How to cull a cockerel

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valeriebutterley

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Is there a quick, merciful way to do this?
Terrible subject as I love all my girls and boys, but as a responsible person, I feel sometime I should learn how to do this in case of accident, or unavailability of vet. It has been bothering me for sometime. I have just found one site that gave the instructions, but it seemed so complicated, I thought I would ask the Forum for their opinions. So please can anyone help? Many thanks in advance, Valerie Butterley.
 
Somewhere in the deep depths of the internet is a short very good and reassuring video showing 'broomstick ' method. Try Google ?? something like ---humane killing of a chicken ?? Ros
 
I use the Broomstick Method too.
You hold the bird upside down by their legs, head on the floor, chest down. Place the broomstick over the neck, standing on one side. At the same time you then stand on the otherside of the broom and tension the neck by pulling the legs up, not too hard or the head comes clean off.
It if best to go on the course to learn how to do it as not to get anything wrong.

I went on a Dispatch + Dress course at Cotswold Chickens to learn how to cull, and then gut and bone. Alison at Hook Farm runs courses from her yard and across the country :)
 
There is definatley two lines of thought on the "Broom stick" method.

Defra says
Amendment to the Welfare of Animals (Slaughter or Killing) Regulations 1995

(4) In paragraph 13 of Schedule 5, for sub-paragraphs (c) and (d) substitute—

“(c)for birds only, decapitation or dislocation of the neck;

Also

"Regulation 4 ... No person involved in .... shall ...

(a) Cause any avoidable excitement,pain or suffering to any animal

No person should engage in killing without the proper knowledge and skill etc.....

http://archive.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/farmanimal/welfare/documents/poultrywelfare.pdf
Click to expand...

The method mentioned involves breaking the neck by standing on a broomstick that is choking a bird held by the feet upside down IIRC. :-)11

It fits the law as I read it ... but only just. I personaly find it distastefull. The holding of the delicate legs and an upside down bird, along with the idea of choking the poor thing while it's having it's neck broken in distress, is too much for me. :| (Just mho... No insult meant)

I break thier neck in a quiet room and then slit the throat. The bird is settled on the ground next to me (on my right) with my right hand firmly on the back. My left reachs across and lightly closes over the top of the head.... Twist and pull in a long firm motion. The bird is dead 99.9% of the time (stunned 100%) when it goes into a cone to have it's throat cut before it starts flapping too much.

It's bled so it keeps longer and tastes better. If it isn't done immediatley the bird holds onto it's blood when the heart has fully stopped. Also ... There is always that 0.01% that might come around with a broken neck... not nice :-)06
 
______ Using the broomstick you dont choke or suffocate the bird or break its neck! The idea is for the stick to hold the head in one place , gently pulling the legs upwards DISLOCATES the neck at the top of the cervical spine and severes the spinal cord killing the bird instantly and if held like this causes bleeding into the damaged area. It is easy and causes minimal distress to bird or human . There is no blood/mess or tugging etc to break the neck ,I would not use any method that caused death by suffocation as I it is humane. I do feel it is important that even if not intending to ever dispatch birds we should ,as responsible owners , at least know how to do so if some emergency arises. Ros
 
Thanks everyone who input to this question. I really cannot see myself doing any of these methods, but I suppose I will have to learn, as a responsible owner. I would have to see it done before attempting it myself. VB.
 
Podstable is right, broomstick doesn't choke the bird it breaks/dislocates the neck. T
he blood pools into where the break is so there is (or should be) no mess and when gutting the blood has pooled and around the neck and can be cut straight off.

I've also used a cone and stunner from working on a FR turkey farm at Christmas time but realise the average hobby keeper/smallholder can't affort the £250 for cone and £800 for stunner.

Well done Valerie for giving it prior thought too :-)08
 
OK ...I Just New this was gonna happen. :-)05

Firstly I did not want to upset anyone, even though I knew what I said was going to be taken the wrong way, miss read or judged as wrong because it don't agree with others ... or some such. I respect and like you all and need you to take a step back from your first reaction please.

