Should I cull?

[sonew123]

your DH is a good man! I dont think my could stomach it-

I have silkies in the bator -I pray they are all healthy or my fear will come true in 19 days too!

 

[MissPrissy]

Next time have a sharp pair of scissors in your chicken doctoring box. A chick under 10 days old can be culled painlessly in a second using the scissors and a plastic bag. Their bones are soft and tiny and nothing more than the scissor.

It is never easy to cull.

 

[M@M@2four]

It's never easy...I've hatched hundred of eggs and anytime one comes out weak, I always try to keep it alive and it usually dies. I/my husband have culled things--we just take the neck and quick an swiftly pull, but your hatchet idea would work as well--just make sure the hatchet is sharp. SO sorry you are havig to go through this. I do want to tell you I have had chicks that were so weak make it after lots of nursing and care--pedialyte, seperating it to it's own wam box, wet mash, and Poly-visol drops(for infants) all helped. I have a little silkie chick I had under a broody hen and she and her sister were the last to hatch and a day late...well, when I came in(thank God I did just in time), the hen had knocked the egg out of the box(she had only pipped) and her and the hens were pecking at it and trying to eat it--they had broken open the egg and one chick had her by her neck and she was screaming. I squuezed the hens neck to make her release it, scooped up the BLOODY chick still half in the egg, grabbed the other COLD pipped egg(I guess the hen had given up on both of them) and ran into the house. I thought for sure this poor chick would die in my hands...my hands were literally covered in her blood and as you know they can't lose much blood when hatching. I quickly stuck her in the incubator and she actually hatched--SO weak, but she was so darn cute! Her sister hatched(don't know how cause her egg had gone cold and she should have died) but she too was weak. I placed the two in a nice warm box, gave them pedialyte by dropper, and Polyvisol drops every 4-6 hours, fed them by hand a wet mash chick feed, and by day 3, they were coming around and starting to eat on their own, standing up...I was shocked! I was just thinking they would die, but both lived and now are GORGEOUS little pullets in my barn.

As far as yours go, the deformed feet would be my concern--what do they look like?

 

[hollymh]

M@M@2four :

It's never easy...I've hatched hundred of eggs and anytime one comes out weak, I always try to keep it alive and it usually dies. I/my husband have culled things--we just take the neck and quick an swiftly pull, but your hatchet idea would work as well--just make sure the hatchet is sharp. SO sorry you are havig to go through this. I do want to tell you I have had chicks that were so weak make it after lots of nursing and care--pedialyte, seperating it to it's own wam box, wet mash, and Poly-visol drops(for infants) all helped. I have a little silkie chick I had under a broody hen and she and her sister were the last to hatch and a day late...well, when I came in(thank God I did just in time), the hen had knocked the egg out of the box(she had only pipped) and her and the hens were pecking at it and trying to eat it--they had broken open the egg and one chick had her by her neck and she was screaming. I squuezed the hens neck to make her release it, scooped up the BLOODY chick still half in the egg, grabbed the other COLD pipped egg(I guess the hen had given up on both of them) and ran into the house. I thought for sure this poor chick would die in my hands...my hands were literally covered in her blood and as you know they can't lose much blood when hatching. I quickly stuck her in the incubator and she actually hatched--SO weak, but she was so darn cute! Her sister hatched(don't know how cause her egg had gone cold and she should have died) but she too was weak. I placed the two in a nice warm box, gave them pedialyte by dropper, and Polyvisol drops every 4-6 hours, fed them by hand a wet mash chick feed, and by day 3, they were coming around and starting to eat on their own, standing up...I was shocked! I was just thinking they would die, but both lived and now are GORGEOUS little pullets in my barn.

As far as yours go, the deformed feet would be my concern--what do they look like?

His little feet were actually almost backward looking, they were completly flat and his toes were all messed up... We already culled, he was just gasping for air and couldn't swallow any water at all so as hard as it was I decided he was suffering and needed to go. My honey broke his neck and then removed his head with the machete. I thought I would be beside myself, but I know it was the more humane thing to do then letting him lay there and suffer

 

[hollymh]

Quote:
Thank you, I will use this method if I have to cull again. My honey felt so bad, but like me he knew the chickie was better off in chicken heaven

 

[M@M@2four]

It's never easy!

I am SO sorry, but you did the right thing and he is out of his misery. All the symptoms you described, he would have never made it--the gasping for breath is the last stage.

 

[Poulets De Cajun]

Quote:
If you even have to ask, you probably should.....

(I dont mean that to sound snippy, I just meant that if you have to ask about culling because a chick appears to be suffering, its probably a safe bet that it should be put down.)