Culling chicken chicks

noway2

noway2

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A couple of months ago, I got some baby Easter egger chicks which are about ready to go be introduced to the main coop. Unfortunately, this morning I went out and noticed that two of the three seemed normal but I didn't see the third. I have them in two tote bins that are connected by a PVC pipe. I lifted the lid on the other bin and saw one lying in the corner, something obviously wrong with it. I was just lying there and rocking it's head. I have no idea what happened, but I don't think it will survive and if it's still alive later, I think the best thing I can likely do for it is cull it. Sad duty, sad day.

I've never had to face this, so I am going to ask, what is the best, easiest, most humane, or recommended method for doing so that involves the least amount of suffering?

I am certain it isn't bird flu. They were inside when we bought them as little chicks and have been in an enclosed shed since.
 
Shotgun will take the head right off the bird. I have only very rarely needed to put down chickens. In fact, I think I only ever really put down one chicken, that had some kind of leg problem over a long time in the brooder and would not have been able to deal with getting in and out of our main coop. Otherwise, our few sick birds have either quickly gotten better, or quickly died. So my thought is to give this one a couple of days and wait and see.
 
From my lab work... CO2 is usually an approved euthanasia method, but you gotta get the air replacement rate right or else critters freak out. And you have to leave them in it long after they LOOK dead. And it's still recommended to use a secondary method of killing them (decap, cervical disloaction, bilateral pneumothorax) just to be sure they don't wake up later. Most animal facilities have horror stories of people botching the process and then they find animals suffering in the frezers/fridges/body piles.

if it's small and not moving much, just lay it down and chop off it's head. it's about as quick as you're going to get.
 
Take your thumb and trigger finger and encircle the neck immediately below the head. Take your other hand and encircle the the base of the neck where it meets the body.

One swift jerking motion with both hands going in opposite directions snaps the neck.

Results in immediate lights out.

On smaller chickens it may actually pop the head off which may be off-putting the first time you do it but is even better for the bird as far as speed and authority of kill.

I've done it hundreds of times to 4-8 pound birds in commercial houses. If it works for the big uns it will work fine for the little ones.

When culling in commercial houses some of the guys would just pick up right below the head in the same fashion then twirl like a helicopter while using just that one hand. It works well too but I don't think it is quite as fast as the aforementioned technique.
 
My wife went out and checked on it. She determined that it wasn't getting food and water and was cold. She used a turkey baster to get water in it and then got it to eat some food and warmed it up in her hands. I suggested she put it under the chick warming plate, which the other two have been staying out from under, to help it warm up. With any luck it will recover, but we'll have to keep an eye on it.
 
Good luck. Good list of methods if it comes to it.
Only chickens I've put down got a high velocity .177 pellet in the head
 
noway2 said:
My wife went out and checked on it. She determined that it wasn't getting food and water and was cold. She used a turkey baster to get water in it and then got it to eat some food and warmed it up in her hands. I suggested she put it under the chick warming plate, which the other two have been staying out from under, to help it warm up. With any luck it will recover, but we'll have to keep an eye on it.
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If its that far gone...more than likely it ain't coming back.
In my experience anyway.
The other chicks will help kill it...so if you're determined to help it live, separate it from the others.
 
thrillhill said:
Take your thumb and trigger finger and encircle the neck immediately below the head. Take your other hand and encircle the the base of the neck where it meets the body.

One swift jerking motion with both hands going in opposite directions snaps the neck.

Results in immediate lights out.

On smaller chickens it may actually pop the head off which may be off-putting the first time you do it but is even better for the bird as far as speed and authority of kill.

I've done it hundreds of times to 4-8 pound birds in commercial houses. If it works for the big uns it will work fine for the little ones.

When culling in commercial houses some of the guys would just pick up right below the head in the same fashion then twirl like a helicopter while using just that one hand. It works well too but I don't think it is quite as fast as the aforementioned technique.
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This ^

Though most often when we have had sick chicks I just lay it down on a log and take the head off with my pocket knife. Very quick.
 
Starkherz199 said:
The other chicks will help kill it...so if you're determined to help it live, separate it from the others.
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I left my phone out in my car, which I will have to get later, but I am pretty sure she separated it into a cage.

Starkherz199 said:
If its that far gone...more than likely it ain't coming back.
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What gets me is how fast this happened. All three of them were fine the other day when I fed and watered them.
 
noway2 said:
I left my phone out in my car, which I will have to get later, but I am pretty sure she separated it into a cage.


What gets me is how fast this happened. All three of them were fine the other day when I fed and watered them.
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The smaller they are the faster it happens.
My rule of thumb is that for every 4 chick's we buy right after hatching, 1 will make it to 2 years old.
But mine free range during the day...so...more exposure to hazard.
Lots of critters in my woods.
 
