Hey everyone!
I have an extra rooster who needs to go, he is starting to destroy my hens.
I know I need to learn how to cull birds anyway because I have had a few sick ones that I just ended up paying a ridiculous amount of money to bring to the vet. I figured that it would be best to process him since he also has a wing defect and nobody in my local backyard chicken groups seems to want him.
I’m just really struggling with it.
I’ve watched all the videos and can get all of the tools. I’m really okay with death or so I thought and considered myself somewhat tough but I really can’t seem to get over this mental block of killing something.
Can anyone offer support or tips?
I eat meat from the grocery store and am trying very hard to get over my disconnect from where my food comes from and feel like such a hypocrite.
No answer or story is too long or weird. Tell me about how you felt before and after. Thanks so much!
by gtarantino
20 Comments
if its not hard, your weird. I cant even say it gets much easier tbh. but you are feeding yourself and your family. be grateful to the beast you are taking for sustenance and treat each and everyone with the respect a life deserves. make it quick, make it stress free and try not to think about it between times.
It’s always kinda hard, but I will say I always look forward to cooking and eating animals I’ve raised knowing it had a good life here. The only hard part is the actual killing. It gets easier over time, especially when that disconnect starts to go away and you really internalize what grocery store meat goes through before it gets to you.
That being said, I have a bunch of chickens I need to process and I’ve been putting it off because it is indeed an unpleasant task, but I look at it as almost a necessity to at least be able to do that as a person who chooses to eat meat.
Yeah, you’re not alone. Personally I don’t think it’s worth it.
I hunt and have to do varmint control occasionally, so I’ve had to get over killing things. It’s not easy but it gets easier with practice. When it comes to chickens, that’s not the hard part for me, although it’s unpleasant.
The thing I really can’t get over is the amount of work it goes into processing the bird for consumption. It takes for fucking ever, all for some stringy crock-pot meat that’s going to have pin feathers in the skin no matter how much time you waste plucking. It’s like… yeah, I like chicken as much as the next guy, but am I going to burn half a day cleaning and plucking a single carcass just for some chicken soup? If it was the only meat around and I had nothing better to do, sure. But it’s not the only meat around and I have *lots* of better things to do.
So yeah, I don’t know what to do with my spare roosters either. Even once you get past the killing part, it’s a real pain in the butt — which is also why local farms here sell whole processed young chickens for $8/lb. I can get top sirloin steak from Wal-Mart cheaper than that. It’s crazy.
It is a hard thing to do to the birds you raised and fed and kept safe. However, remember you provided them a great life and now in turn they will provide to you. Having a chicken plucker is great for single or multiple chickens but if you don’t it’s completely doable by hand! We processed our first 15 chickens without a plucker, it took a long time but we got it done. Since that batch we have used a plucker.
We have a video on YouTube showing our setup, the process from start to finish (killing, dipping, plucking, butchering – quick butcher method with no gutting, & packaging).
https://youtu.be/jtb6oP4nG5g?si=rHQFxxME778AgQ5q
If you are able to use a firearm, it makes the process a little easier emotionally. Then just skin the carcass. No feathers, no leathery skin, takes maybe 10 minutes if you get really good at it
here are some tips i sent a friend when they had the same issue:
**step 1 is to commit to killing them** – this sounds weird, but any guilt/sadness/hesitation on your part can draw out the process and lead to extreme stress or pain for the bird. once you start, you’ve got to see it through. the first time is emotionally the hardest and it will never feel easy or pleasant, but after this, culling chickens won’t be as emotionally taxing as before.
you want to catch the chicken at night, when they’re sleepiest and slowest. keep them in a dog crate or somewhere quiet and confined to minimize stress until you’re ready for business. if you’re doing multiples, don’t let the birds have a line of sight to where you’re killing other birds. restrain their wings against their body with a soft rope.
the two recommended methods of execution are **cervical dislocation and decapitation**. i use [this guide](https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/how-to-process-a-chicken-at-home.63089/) every time i cull a chicken, with the exception of the cone method. i don’t use the cone method since i botched it on my first rooster ever and felt terribly after, although people say that it’s easy once you get the motion right. it’s also not as humane as cervical dislocation, according to some vet association ([here’s a link](https://the-chicken-chick.com/how-to-humanely-euthanize-chicken-by-dr/) but there are more sources if needed). if you decide to use the cone, use the sharpest blade you have, and remember to cut underneath, not through, their feathers – their feather shafts are so strong they’ll block a blade.
