'm, in agreement with CMV too, it takes quite a lot of CO2 to be leathal and the initial increase in CO2 causes hyperventilation, the then body sytems then slow with more but because C02 is a simple asphyxiant it must dilute O2 down to something about 10% or less for a period of time until it finnaly starves the brain of oxygen.

This is fine if you want a simple mess free way to save trauma to yourself, put it in the bucket and walk away for an hour. But I don't think it is the best for the animal as it draws out the process and may not be foolproof if not enough CO2 is present long enough.

IMHO if and when it needs to be done, the quicker the better.

 

[speckledhen]

Never try ether on an adult bird who isn't on its last legs and therefore, won't resist. It's fine for tiny chicks or for birds who are at death's doorstep and extremely weak, but I wont use it for an alert adult bird.

I'm so sorry because I know how darn hard this is for those who have empathy for their birds, but we are doing it for them, to help the suffering end.

 

[tofumama]

I agree with that. Ether smells awful. My birds were pretty ill, and did not really resist and were subdued within a second or 2...but the whole 'process' took a bit longer. Being my first time, it was a learning experience. Next time I am going to go for quick (via a helper) as I agree quick is probably better for all.

 

[chickenlorena]

Sorry to hear about what you are going through... I'm vegan as well and my family vegetarian. We have 4 hens and we love them to death. One of our rescued hens was in bad condition and we had to put her down to end her suffering. In my view, alleviating animal suffering is a great thing to do, especially when you know there is no hope for recovery. We gave the sick hen to a friend of mine who raises chickens. He promised me over and over that the hen will die pretty instantly. He said that for his hens he uses the cone method because they are for consumption and they take a couple/few minutes to die. However, since I was against it, he said he'd cut the head of my chicken so she wouldn't feel a thing. As much as I read about it, I think that's one "humane" option. Taking her to the vet was another option but that would have involved more stress and fear I think. Regardless, I'm sure that whatever you decide to do will be the right thing since you are showing compassion and care for your animals.

 

[dianaross77]

Quote:
I have heard of this happening with burrowing animals. I did use it for a tumored mouse successfully. But burrowing animals are built for low oxygen environments.

 

[Lenin]

Do you have access to any opiate based pain killers like morphine/Ms contin/oxycontin? When I have to cull a chicken I will usually consult one of my family members who knows where to find pills like that and get about 150mg of morphine. There are effective guides for breaking up pills of that nature into an effective injectable solution (for human junkies), using 150mg worth of pills can yield an injectable solution of up to 130mg of morphine, much less than that is enough to put your bird into a sound sleep, and stop its heart.


I usually use a diabetics insulin syringe and inject into the breast muscle under the feathers. I've used this method maybe ten times now and each time the bird sort of closes their eyes and just wanders off.. You can hold them through the whole thing, and if their breathing or heart doesn't stop they will almost certainly be unconscious for whatever other method of culling you have readily available.

 

[just 4 the egg]

For me i just shoot them at point blank range they never know its comming

 

[countrygirl57]

I sadly had to use the baking soda & vinegar method today. She never moved once put in the bucket. Sorry if you have to do this as well.

 

[tofumama]

Wow. Just4, That was harsh.