When to cull old hens??

[bobbi-j]

I culled 25 roosters last weekend and we’re canning them today. I cull roosters when the hen:rooster ratio gets out of whack.

Hens, I cull when they start sleeping in places they shouldn’t or when I need to reduce the population. Or when we want to make soup.

Canned chicken....

 

[bobbi-j]

How do you cull? I've been doing a head shot with a pellet gun, and sometimes it takes 2-3. I'd like a more humane way to do it!

Place the fowl in a cone above a bucket so the head and neck protrude and use branch loppers with long handles to sever the head.

We use the hatchet and stump method (and by "we" I mean DH) because it's over in seconds. If I ever find myself in a situation where I have to do it myself, I would likely do it the way Shadrach mentioned. I'm not coordinated enough to use the hatchet.

 

[Shadrach]

We use the hatchet and stump method (and by "we" I mean DH) because it's over in seconds. If I ever find myself in a situation where I have to do it myself, I would likely do it the way Shadrach mentioned. I'm not coordinated enough to use the hatchet.

I had a really horrible experience with the hatchet method when the hatchet twisted in my hand and the chickens head stayed attached. I never tried again.
On the farm I spent my youth they used the neck dislocation method but it's a skill when done by hand and not something I would want to practice until I got it right.
The lopper methods always works if the blades are reasonably sharp and the handles long enough to give sufficient leverage.

 

[bobbi-j]

I had a really horrible experience with the hatchet method when the hatchet twisted in my hand and the chickens head stayed attached. I never tried again.
On the farm I spent my youth they used the neck dislocation method but it's a skill when done by hand and not something I would want to practice until I got it right.
The lopper methods always works if the blades are reasonably sharp and the handles long enough to give sufficient leverage.

DH grew up on the farm, Mom always raised chickens, butchering happened every year. I'm afraid if I tried the hatchet, I'd either miss the chicken and chop off my foot or some other part, or miss the neck and end up badly injuring before killing the bird. I just don't think I could do CD. When we had turkeys, we found out that a cattle dehorner worked well on them.

 

[aart]

The lopper methods always works if the blades are reasonably sharp and the handles long enough to give sufficient leverage.

I can't imagine using long handled(?) loppers...they need both hands, so someone has to hold the head, correct? Even slitting throat in a cone, that head does not stay down on it's own.

 

[Shadrach]

I can't imagine using long handled(?) loppers...they need both hands, so someone has to hold the head, correct? Even slitting throat in a cone, that head does not stay down on it's own.

The head does stay out of the neck of the cone. I hang the cone on a branch. it only takes a second to locate the lopper blades on the neck.
Give it a try.

 

[Shadrach]

The guy that used to kill the chickens on the farm used to do the dislocation with one hand while the other held the chicken. He placed his forefinger and middle finger either side of the chicken neck just below the head and pulled with a twist.
It was very quick and I never saw him get it wrong. However, he killed hundreds in a day sometimes so I suppose practice makes perfect.

 

[aart]

The head does stay out of the neck of the cone. I hang the cone on a branch. it only takes a second to locate the lopper blades on the neck.
Give it a try.

Um, I have...I use a cone for all my slaughtering.

Even slitting throat in a cone, that head does not stay down on it's own.

Maybe your cone was different.

 

[Meg-in-MT]

I'm glad you started this discussion, Luna. I've had chickens for about 9 years and have only ever culled for an ailment, not to eat.

My husband has been trying to talk me into meat birds for a couple years... This is how long it's taken me to try and wrap my head around it. My chickens are pets. All 93 of them. I never cared how old they were or if they were still laying, it didn't matter to me.

So after researching meat birds for a while I started thinking: Isn't it kind of silly to buy meat birds when I've got this many chickens? I wasn't really sure you could eat (read: chew) them if they were 5+ years. Apparently, you can. Silly me.

So, in this case, I've gone from pets only to the possibility of using the "dual" in "dual purpose".

 

[BabyGirl2]

My oldest hen, Mamma Game, was killed by a neighbors dog. She was past laying and getting mean even for a game hen, so I let her out to free range in the yard. She enjoyed it until the neighbor didn't keep her dog in her yard. I have no intention of getting rid of any of my chickens, but then they are for relaxing and watching and loving and not for eggs, I give all the eggs away anyway. They live here until they die!