To Cull or Not to Cull.....

[chickensducks&agoose]

I am a softie. and I don't know what to do. We have a roo that was injured by a fox, so I didn't give him to the guy who ate our other roos.... 'broken chicken' healed okay, but he's a jerk, and bites and pecks some of the other chickens.. plus, from a financial point, he is eating, and not returning any value... is it wrong to kill him for just being useless? How would I go about doing this? I don't think I could manage to pluck or eat him, so what is the most humane way to kill something? honestly, I don't know if I can even do it at all, but if you have any advice, please let me know... also. I will pay someone $5 if 'broken chicken' just disappears....

 

[Teach97]

I see nothing wrong with killing something for lack of use...especially if it is broken...however...I have an issue with waste...eat it...find some one else to eat it...feed it to something...couple simple ways to kill cut off head...or if you aren't going to eat it...take a bucket, poke a hole in the top big enough for a garden hose, put a funnel on the other end of the garden hose and place over the tailpipe of a running car...very quick painless but I don't think I would eat it afterwards

 

[Chickenaddict]

If you don't have the heart to cull it why not just try and rehome him?

 

[mandolinmama]

I have culled roosters for being mean before. It's stress on the whole flock to have one who goes above and beond the natual pecking order and is just plain mean.
If you're a "softie" it might be hard for you to do it though. Maybe you should find someone to take him. Really, he might be happy on another farm or someone might enjoy some good soup. You don't have to know about it either way and will have zero guilt.

 

[chickensducks&agoose]

the problem with rehoming, is that there are ads everywhere (around here) for free roosters... and those roos aren't broken, or probably as mean... I wish that the foxes would have just kept him.. he somehow escaped with just a bad attitude and a fubar wing. I should have tied the whole wing off, but didn't know it at the time, and made him a sling and antibiotic ointment, and kept him in solitary for a month ... if he wasn't such a jerk I'd just name him as a pet... but i promised the husband that these chickens were livestock.... not pets... the ducks are pets!

 

[picklespickles]

can you call the guy who ate the others back up?

do you know someone else who would do it for you?

your dog or cat would be happy to eat him. it would not go to waste.

however, i think it is okay to kill him even if you dont' eat him or nothing else does. what you are describing is not good for your flock or you.

not everything works out perfectly and sometimes you need amnesty from concepts like waste. this guys sounds like he just needs to go. if taking care of him the "right" way means it never happens or he sticks around for another month, better to do it the "wrong" way.

the most humane way to kill anything is the way that you personally can do the fastest without hesitation. what you want most of all is something you won't stop part way freaking out. so, that would depend on you and your personality. in the meat bird section there will be lots of ways of processing them.

 

[pipermark]

Dont worry put the add in the paper. Many people take the rooster for the pot or to eat bugs, its temperament wont matter.

 

[Appytaz]

Put him on Craigslist and just "know" he is going to a good home. That is what I did my my roosters. I am also a softie and I know there is no way I could kill one - but, I have a great imagination that they are running around and just having a blast at their new home ;-) I don't ask what they are taking them for - but the man that comes and gets any of my extras seems like a nice guy with a couple of kids. In all jhonesty I think he takes them to the local auction and resells them. Which is fine with me.

 

[thedeacon]

If you can use FUBAR you should be able to cut his head off, dip him in a bucket of hot water, pluck and gut him and then eat him, even without cooking.

 

[kkchurchman]

Everyone should be really careful about giving your roosters to strangers - a lot of those end up in cockfighting outfits. This is a sad end to the animal, very inhumane.