How to cull a chick......

Okay, I have read a similar thread to this in the past but what I've found is that so far I don't have it in me to give a chick a quick death to end its suffering. I just don't. I'm also lacking clarity on whether or not it is necessary.

My question is, is there a way to let a chick go less violently that is not selfish because of my lack of courage. I'm wondering if removing from a heat source for 24 hours is humane. They slowly cool, fall asleep and then die.

Does anyone have any suggestions for folks who just can't quite 'pull the trigger' and end it quickly?

I think the faster you do it the more humane it is, sorry.
I have a hard time culling anything, but recently with hubby working so much I found it more inhumane to wait for him to come fix the problem then for me to do it myself.
For little chicks I simply break their necks. They are small and it is quite easy to do. I have a sharp side to my burning barrel, I use that side and a stick and simply put the neck between the sharp edge and then the stick on top, push down and done. Toss it into the burning barrel and walk away.
For older birds we have PVC cutters, very sharp, and I simply cut the head off.
It is not easy to do but when you know they are suffering or just not meant to live you have to end it.
Some people have used "gas chambers", others have used drowning, personally as long as you get the job done and quickly there is not real proper way to do it.

When you say PVC cutters for older birds, you mean adults?

Yes well I use them for anything over 6 weeks of age that their necks cannot be easily broken by my other method. But we use the PVC cutter for butchering as well as culling, and DH keeps it very sharp so the job is over quickly. If you didnt want to cause bleeding you could dull a set of them and just use them to break the neck from chick up to adulthood.

I have used the gas chamber method on very young chicks. I put baking soda in a small container that will hold the chick but not much room to spare. Put in three or four heaping tablespoons of baking soda. I then put the chick in and quickly pour about 1/2 cup vinegar in, put the lid on but not sealed just hold it on as the gas pressure must be allowed to escape without blowing of the top. Swirl it around to make sure adequate gas is generated The chick will struggle for a few seconds and it is over. Very fast. I have only used it very small chicks. I leave it in for a few minutes just to be sure.
It an unpleasant task but this is quick and clean.

I worked with a guy who before he became a firefighter his job was to kill all male chicks at the hatchery which was hatching chicks for other farms to raise to point of lay. He told me all he did was hold chick in left hand and with thumb and index finger on right hand who simply pop off the head. He did literally thousands of chicks this way. It sounded kind of gross but a month or two ago I fianally decided to cull a chich which was born with the inability to stand up and balance and I tried this method even though I thought that I couldn't and was surprised to see how instant and easy it was.

Dan that is how my DH does it but I still cant do it that way.

Whoa, I feel like I'm a long way off from popping their heads off. That's just gross - LOL!

Okay, thanks for this everyone. I will refer to this thread in the future to be reminded.

So far, of the four chicks I helped hatch that had issues with bleeding umbilicals and splayed legs along with my wry neck chick, I'm actually feeling somewhat hopeful that everyone will make it. We'll see.

I know this is a serious thread...but, I am laughing so hard I can hardly type..."popping their heads off"
Chicory you crack me up!!

This is probably one of the worst things, that we, as the responsible chicken person, must take on. The more one incubates, or the more birds one has, one must realize that there are times when we must take that role. That awful role of -- to kill or not to kill. It is a sad day for us when we must take that life, but such a necessary one sometimes. One must be responsible and understand that this is part of life, the ugly side, but it is there.

I have found in the past that there will always be at least one in an incubation that must see the terminal of life. It is sad to say, and sickens me to my soul when I look at this little one, that only wants to live, and I know that it cannot. For many different reasons, mostly for the comfort of it living a happy and healthy life.

I have performed different methods of disposing of life with young chicks, drowning was my first experience. It was slow, more painful for me than the chick I would think, but it was not a way to die, in my mind.

I read about cervical dislocation. That can be breaking of the neck or removal of the head.

I tried what I thought would be a simple cervical dislocation. I took that baby chick in one hand and tried to dislocate the neck. The neck of a newborn baby chick is not very strong, I found that out, and I cried and I cried and I cried. The head popped right off in my other hand. Sigh....But it was fast, so fast.

This is the method that I use for ending the life of a baby, and with each time I do this, it actually does become a little more simple. Well, at least I don't shed tears now, I give a blessing in my mind for the soul of this baby to be happier than the life that it would have had here on earth, with each baby I do this thing.

If you are squeamish, please do not read further.

My experience will help some people to find a nice and clean way to take care of what sometimes, plain and simply, must be done, not nice, but must be so.

I have a small bucket. Within that bucket I have placed a plastic shopping bag that hangs over the edge. You know, like we do for our garbage pails. Within that shopping bag I have an opened zip lok baggie. I bring the chick to that baggie, face the head downwards and with the other hand, pull off the head, the head falls into the baggie. The body (sigh....oh this is such an awful deed to do) is in my left hand, I am right-handed. As soon as the head falls, I drop the body into the baggie, grab that baggie so there is no flopping around. Every chick that I have had to perform this awful thing to, only flops for no more than about 12 seconds -- I know -- I have counted how long I must hold this poor little one in the baggie in my hand. I then seal the baggie and dispose of it in a proper manner. There is no mess. The baggie is sealed tightly, so there is no smell.

I know that there will be many more times that I will have to perform this thing to the young baby, so I become every time I must do this, more emotionally prepared.

I know that I only cull the ones that do not have a chance to have a happy and healthy life. To me a happy, painless life is better to live, than to let a chick live in pain, with the hope that something that will never be right or painfree will live on.

