What is the quickest way to cull chickens?

[Maryallison]

This is a question I never wanted to ask, but now I need to know. I have chickens that have been sick for a month now. Respitory illness. They just aren't getting better. I have tried a handfull of things from water mix ins to injections. What is the easiest way to put them down? I can't even bear to do it. DH will have to.

Please don't think we came to this decision easily. I am really sad about this.

 

[threehorses]

I'm very sorry to hear about your decision. I've seen you posting on here and know you're compassionate.

First off, before you cull, I'd call an extension agent or your state agricultural college and talk to them about getting a necropsy on two of them. that way if you decide to keep chickens, you'll know whether or not it was something environmental. Even if you think you won't keep them again, you might change your mind as it's not always this hard - and in fact is rarely this hard.

There are some contacts here at the end of this post for you to that end.

As for dispatching, the kindest way to do it is by cervical dislocation. If you have to do this before taking birds in, here's a good guide to it with a diagram:

http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/anima/heasan/disemala/avflu/plan/plan-appje.shtml


I'm so very sorry. My heart really breaks for you. /hugs

Here are the contact links and numbers:


http://www.hcfair.net/Livestock/Poultry … 20PLAN.pdf
The contact listed is your state NPIP rep.


Your UF contact:
Gary D. Butcher, DVM, PhD
Professor, Extension - Avian Diseases
Large Animal Clinical Sciences
PO Box 100136
2015 SW 16 Ave
Gainesville, FL 32608-0125
(352) 392-2212 ext. 5695
Fax: (352) 392-3029
email: [email protected]

And here are extension offices in the different counties:
http://solutionsforyourlife.ufl.edu/map/

If that doesn't work, here's a list of certified avian vets for Florida:
Florida

Deerfield Beach, FL - Daryl Nick Backos (Backos Bird Clinic) - 954-427-0777
Jacksonville, FL - Rhoda Stevenson (Exotic Bird Hosp Inc) - 904-268-0204
Jupiter, FL - April Romagnano (Animal Health Clinic) - 561-799-7717
Lake Worth, FL - Greg John Harrison (The Bird Hosp PA) - 561-964-2121
Loxahatchee, FL - Susan L. Clubb (Rain Forest Clinic for Birds) - 561-795-4878
Lutz, FL - Suzanne Victoria Topor (Livingston Animal & Avian Hosp) - 813-979-1955
Monticello, FL - Kitty Remington
Myakka City, FL - Michael Bonda - 941-359-3800
Orange Park, FL - Michelle Curtis Velasco (Fleming Island Pet & Bird Clinic) - 904-264-7387
Palm Harbor, FL - Joel D. Murphy (An/Bird Med Ctr of Palm Harbor) - 727-784-0558
Port Richey, FL - Susan Sattler-Augustin - 727-863-2435
Tampa, FL - Teresa L. Lightfoot (FL Vet Specialists) - 813-933-8944 - http://www.exoticseminars.com
Wesley Chapel, FL - Margaret Anne Wissman - 813-973-3044 - http://www.exoticpetvet.net

 

[saddina]

We use a wack to the back of the head, followed by breaking thier neck. It's easy on them, but hard on you, you Must be sure you're hitting them hard enough to knock them out before you try to get a grip on the neck.

 

[opihiman911]

Yes, breaking or chopping the neck is the quickest and most painless for the chicken, but not for you.
If you are unable to do that and want a less "gruesome" way for yourself, you can gas them. Put the sick hen in an empty dog food or chicken feed bag, short piece of garden hose in the top and twist bag shut, other end of hose in a car tailpipe. 5-10 minutes of exhaust and the hen just goes to sleep for good. You don't even have to handle it if you don't want to after it dead. Just twist tie up the bag up and into the rubbish. Of coarse this isn't a good method if you want a necropsy because you would poison the bird and probally change the pathophysiology of the lungs, tissue & blood making any testing useless.

Sorry you have to go throught this but its part of being a good compassionate caretaker of our feathered friends.

Peace,
Opihi

 

[dixiechick]

I have been there....but only once, thankfully. I am so sorry.

It's not going to be easy for your DH. I grew up on a farm and knew what to expect, but DH (being the MAN of the house) didn't want me to do it. So the kids and I went off to run errands, when we got back my city-boy DH was devistated. He let me know right then, that was his last culling.

But it's the right decision if the poor dear doesn't have any quality of life.

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
You're asking about the quickest way to kill them, right?
Hatchet behind the head to sever the neck, breaking the neck with a downward pull-and-twist or piercing the brain through the mouth.
None are pleasant, but each has its proponents.

- The hatchet isn't intimate... you remain (relatively) distant from their death.
- Neck breaking requires no tools... simple and effective. Very intimate.
- Piercing makes plucking easier if they are to be eaten. Also intimate.

Hard decision, I gather? Its hard sometimes to be the steward of another life, especially when you have to take it.

 

[Maryallison]

I want to thank you guys for the replies. I admit I am crying while reading it. The gassing seems the easiest.....the least hands on. None of the ways are easy. I wish I had 100 acres and just could put them out to pasture.

Thanks you so much threehorses for all the contact info. I am always so bad at looking things like that up. I will be printing & saving all that info.

 

[Big Chicken Little]

Sorry about your problem ..I know it is a sad thing and you will do what is right.

 

[Alicia]

Quote:
Yes, this was the best method for me too, just make sure you seal the bag well so none of the gas escapes. It makes it go faster.

Best of luck. My heart goes out to you.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

The final kindness you can bestow on the birds you love is to give them a quick end with a minimum of pain & fear. I think that many animals enduring long lingering illnesses or injuries harbor stress knowing they're not in the best condition, therefore more vulnerable to predators. In the wild they'd be the easiest pickings and wouldn't have lasted as long. In domestic care they have the chance to recover in safety. But after prolonged treatment without improvement, it's kindest to cull them.

This is an essential topic for every chicken owner to consider. The more chickens you own & the longer you are maintaining a flock you'll probably have to face this decision at some time. Better to know what you'll do & how you'll do it now. And hope it's a long long time before you'll have to do it.

I agree that the cervical dislocation is the quickest & most humane. I disagree with the gas chamber plastic bag, unless it were an already comotose bird. Otherwise, what a frightening way to go, even to go to sleep.

You (or your husband) could use the broomstick method, where you lay the bird on the ground, place a broomstick across its neck, hold the ends of the stick down firmly with your feet, and give a quick decisive yank up on the legs, enough to feel a crunch of the neck bones dislocating. The bird will flap reflexively for a few moments afterwards, but it will already be dead. You can cover it with a wash tub or box or even a big towel if you cannot bear to see it moving.

I prefer to hold my birds under one arm, petting & soothing them, then grab the head with the other hand & give a quick decisive yank out and snap up. I continue to hold them so they don't flap their wings, then lay them in the hole I've already dug under a nearby bush or tree. I like to think that they will then give their strength to help the plant grow, and thus, in that way, continue to live.

I'm sorry for your losses, and admire your courage in making these difficult decisions for your flock.