The Deed is Done

[Mimi13]

Good job. It sounds like he had a pretty good life and a peaceful end, which is much more than most chickens get. I think you acted humanely.

Sometimes with cockerels it is difficult to tell whether it's just clueless teen rooster behavior, where they grab onto pullets and won't let go because they haven't really figured out what to do, and unusually aggressive behavior. But when a rooster attacks a person it makes it easy. You did the right thing by taking care of the situation yourself rather than risking a potential attack on a child at a new home.

Thank you. I do try to go above and beyond when caring for my birds. We have a 20 acre farm and my house sits in the middle surrounded by two fences. The horses roam the pasture, the outer perimeter, and my chickens roam the inner, under the ever watchful eyes of our LGD. She really is a godsend.

 

[MROO]

Well, today I finally did what I have been dreading for months: cull my first bird.

With my last shipment of 22 chicks I received in April, plus the additional four I purchased at TSC, as luck would have it I wound up with three (count them, three) accidental cockadoodle roos. That gave me a total of five cockerels. All will be 13 weeks old tomorrow, well, four of them will be, anyway.

You see, I knew what was awaiting me. At least two and possibly three cockerels would have a one way ticket to freezer camp. I had planned on waiting until the birds were 16 weeks old before processing them; however, one of the old boys just couldn’t wait. He had to be the very first one. Pretty Boy Floyd (aka PBF) as I had so rightly named him, was a gorgeous white and black Turken. He was one I had hoped to keep, if I had kept three. PBF was the first of my cockerels to successfully crow a pretty crow. But, about a week ago he began doing things that quickly changed my mind.

I began to notice he was unusually interested...in me! If I was sitting out in the chicken yard or run interacting with the chickens, he would always hang around, really close, unnervingly close, making a kind of chattering noise while pretending to eat. If I happened to be up moving around, he would follow me - more like stalk me. The bird would honestly appear out of thin air! Then, one evening as I was standing in the coop watching the birds file in to roost (I’ve done this from day one in the coop), his “closeness” escalated to an intentional bite on my foot. He nailed me on the top of my foot and hung on - and it hurt like hell. That was his “Three strikes and you’re out” move. He sealed the deal for me that evening. The only question remaining was could I wait 4 more weeks to butcher him? (My goal week for slaughtering the extra cockerels was 16 weeks old.)

My intention for the next few days was to watch his every move, but I must note that I carried a good sized stick with me. Any time I would step outside my house he would appear, out of nowhere. I knew he had it in for me.

PBF continued his little soirée with me the next few days, but I was always on guard, literally. I’m not sure why, but his next aggressive move was towards the pullets, multiple times. He would grab their feathers, anywhere on their bodies he could grab and drag them across the yard. My little Leghorn, Chickaletta, was grabbed by her wing and literally slung around in a circle. Did I mention this cockerel is more than twice the size of any of my pullets? The sound that came out of my poor babies was more painful to me than any pain he could have inflicted on me.

His abusive behavior towards the other chicks earned him complete lockdown in the coop all day while they peacefully roamed about the yard. He could still see them out the windows and out the front door. I did this for three days. However, I would have to let him out for about 10 or so minutes when the birds were ready to go to roost and last night it was during this time that he did the most damage, mainly to my heart. Hindsight being 20/20, I should have locked him in my little cage so he would have had NO contact with any of the birds. He attacked my favorite, my Welsummer cockerel, who had been, up until this time, the roo showing the most promise of being top dog. PBF rode him all over the yard hanging on by a beak full of feathers. My little Welsummer was running wild trying to escape his grasp and crying out. He finally escaped and lost quite a few feathers to boot, even some pin feathers. That incident was my LAST straw. I knew right then that today was the day.

This morning I turned all the birds out in the run while I cleaned the coop. (We had some possible new chicken keepers coming to visit our birds and coop in hopes of encouraging them to start their own backyard chicken fun.) That dang bird stalked and attacked my Welsummer again, this time re-injuring the Welsummer’s left leg, badly.

I stopped my cleaning, caught the “dirty word” bird and put him in a cage inside the run. (The coop was in disarray and my Welsummer was hiding out in there.) I gathered up everything I thought I needed (too bad I didn’t already have a “kit for killing” like I have my first aid kit), and set up a spot in the yard to put an end to this nightmare of a bird. His aggressive behavior had escalated so quickly and violently that I knew something had to be done...right then. No more waiting.

I didn’t have a kill cone, or a scalder, or a plucker, but I did have a sharp knife and my hands. As I walked to the cage he crowed. This was a territorial crow. I calmly reached in and got him and carried him to my designated spot in the yard. I wrapped him in a towel and laid him in my lap. It was a very calm time, for me and him. My anger towards him had subsided. I told him I was sorry that he had turned out to be an aggressive boy and thanked him for what he was going to provide for my family.

The deed was done. He made no noise. He simply went to sleep with one slice to the artery. I felt his life leave his body. No more territorial crowing, no more bullying, no more hurting others. He was my first.

My flock is now at peace and our friends are so excited to begin the wonderful journey of backyard chicken keeping. They had no idea that where we were sitting and talking had been the sight of my first culling only an hour prior to their visit...but I did tell them.