That is me, a tough love, but such a necessary and sad tough love. All have a most beautiful day, full of happiness, love, health, CynthiaM.

This is probably one of the worst things, that we, as the responsible chicken person, must take on. The more one incubates, or the more birds one has, one must realize that there are times when we must take that role. That awful role of -- to kill or not to kill. It is a sad day for us when we must take that life, but such a necessary one sometimes. One must be responsible and understand that this is part of life, the ugly side, but it is there.

I have found in the past that there will always be at least one in an incubation that must see the terminal of life. It is sad to say, and sickens me to my soul when I look at this little one, that only wants to live, and I know that it cannot. For many different reasons, mostly for the comfort of it living a happy and healthy life.

I have performed different methods of disposing of life with young chicks, drowning was my first experience. It was slow, more painful for me than the chick I would think, but it was not a way to die, in my mind.

I read about cervical dislocation. That can be breaking of the neck or removal of the head.

I tried what I thought would be a simple cervical dislocation. I took that baby chick in one hand and tried to dislocate the neck. The neck of a newborn baby chick is not very strong, I found that out, and I cried and I cried and I cried. The head popped right off in my other hand. Sigh....But it was fast, so fast.

This is the method that I use for ending the life of a baby, and with each time I do this, it actually does become a little more simple. Well, at least I don't shed tears now, I give a blessing in my mind for the soul of this baby to be happier than the life that it would have had here on earth, with each baby I do this thing.

If you are squeamish, please do not read further.

My experience will help some people to find a nice and clean way to take care of what sometimes, plain and simply, must be done, not nice, but must be so.

I have a small bucket. Within that bucket I have placed a plastic shopping bag that hangs over the edge. You know, like we do for our garbage pails. Within that shopping bag I have an opened zip lok baggie. I bring the chick to that baggie, face the head downwards and with the other hand, pull off the head, the head falls into the baggie. The body (sigh....oh this is such an awful deed to do) is in my left hand, I am right-handed. As soon as the head falls, I drop the body into the baggie, grab that baggie so there is no flopping around. Every chick that I have had to perform this awful thing to, only flops for no more than about 12 seconds -- I know -- I have counted how long I must hold this poor little one in the baggie in my hand. I then seal the baggie and dispose of it in a proper manner. There is no mess. The baggie is sealed tightly, so there is no smell.

I know that there will be many more times that I will have to perform this thing to the young baby, so I become every time I must do this, more emotionally prepared.

I know that I only cull the ones that do not have a chance to have a happy and healthy life. To me a happy, painless life is better to live, than to let a chick live in pain, with the hope that something that will never be right or painfree will live on.

That is me, a tough love, but such a necessary and sad tough love. All have a most beautiful day, full of happiness, love, health, CynthiaM.

Thanks Cynthia for taking the time to share your experience. It's heartfelt and appreciated.

For chicks I either drown them or pull off the head.

For bigger birds I place a shovel or pitch fork handle over their neck, stand on it with one foot on either side of the head and pull their feet until I feel their neck dislocate.

I agree Cynthia, a life full of suffering is no life at all. I guess I'm lucky in the fact I havn't had to cull a chick... yet. But I know that luck will eventually run out and my time will come. I'll likely try the pulling the head off method. It seems quick and painless.

With older birds/adults, I'm going to try the neck dislocate thing with a broom handle. I already had a bad experience trying to use a shovel edge to do the deed and not putting enough pressure for a clean, quick kill. I still feel awful about that one.

I cull (nicer way of saying it) my chickens and ducks the same way i cull my rabbits. I use a broom handle put it over there neck on the ground and quickly pull till i hear a snap then run like **** as the whole thing FREAKS me out( i throw the duck/chicken in a bucket so i know were it is before i run). Can't eat whatever i cull for awhile and i can't sleep for awhile when i do rabbits but we have no butcher who will do them so gotta do it somehow.

I find it very hard to do but I place the chick in a egg carton 2 bags and place it under the front wheel of truck and drive over it, still bothers me but instant and I don't see it

.

Okay, reneggaide, are you serious about the hypnosis?

reneggaide wrote:So far only one, I used the same method as when we bitcher, put chick on 2x4, lay a very large sharp butchers knife across neck and hit the top of knife very hard with a big hammer, for adults we use a home made cone instead. If done properly the knife goes through very fast and I can't think of a quicker way to lose conciousness other than going to sleep first. I had considered trying chicken hypnosis techniques however hypnosis does not diminish awareness from my own experiences.

.

That's so interesting. I am familiar with hypnosis and could probably use some of it myself for a few things.

I think you've just described myself when it comes to taking a life of any animal. Sooner or later I"m going to have to and I find the idea so uncomfortable not because of the visual aspect but the sense that they have awareness and thought. But then I wonder if I'm just projecting or personifying..........perhaps another thread some time.

Anyways what you said is very interesting to me. Thank you for sharing.

reneggaide wrote:Yes, there are a number of techniques though I have not tried them yet and Im not sure it is actually hypnosis. I suspect another mechanism at work. I have done self hypnosis many times successfully, hypnotized others a few times and watched the process performed on sleeping people(kindly of course). It is an interesting study. My concern is that all creatures are aware and have thought, I have a highly developed sense of empathy which is makes taking life of any sort painful and regrettable, though I can ,have and will. If I can end a life without the animal being aware of its impending doom...I personally would prefer going without knowing.