Tips for getting through first cull.

[aart]

If someone is looking for advice on how to butcher and are struggling with how to complete that task, coming in with tearful emojis and telling them how you could never do that over and over is no more helpful than someone looking for medical care for a beloved pet and someone posting "Lol, just butcher and eat them! Chicken soup time! It's just a chicken!". It's dismissive towards a topic that's complicated and emotional and making it harder for the topic creator to do what they've set out to accomplish. That can be deeply upsetting.

Exactly...it's the repetition that's most annoying.

 

[JCaseyHammond]

I'm trying to save the roo here people! Right @EmmaRainboe?
[/QUOTE

It’s because roosters can be so beautiful and so entertaining that we expect to save all the roosters. But the reality is the rooster will eventually feed someone because that is his job. He will feed his owner or her friend or the neighbors dog or the eagles or the worms in the compost pile. Which in turn will make room in the world for more roosters. That is the power of the rooster, to feed the world. Just my opinion

 

[springvalley123]

how disrespectful to go through all that and take an entire life only to not like the result? He lived and died for you and you're not even gonna enjoy that gift?

It is not always possible to take the time to process a bird if it must be culled right away. For example, if you suddenly find the bird viciously attacking one of your pullets, and you have time to kill it, but not time to process it, that's OK. Better to kill the trouble-causer and protect the rest of the flock than to let the attacking continue because you don't have time to process the trouble-causer's carcass. Not all of us have flawless schedules, sometimes we have to be flexible and choose which fires to put out. The important thing, is you don't let the bird suffer and that you know you did what was right, and you did your best.

I don't know that it gets any easier, just like having to euthanize a pet doesn't get any easier (in my e xperience), but hopefully it helps to know you're doing the right thing for the right reasons.
Good luck!

 

[ChocolateMouse]

It is not always possible to take the time to process a bird if it must be culled right away.

Luckily that was not the discussion. But you're right. While I would probably stick a trouble maker in a dog crate for 2-3 days until I found time to process them for food, and I think it's most responsible to have emergency backup plans like that. There's nonetheless times it absolutely must be done in a hurry like injuries, deformity or illness. Many of which make the carcass inedible. We compost birds like these or feed them to our dogs. We often clean their bones and feathers for jewelry. We still try to make use of the body and life that was granted with us, even when things aren't ideal.

It's the least we can do for the life we're responsible for.

 

[Egg Snatcher]

That was when when I was little and we have mean rooster. I won't let my mom touch my chickens.

 

[SulkyBantam]

That was when when I was little and we have mean rooster. I won't let my mom touch my chickens.

Thats a relief! I understand it just seems such a cruel way to kill it.

 

[SulkyBantam]

@EmmaRainboe will you tell them the good news?

 

[EmmaRainboe]

Yup, yesterday by some miracle, I swear it was like magic, I did manage to find him a place. Although I know I will probably end up back on this thread, because at some point, I'm sure, I will end up with a suffering hen or a surprise roo.

Thank you all for your help! I really appreciate it! I found all your insight incredible, and extremely helpful.

Lilac thanks you too. For trying to help him go out in the most humane peaceful way possible.

 

[SulkyBantam]

It's good news to me at least!

 

[aart]

Yup, yesterday by some miracle, I swear it was like magic, I did manage to find him a place.

Cool Beans...Congrats!