ETA: There is nothing worse than an aggressive rooster. Life is too short and I like to eat! That’ll be the name of my book, when I write one.

This is a very good, well-written and heart-felt story. It needs to be an article, just as it is!

 

[Peeps61]

Well, today I finally did what I have been dreading for months: cull my first bird.

With my last shipment of 22 chicks I received in April, plus the additional four I purchased at TSC, as luck would have it I wound up with three (count them, three) accidental cockadoodle roos. That gave me a total of five cockerels. All will be 13 weeks old tomorrow, well, four of them will be, anyway.

You see, I knew what was awaiting me. At least two and possibly three cockerels would have a one way ticket to freezer camp. I had planned on waiting until the birds were 16 weeks old before processing them; however, one of the old boys just couldn’t wait. He had to be the very first one. Pretty Boy Floyd (aka PBF) as I had so rightly named him, was a gorgeous white and black Turken. He was one I had hoped to keep, if I had kept three. PBF was the first of my cockerels to successfully crow a pretty crow. But, about a week ago he began doing things that quickly changed my mind.

I began to notice he was unusually interested...in me! If I was sitting out in the chicken yard or run interacting with the chickens, he would always hang around, really close, unnervingly close, making a kind of chattering noise while pretending to eat. If I happened to be up moving around, he would follow me - more like stalk me. The bird would honestly appear out of thin air! Then, one evening as I was standing in the coop watching the birds file in to roost (I’ve done this from day one in the coop), his “closeness” escalated to an intentional bite on my foot. He nailed me on the top of my foot and hung on - and it hurt like hell. That was his “Three strikes and you’re out” move. He sealed the deal for me that evening. The only question remaining was could I wait 4 more weeks to butcher him? (My goal week for slaughtering the extra cockerels was 16 weeks old.)

My intention for the next few days was to watch his every move, but I must note that I carried a good sized stick with me. Any time I would step outside my house he would appear, out of nowhere. I knew he had it in for me.

PBF continued his little soirée with me the next few days, but I was always on guard, literally. I’m not sure why, but his next aggressive move was towards the pullets, multiple times. He would grab their feathers, anywhere on their bodies he could grab and drag them across the yard. My little Leghorn, Chickaletta, was grabbed by her wing and literally slung around in a circle. Did I mention this cockerel is more than twice the size of any of my pullets? The sound that came out of my poor babies was more painful to me than any pain he could have inflicted on me.

His abusive behavior towards the other chicks earned him complete lockdown in the coop all day while they peacefully roamed about the yard. He could still see them out the windows and out the front door. I did this for three days. However, I would have to let him out for about 10 or so minutes when the birds were ready to go to roost and last night it was during this time that he did the most damage, mainly to my heart. Hindsight being 20/20, I should have locked him in my little cage so he would have had NO contact with any of the birds. He attacked my favorite, my Welsummer cockerel, who had been, up until this time, the roo showing the most promise of being top dog. PBF rode him all over the yard hanging on by a beak full of feathers. My little Welsummer was running wild trying to escape his grasp and crying out. He finally escaped and lost quite a few feathers to boot, even some pin feathers. That incident was my LAST straw. I knew right then that today was the day.

This morning I turned all the birds out in the run while I cleaned the coop. (We had some possible new chicken keepers coming to visit our birds and coop in hopes of encouraging them to start their own backyard chicken fun.) That dang bird stalked and attacked my Welsummer again, this time re-injuring the Welsummer’s left leg, badly.

I stopped my cleaning, caught the “dirty word” bird and put him in a cage inside the run. (The coop was in disarray and my Welsummer was hiding out in there.) I gathered up everything I thought I needed (too bad I didn’t already have a “kit for killing” like I have my first aid kit), and set up a spot in the yard to put an end to this nightmare of a bird. His aggressive behavior had escalated so quickly and violently that I knew something had to be done...right then. No more waiting.

I didn’t have a kill cone, or a scalder, or a plucker, but I did have a sharp knife and my hands. As I walked to the cage he crowed. This was a territorial crow. I calmly reached in and got him and carried him to my designated spot in the yard. I wrapped him in a towel and laid him in my lap. It was a very calm time, for me and him. My anger towards him had subsided. I told him I was sorry that he had turned out to be an aggressive boy and thanked him for what he was going to provide for my family.

The deed was done. He made no noise. He simply went to sleep with one slice to the artery. I felt his life leave his body. No more territorial crowing, no more bullying, no more hurting others. He was my first.

My flock is now at peace and our friends are so excited to begin the wonderful journey of backyard chicken keeping. They had no idea that where we were sitting and talking had been the sight of my first culling only an hour prior to their visit...but I did tell them.

ETA: There is nothing worse than an aggressive rooster. Life is too short and I like to eat! That’ll be the name of my book, when I write one.

We can't keep them all, and I think you did a wonderful job of deciding and culling him. I really liked the part about thanking him for providing food for your family and the gentle way he went. I have 2 I need to cull in the next few weeks as I don't need any more roosters and I had 2 hatch out in my latest batch of chicks.