Keep your fingers crossed. Lynn has been feeding and watering it several times today and it’s eating. It’s stronger than it was earlier today, but we had an event. The cage it’s in had a wire grate over the pan. Somehow, we think it tried to stand, it got stuck under it with its wing caught. Managed to get it unstuck and didn't break its wing, but it was drama. Now she’s in the house where it’s warmer, has food, water, and a heater.
 
If Ozzy Osbourne can bite the head off of a bat it should be pretty easy plus it will taste like chicken. 😉
 
Starkherz199 said:
The smaller they are the faster it happens.
My rule of thumb is that for every 4 chick's we buy right after hatching, 1 will make it to 2 years old.
But mine free range during the day...so...more exposure to hazard.
Lots of critters in my woods.
Click to expand...
This is exactly right; we’re on a 1 to 4 ratio. Having Chickens and ducks are how I became a trapper; my wife just cried every time a varmint got one.
 
So far so good. She continues to get stronger with each day. Yesterday she started struggling to get up and stand, and by afternoon was starting to do better at it and eating quite a bit of food. My wife added some vitamin mix for chick starting to the water too. She’ll drink, but has a tendency to fall into the bowl so my wife was giving her water, watching, and then taking it away. Poor chick has a desire to live, I’ll say that. I could hear her in the bedroom chirping pretty good yesterday evening too.
 
thrillhill said:
Take your thumb and trigger finger and encircle the neck immediately below the head. Take your other hand and encircle the the base of the neck where it meets the body.

One swift jerking motion with both hands going in opposite directions snaps the neck.

Results in immediate lights out.

On smaller chickens it may actually pop the head off which may be off-putting the first time you do it but is even better for the bird as far as speed and authority of kill.

I've done it hundreds of times to 4-8 pound birds in commercial houses. If it works for the big uns it will work fine for the little ones.

When culling in commercial houses some of the guys would just pick up right below the head in the same fashion then twirl like a helicopter while using just that one hand. It works well too but I don't think it is quite as fast as the aforementioned technique.
Click to expand...
I think Grandma called that "ringing their neck". Same thing she'd tell me after informing me I was on her last nerve and she wished I'd just light somewhere....

OP, glad to hear the bird is on the mend.
 
noway2 said:
So far so good. She continues to get stronger with each day. Yesterday she started struggling to get up and stand, and by afternoon was starting to do better at it and eating quite a bit of food. My wife added some vitamin mix for chick starting to the water too. She’ll drink, but has a tendency to fall into the bowl so my wife was giving her water, watching, and then taking it away. Poor chick has a desire to live, I’ll say that. I could hear her in the bedroom chirping pretty good yesterday evening too.
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Has your wife given the chick any type of antibiotic? We used to get some type in a packet at TSC and mix in their water when they started to act like this. Maybe terramycin.
 
beamernc said:
Has your wife given the chick any type of antibiotic? We used to get some type in a packet at TSC and mix in their water when they started to act like this. Maybe terramycin.
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No. I might have to stop by TSC this evening. Thank you for the suggestion.
 
noway2 said:
No. I might have to stop by TSC this evening. Thank you for the suggestion.
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I looked on line and the package I remember, looks like Duramycin-10, tetracycline I did not find it on the TSC website. Southern States or other farm supply stores my have it.
 
beamernc said:
I looked on line and the package I remember, looks like Duramycin-10, tetracycline I did not find it on the TSC website. Southern States or other farm supply stores my have it.
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I am not seeing Duramycin-10 and a lot of places are saying it requires a veterinary prescription. The closest thing I am finding is Liquamycin which is injectable or I was reading put tetracycline in their water, which would be preferred.

There is a southern states a few minutes from here, but it's only open to 5pm. I might have to take a quick break and run down there and see what I can find.
 
@beamernc I picked up some Liquamycin LA-200. It's technically injectable, but a small amount in the water should get some in her bloodstream. According to the people at Southern States anything that is meant to go in water now requires a vet Rx and even this stuff is going to be Rx only by June they said. Effing "regulators" are pissed off that prepper types have figured out that the animal stuff works in humans too and God knows we need to be nannied and controlled. The thing is, who is going to pay $100 for a vet bill for a $5 chicken?

Honestly, it isn't a far stretch of the imagination to the theories that "they" are trying to make it difficult or impossible for people to not be reliant on govt. and big pharma.
 
noway2 said:
@beamernc I picked up some Liquamycin LA-200. It's technically injectable, but a small amount in the water should get some in her bloodstream. According to the people at Southern States anything that is meant to go in water now requires a vet Rx and even this stuff is going to be Rx only by June they said. Effing "regulators" are pissed off that prepper types have figured out that the animal stuff works in humans too and God knows we need to be nannied and controlled. The thing is, who is going to pay $100 for a vet bill for a $5 chicken?

Honestly, it isn't a far stretch of the imagination to the theories that "they" are trying to make it difficult or impossible for people to not be reliant on govt. and big pharma.
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That's probably why it was not on the TSC website. Damn shame.
 