This is only a personal observation of the one time I saw it happen and I've yet too check "You tube". But a stick went over a chickens throat and a stick was trod on ... at the same time the neck was pulled and the bird was upside down. Held by the legs. (That is what I saw) I do NOT judge it. I observe it and my reaction without judging, just regestering my reaction. There is a SHED load of things you will probably have the same reaction to about my behaviour and beliefs also.... Viva la differance !

In having said that, people tend to read tone and attitude into posts or even missread them... this is not to mention bad posting skills on the part of the poster......

BTW... I have made a funnel out of a bit of visqueen or groundsheet onto a bit of wood. The chook (when stunned/dead) goes in upside down with head out of hole. The stunner is me breaking the neck.... the rest of it is me holding a head and slicing... no wing spasm due to cone.

I never suggested death by suffocation or anything illegal. :| Discomfort ? yes.

Sorry for disagreeing, but a genuine answer was sought and all voices should be heard.

PS. Well done Valerie.Good question. Sorry to cause waves
 
Reb--dont fret!! I dont think you have caused any 'waves' of significance --- all I wanted to point out that using broomstick you can dislocate neck and sever cord-INSTANT --- using it to break neck is not instant or painless and will not lead to instantaneous severing of cord. That is why DEFRA are anti 'humane' dispatchers which crush vertebra rather than dislocate , I also guess they are often used to suffocate. As you say , I am sure it is possible to use a stick to cause death by suffocating or breaking neck--I just feel this is not an acceptible use ! If you had caused 'waves' I am sure thats ok by most people--we could do with some more of those! :-)07 Ros
 
When i first read this post topic i though it would cause riffs but the whole point of a forum is for people to ask question to a wide audiance and take what you want from the vast experience of people that know what they are doing. If you have never killed something with your own hands this can be a dramatic topic but its the same with rabbits... Some people hold the legs up and pull the head away from the back legs and seperate the neck, others will hold it upside down and hit the back of the head with a stick. Both effective but different people use different methods to ultimately achieve the same result. I think all posts have a valid point, but like i said before maybe if you feel you cannot do the deed get a friend to do it.
 
It's good to have this kind of discussion on what is a sensitive topic for some people but all keepers should be aware that they may need to act in an emergency, even if it means having someone else on call to do the deed.
 
I carry no grudges and I mean well. 8-) It is a very hard topic to address.

On the rabbit subject... I used to hunt them and breed them when I lived up in the Chew Valley (Up near you BTG) .. I still visit a freind in Mark, close to Burnham and another by the front in W-S-M. Great area :D

A lesson learnt early was not to distress the animals or get it wrong when doing it. With Rabbits it is worse. (As you probably know) I hold there stout back back legs and when the ears drop forward a crisp hard hand chop to the base of the skull/neck joint. Works every time for me ... didn't work for my brother the first time he tried it.... :cry: .... He hit the shoulders and dropped the poor thing. It took me a few seconds to pick it up and finish the job. The poor rabbit was in pain and screamed pitiously.... It scared me... I believe that in an emergency and it needs doing you should look after yourself also. Do it wrong and it lives with you for a long time. I strongly suggest that someone who is confidend and competent should do the deed even then....
 
I am lucky as my husband used to shoot pheasants and pigeons and has on numerous occasions had to kill them. It is more difficult when the bird is a pet. That is why he killed my little boy chick as soon as we knew it was a boy. Leaving it longer in our experience made it worse. I am ashamed to say that I couldn't kill one although if I found one that had been attacked and was in pain maybe I could do it. I know a responsible owner should be able to do it but it is hard when you have never been brought up to kill animals for food etc.
 
valeriebutterley said:
Thanks everyone who input to this question. I really cannot see myself doing any of these methods, but I suppose I will have to learn, as a responsible owner. I would have to see it done before attempting it myself. VB.
Click to expand...