i recommend the broomstick method, a type of cervical dislocation. i’ve done it with a partner and by myself – lay the bird down, place a broomstick lightly on their neck between the vertebrae, then when you’re ready, one person steps down with both feet on the broomstick and the other pulls the bird by the feet towards them. you don’t want to pull so hard you rip the bird’s head off or crunch their bones, but hard enough that you feel the spine disconnect. the bird WILL thrash wildly for 30sec-1min, but i promise that once the cervix is dislocated, they’re not alive and ‘experiencing’ things anymore. after they settle down, feel free to cut the throat and let the blood out or take the head off, before moving on to the rest of the cleanout.
another thing about the above linked guide – i find that when it comes time to start the gut cleanout, pinch the center of their belly about 2in above their vent, and make a single cut across there, instead of cutting at the sides. by pinching, you avoid the intestines anyway, so it saves a step.
don’t be surprised if the first time takes the longest! the first time i cleaned a bird took like 4 hours, now I can get it down to 1-2. you want to pluck the bird immediately, so have a big pot simmering with warm water and dish detergent – not boiling, or they’ll cook. then, use the rest of the instruction guide for making your first cuts, removing the digestive tract, etc.after all is said and done, let the bird rest on a plate in the fridge for 3-4 days – rigor will have passed at this point, and you’re free to turn it into something tasty.
I’ve been thinking on this as a new chicken owner. I’ve hunted before so I’m kind of used to it. I still get upset when the animal dies, I know it’s going to be hard the first time I have to cull. hopefully that’s still a few years away. I don’t plan on it once they stop laying though. I think that’s the part I’m having trouble with, even though I lose my patience and really do want to cook one up just for pissing me off. Not common though, last time I got mad a hen threw a baby chick out of the baby coop because she wanted to lay eggs in there.
I remember seeing a video a long time ago, I think it was on permies. This lady had a sick chicken and she put it on her lap and made the chicken really calm by petting it and such. She used a razor blade or some super razor sharp blade and poked the carotid artery in the chickens neck and it bled out without even realizing anything. I wish I could find that video again.
As others have said I’m sure, taking a life can be hard. It does get easier to a point. A lot of us were raised in an environment that it was a normal “every day” thing. Think about fishing, you kill and clean a fish. some people were raised with chickens or rabbits and as an adult returning to what they grew up with. but when you have never done either it hurts a bit mentally. its ok. it should hurt. You probably have an “out” if you are in the suburbs of a city or town, it may actually be prohibited. We can have chickens in out town, you just can kill them. eggs only.
I dunno. Maybe this is a clue worthy of exploring further. Either way, I appreciate your thoughtfulness and wish you the best in reconciling it all.
It was very hard for me. It still is. The first time I did it I had my husband help. It was hard and didn’t go well. He refuses to do any more birds.
But, like you I eat grocery store chicken and felt like I needed to take more responsibility for my meat consumption. I finally called around to a few local farms and asked if I could come help on their processing day so I could get some hands on experience and have expert help. This was a marvelous way for me to learn and practice the process without having to go it alone. They were thrilled to have another pair of hands to help and I had someone right there to guide me through the first couple of birds. After about 5 birds I felt so much more confident.
It’s still really hard for me to look at a beautiful bird I’ve raised from an egg and know I have to cull them but at least now I’m confident I can do the process well and humanely. The idea of it hasn’t gotten easier but the actual doing of it has.
I can really relate. Everyone in the thread had good suggestions and thoughts. If you ultimately decide you just cannot do it yourself, you may be able to find a farmer or butcher in your area who will do it for you, either for a fee or maybe just for the meat.
It never should be easy to take another life whether 2 legged, four legged, swims or crawls. Each has been placed on this earth for one reason or another. I would be extremely worried if someone found it easy or took pleasure taking another life.
It sucks dude. You’ll cry, you might make mistakes. You’ll feel like the chickens hate you.
I remember buddy noodle soup. Ya sorry, I couldn’t stomach it.
Honestly just shut off the brain and go through the motion
Prepare a much as you can, watch a lot of YouTube videos.
Understand that the first time is going to go ***BAD*** and there’s nothing you can do about it.
It gets better and easier the more you do it.
Just try your best and forgive yourself when (not if) or gets ugly
The processing part is way easier than it seems. My first was a few months ago with some extra roosters. I bought brand new blades to make sure suffering was minimize. Thats all you can hope for. There definitely is a mental block but its one of those things that you need to get over. I kept telling myself that it was okay to hurt/kill this thing if I make its departure was as painfree as possible and to respect its sacrifice by using its meat to feed my family. Were you the same way when fishing or crabbing, etc?
Respect the life you’re taking but accept it’s the way of the world and know nothing will be wasted
Do you have anyone near you who is experienced with processing? You could ask them to come out and show you how to do it properly and explain the process. Then you can do your next bird with more confidence
This is a great discussion