 

[lomine]

I had an 8 month old cockerel I was planning to keep for breeding. He started pretty nice but during his first spring hormone surge he started to change. He wasn't treating the ladies nicely and I didn't like the way he was eyeing my dog (old and small, zero threat to birds, eats mealworms off the ground right in the middle of the flock). He was never human aggressive. Nothing was too over the top that I had to act immediately but I was thinking he may need to go. Then he attacked the rooster (the one that spurred my move to the country and changed everything). As fate would have it I had all my stuff out and was in the middle of culling the latest batch of extra cockerels. I scooped him up and did the deed. I was sad about it because he was gorgeous, but the change in the flock's mood after he was gone let me know I did the right thing.

You did the right thing too @Mimi’s 13 And I am seriously impressed you did it all in less than an hour. My first one took over 2 hours, though I did hand pluck.

 

[Mimi13]

We can't keep them all, and I think you did a wonderful job of deciding and culling him. I really liked the part about thanking him for providing food for your family and the gentle way he went. I have 2 I need to cull in the next few weeks as I don't need any more roosters and I had 2 hatch out in my latest batch of chicks.

Thank you very much for your sweet words. Thankfully, PBF helped me decide he was the one, well the first one anyway. I wish he had been nicer because he really was chicken eye candy.

I am going to guess that with each cull my feelings will never change. I do realize I am taking the life of a bird, however, I also know that the bird never suffered, not once. He felt absolutely no anxiety, no fear. I gently wrapped him in a towel and layed him in my lap and he literally went to sleep.

And, my flock is so at ease. The little pullets are once again running about the yard without fear of the Big Bad Roo!

 

[Mimi13]

This is a very good, well-written and heart-felt story. It needs to be an article, just as it is!

Thank you very much! I have absolutely no idea how I would even do that, submit an article, that is. One thing I do know is that if ever anything I have done or said or written could help even one person I am all in. I am not an expert in anything, but I am experienced in a lot of things. I guess something like a Jack of all trades, master of none. But I kind of like it that way.

 

[AMoritz]

I feel sadness when I read this. Personally I couldn't kill an animal I raise.. I feel like I know them all personally.
I get it that the rooster was acting aggressively. There's no excuse for that..
If I were you, though, I'd have advertised the poor rooster for free, letting them know his bad behavior of course. If you have more than you can handle I'm sure there's someone in your area looking for a rooster. (I know I'm looking for a rooster I wish someone would give me)
Also, I understand that slaughter seems to be the intention for them, though. I'm glad that he fed your family..

The problem with passing the rooster with this major og an attitude problem is that you're not fixing the issue. You're just giving the problem to someone else, and not at all being responsible for the rooster itself. I believe you def. Did the right thing, as others have stated.
I could never give a mean chicken to another person - who knows how severely they would hurt someone else, cuz you know it's gonna happen.
I think it's way more responsible as a person, and a chicken owner, to cull them as nicely as possible. Like said before, you know then they never had a scared moment in their life and were treated well the entire time. They are helping to provide for your family in another way. Instead of protecting your girls and helping them with egg making, they are feeding your family in another way.

This was a great way to describe your story, I def enjoyed the read. He had some balls, that's for sure. Lol

 

[springvalley123]

What a very well-written account of your first cull! And I admire the ingenuity in the use of a towel to wrap the bird! I also have to do my birds myself, I have a setup with a paracord around the neck, a nail on the chopping block to hold the bird's neck in place etc. But in getting ready for a house showing (we're planning to move back up north an resume our retirement), I almost left the whole setup out, ready for use, in plane view!

 

[Mimi13]

The problem with passing the rooster with this major if an attitude problem is that you're not fixing the storeatt. Your just giving the problem to someone else, and not at all being responsible for the rooster itself. I believe you def. Did the right thing, as others have starte.
I could never give a mean chicken to another person - who knows how severely they would hurt someone else, cuz you know it's gonna happen.
I think it's way more responsible as a person, and a chicken owner, to cull them as nicely as possible. Like said before, you know then they never had a scared moment in their life and were treated well the entire time. They were always helping to provide for your family in another way. Instead of protecting your girls and helping them with egg making, they are feeding your family in another way.

This was a great way to describe your story, I def enjoyed the read. He had some balls, that's for sure. Lol

Yes indeed, to everything you just said...especially the balls part!

 

[Mimi13]

What a very well-written account of your first cull! And I admire the ingenuity in the use of a towel to wrap the bird! I also have to do my birds myself, I have a setup with a paracord around the neck, a nail on the chopping block to hold the bird's neck in place etc. But in getting ready for a house showing (we're planning to move back up north an resume our retirement), I almost left the whole setup out, ready for use, in plane view!

Oh my goodness, that is funny and it reminds me of watching the Munsters years and years ago. On the show I can remember “normal” people coming to the Munster’s house and seeing something a little off-kilter and turning around and high-tailing it outta there. I can just imagine some “normal” potential buyers stopping by to look at your house and seeing the chopping block set up and turning tail and running. On the show that part was always played in fast forward.
Too, too funny! And what’s really funny is that I remembered all that!

ETA: The “normal” potential buyers are meant as “non-chicken” people.