I guess this post is a form of terminal follow up on this thread. As best we could tell, the chicken had what was called wry neck. My wife brought it in the house and kept it caged up in a bedroom for several months, feeding and watering it. It slowly got better and about a week ago, we put it in two conjoined cages outside to acclimate to the rest of the flock and keep it safe.

Unfortunately something either today or last night got in and ate it. I haven't been out yet, but my wife said there is a small bit of carcass left in the cage. We don't know what got it, but my wife says the other chickens are on alert. Whatever it was, got through the coop cage, and then into the secondary pen and must have been fairly small.

Hell of a lot of work and effort to lose the damned thing that way.

We're thinking of putting up a (wireless) wifi camera on the coop and seeing if we can secure it a little better and then get a few more chicks before it gets cold. Would rather have too many eggs than not enough with what's looming on the food situation.
 
It could be rats. It’s been long enough for the local rats to figure out the chicken feed is a good source of food. Rats will eat the chicken food and the chicks. You would be amazed at how small of an opening rats can get through.
 
I went out after donning some gloves and put the remains in a grocery bag and then in the kitchen trash that was going to the dump. There were a bunch of feathers alongside the one edge of the cage we had it in and the only thing that remained was a a ribcage and spine. All the tissue was gone.
 
Doesn’t that really mess with you knowing that you didn’t do enough to protect the little fella.
 
Tailhunter said:
Doesn’t that really mess with you knowing that you didn’t do enough to protect the little fella.
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Believe me, we tried. We had it in the house for several months. We put it in what we believed to be a safe and protected environment. We’re talking about how to even better secure the coop.

At the same time, it is life on a homestead and it is a learning process.

Still, it’s a $5 chicken, yet it is a life we took responsibility for. We did our best. We tried to honor it.
 
thrillhill said:
Take your thumb and trigger finger and encircle the neck immediately below the head. Take your other hand and encircle the the base of the neck where it meets the body.

One swift jerking motion with both hands going in opposite directions snaps the neck.

Results in immediate lights out.

On smaller chickens it may actually pop the head off which may be off-putting the first time you do it but is even better for the bird as far as speed and authority of kill.

I've done it hundreds of times to 4-8 pound birds in commercial houses. If it works for the big uns it will work fine for the little ones.

When culling in commercial houses some of the guys would just pick up right below the head in the same fashion then twirl like a helicopter while using just that one hand. It works well too but I don't think it is quite as fast as the aforementioned technique.
Click to expand...
This is how we do it
 
Seems like a square bladed shovel would be easy and quick. And you don’t even need to handle the sick chicken.
 
Tailhunter said:
Seems like a square bladed shovel would be easy and quick. And you don’t even need to handle the sick chicken.
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we tried to honor its life. It my have been a cheap chicken, but it was still god‘s creature nd we took responsibility for it.

please excuse me for feeling sorry for the passing or a life that tried so very hard against the odds.
 
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noway2 said:
we tried to honor its life. It my have been a cheap chicken, but it was still god‘s creature nd we took responsibility for it.

please excuse me for feeling sorry for the passing or a life that tried so very hard against the odds.
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I believe you original question was how to euthanize the chicken with the least amout of pain. Just answering the question.
 
Tailhunter said:
I believe you original question was how to euthanize the chicken with the least amout of pain. Just answering the question.
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Yes it was. And when I saw it, that was what I thought was the only, and best thing I could for it. Give it a humane end. My wife, however, had other ideas. Instead it was brought into our home and put in cage in a bedroom where it got food and water, and grew stronger day by day. Like I saíd, stupid, maybe but as my wife put it she had respect for the will to live that bird exhibited she wanted to honor it. Eventually, we believed it grew strong enough to go outside, but we kept it caged in the main coop to let it acclimate.

Obviously, we did something wrong,
 
noway2 said:
Yes it was. And when I saw it, that was what I thought was the only, and best thing I could for it. Give it a humane end. My wife, however, had other ideas. Instead it was brought into our home and put in cage in a bedroom where it got food and water, and grew stronger day by day. Like I saíd, stupid, maybe but as my wife put it she had respect for the will to live that bird exhibited she wanted to honor it. Eventually, we believed it grew strong enough to go outside, but we kept it caged in the main coop to let it acclimate.

Obviously, we did something wrong,
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Matt, you can’t beat yourself up over it. I’ve come to learn things just happen, for no apparent reason despite our best vigilance, and it just plain sucks.

Tonight on our kitchen table I had to do surgery on my wife’s favorite little bantam pullet. The only chicken we have with any sort of personality. That chicken has been attached to her for months. I removed a very large grass impaction from her crop, this has been after two and a half weeks of treating her for the impaction and sour crop. She seemed to have gotten better for a week and went down hill again yesterday.

She’s resting in her cage now, tired, sore, and stressed. It’s out of my hands, we’ve done all we can do.

If it was any other of our chickens, it would have been in the freezer. I get it bud, good on y’all for doing everything you knew to do.
 
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"The chickens in the small chicken house have evidence that will convict Hilary Clinton."
 
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