I think you are very sensible to say this. Like you, I used to think that as a responsible chicken keeper, I should be able to deal with culling my own birds when the need arose, and so I researched it thoroughly and one day I decided one of my old hybrids was in need of release. I didn't know anyone to ask for help so I just tried to do it myself. Well, I did manage it in the end but it was a horrible experience and I don't think i was as successful as I hoped in giving her a quick end. She was quite a small bird and I was surprised at how difficult it was to make sure her neck had broken. I didn't feel I could try it again with a larger bird, eg a cockerel, and when the next one needed to be PTS I took her to the vet and she just peacefully slipped away.
I appreciate that, for people who have large numbers of birds, it is financially necessary to kill your own, and in an emergency, eg a dog or fox attack, or if I found an injured bird in the countryside eg a wounded pheashant, I feel I would know how to do my best. But I have now decided that, for what are essentially pet birds who share my life for several years and give me lots of pleasure, not to speak of hundreds of lovely eggs, there really is no need to feel I 'had' to do anything to them if it sickened me and made me feel as if I'd broken the bond of trust built up over the years. Just because they cost comparatively little in the first place, doesn't mean that money spent on a quiet exit at the vet is wasted when the time comes. After all, almost nobody would feel they had to kill their own cat or dog, so why do we get the feeling that somehow it's a bit soft not to be able to dispatch a chicken?
 
Oh this is a hard one.......
I absolutely agree with VB, its a fantastic question(if a little senstive) from an obviously caring compassionate owner. She is obviously braver than I as its something I wanted clarified but didn't have the bottle to post.
But thanks for all the open honest reponses, I had never heard of the broomstick method.. I still don't think I could dispatch my own bird - unless it was ABSOLUTELY necessary at that point in time, I shall probably take any / all to my vets as they are primarily pets in my house.
But this post has got me worried about my 4 little eggs that my broody is sitting on...
 
You have my respect for that Claire. I suggest you ask huby that you may watch next time he does the deed. If you want to be able to do it "In an emergency" you need to be able to do it/ or at least SEE it before you can call yourself resposible in trying to cull a beast in distress... if you want peace of mind and to do it right.

If it is an emergency, the LAST thing you want to have to do is think hard on the different options. You need to KNOW a method you have seen and (idealy) done. You're heart will be breaking and emotions high..... Not to do so is expecting too much of someone if they want true peace of mind and no errors IF/WHEN the unfortunate situation occurs . Training or a vet.... How's that for a compromise ? :-)17 :-)04
 
Thanks again, Keith, Aileen, everyone who answered, I think I will have to find someone to do the deed for me.
One of the problems of course, is young, healthy beautiful cockerels that NO ONE wants. At the moment I have a stunning RIR. and a beautiful white Pekin - home hatched, in a large, chick friendly garden - but urban. The neighbours must be getting pretty p...ed off, - do not blame them at all.
I also had a bumper hatch of 15 out of sixteen Pekins, which I was not expecting - thanks to super eggs and an Octagon 20. One of the Pekins a girl, is miniscule probably ailing - but first to the food, so not that bad, we will obviously keep her, and another couple of girls, but what to do with the boys?
Sounds like irresponsible hatching, does'nt ? it, but it was'nt. All of these and the above are advertised on this and other sites - so far two gone on Omlet, and two in "tractors for sale"!!! Girls only of course.
Everyone - many thanks for your help and suggestions, all for now - anyone want Pekins, there is a an absolutely stunning silver partridge BOY!!!!!!, regards, Valerie.
 
This posting has made me think more deeper into this subject and what you have said Reb about me watching it being done has made me realise that I would feel quite scared even to watch it being done so I am probably kidding myself to think I could do it (especially reading your experience Marigold). The only thing is about taking them to a vet; what if it was an emergency and the bird was in pain and during a time when the vet was not open? This brings me back full circle to the fact that it would be good to be able to do it myself :-)05 :?
 
As others have said, I think it's a great idea to watch someone experienced culling a bird first and then ideally have them stand by while you do your first.

There are courses available or you could just try asking around and finding someone who knows what they are doing- my husband was fine with the idea of culling but unsure of the actual process until showed by his uncle who is an old school farmer. He now knows that he can perform the deed with the minimum of stress and discomfort to the animal which should of course be the ultimate aim.

If it wasn't for the hubby who is able to cull I wouldn't breed at all, sadly 50% of all the chicks that hatch turn out to be boys and I'm not 100% sure I would be able to cull myself, as yet I haven't had to but I'm sure there will be a time when I should do so.

VB- My advice is to ask local farmers/ gamekeepers/ poultry breeders to see of someone is willing to help you or at least show you what to do.
 
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