Would appreciate input on killing a baby - legs don't work

[BennieAnTheJets]

alright, alright I tired our poultry scissors but I feel uneasy since they bound the paper I tried them on once and cut clean through twice

what if I mess up with a live animal? I have never done this before with the scissors

the pruning sheers I get at the store are even less sharp - made in China with cheap blades and hinges

but a baby without legs - ugh - no roosting, no running - agh

wish I could try something to fix it but it looks too late (or there never was a chance) since the hocks are getting thick already and the legs don't straighten out that well, even if I pick up the little bird

 

[bobbi-j]

Do you have a super sharp knife?

 

[Kiki]

alright, alright I tired our poultry scissors but I feel uneasy since they bound the paper I tried them on once and cut clean through twice

what if I mess up with a live animal? I have never done this before with the scissors

the pruning sheers I get at the store are even less sharp - made in China with cheap blades and hinges

but a baby without legs - ugh - no roosting, no running - agh

wish I could try something to fix it but it looks too late (or there never was a chance) since the hocks are getting thick already and the legs don't straighten out that well, even if I pick up the little bird

We recently butchered some quail for meat.
We bought brand new garden shears labeled for cutting branches...they did not cut in one cut.
I highly recommend a sharp knife.

 

[BennieAnTheJets]

Thank you for all your valuable input, everyone!

I am going to bed now - tomorrow is another day

Like I said, I used the CO2 before without problems and it was quick - appreciate the critique of the rat web site - you never know - it just sounded very informed and caring

With all the new info I may try to call our vet tomorrow and see if he could do it and how that would work - I do have a new one since the last time I had to kill a keet - though I wonder if the 1 hour trip to the vet would not be much worse for the scared little one than the CO2 that would take 2 minutes to go downstairs and then a couple of seconds to die

this keet is a little older than the last one I killed, so I may still pass on the CO2 and go to the vet

I like the knife idea but it is hard for me to know how well an untested knife would work on a live animal - I have farrier tools and I know how they work for their purpose - amateurs getting farrier tools at the tack shop often do a lot of damage to horses' feet (with good intentions) because they don't know how to judge the tools - so, if I had a butcher knife that someone, who knows what they are doing, had tested and approved, I would do it, but I really don't want to torture the poor little critter any more than it already is suffering

Again, thank you so much for taking the time to post and share your advice! It was very nice to know that I am not alone and can discuss this with people who understand and have been in the same situation!

Thank you, SimplyLivinthatFarmLife! Your kind words are much appreciated. I really love our Guineas and was only saving a few unwanted eggs that started developing under a hen (before I could switch them to wooden eggs) so that someone could have a few free-by birds and the keets would have a chance to live - I really did not want any this year - just trying to be kind and saddled with some heart-ache now - but that is life with poultry, I've been told. =}

 

[Erkenstein]

Sorry that you are facing this situation.

I have a shovel with a tip that's worn down from use so that it has a little notch. When I need to dispatch a chick I just gently pin the bird to the grass by the neck and then quickly step on the shovel to decapitate it. It happens very quickly so the bird does not suffer.

 

[Mosey2003]

I have used poultry shears, or even just plain sharp scissors if the chick is only a day old. But, you need to have conviction that once you start the cut, you're gonna follow through hard and fast.

What I tend to do with chicks that are a few days and older is take a round 4 quart bucket, you know the feed buckets? They have a round handle that lines up perfectly with the lip of the bucket. I hold the chick in my left hand with one finger between the thighs and the other fingers on either side (the chick will be facing the floor) and then I lay the neck over the lip of the bucket, and put the handle over top of the neck. Hold it with just enough pressure to keep the head on the other side and gently pull so that the base of the head is butting right on the handle. Then in one swift motion, hold down the handle firmly and pull straight up with the legs. Instant cervical dislocation. They will flap afterwards in death throes, but their brain is cut off, they feel no pain. If you pull too hard and the whole head comes off, while it can be upsetting to see, they're still not feeling pain. It sounds much more complicated typing it out step by step than it really is, I ought to make a video at some point.

 

[aart]

I ought to make a video at some point

Or at least a pic of the bucket.

 

[Mosey2003]

Most everyone with livestock I know has a few of those 4 quart buckets kicking around. The only criteria really is that the handle wire matches the curve of the lip. Like these:
https://goo.gl/images/tZhZKr
View attachment 1555605

 

[aart]

Most everyone with livestock I know has a few of those 4 quart buckets kicking around. The only criteria really is that the handle wire matches the curve of the lip. Like these:
https://goo.gl/images/tZhZKr
View attachment 1555605

Ah, thanks for link to pic!
That would work well, but, nope, don't use them here.

 

[Mosey2003]

Yeah, I was griping to a turkey raising friend about not liking snipping heads and he insisted I needed to learn cervical dislocation. But the idea of having an animal's head in my hands and pulling just totally creeps me out and I can't do it. One night I was standing in the barn watching the chicks and noticed the bucket and the lightbulb went off, it's enough distance that I can do it rather peacefully and it's really effective, very easy to get the right angle and know nothing will slip.

I don't know why when I try to edit in a picture it only shows as an attachment link, ugh.