Culling chickens is a common but controversial practice in poultry farming. But what exactly does it mean to cull a chicken? Here is a detailed look at this complex topic.
What Is Chicken Culling?
Culling refers to removing certain chickens from a flock and humanely euthanizing them It is done for various reasons
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To keep the right number of chickens in the flock when the coop can’t hold all of them Overcrowding causes stress and disease.
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To improve flock health by removing sick, injured or low producing chickens. This prevents illness from spreading.
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To eliminate aggressive roosters with dangerous behavior. They can injure hens and handlers.
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To quickly depopulate flocks to contain disease outbreaks like avian influenza. Millions were culled in the 2022 U.S. outbreak.
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To kill male chicks in the egg business because they can’t lay eggs Around 7 billion male chicks are culled globally each year.
So in essence, culling means killing selected chickens for welfare, productivity or emergency reasons.
Why Do Farmers Cull Chickens?
Here are some of the main reasons poultry farmers cull chickens:
1. Maintain Optimal Flock Size
Chicken coops have a fixed capacity suitable for a certain number of birds. Exceeding this causes overcrowding which allows diseases to spread rapidly. It also leads to decreased egg production as hens compete for nest space and other resources.
Farmers kill older hens that aren’t laying as many eggs as they used to so that they can make room for younger ones. This makes sure that the birds get the most eggs without putting their health and welfare at risk.
2. Remove Sick/Injured Chickens
A chicken that is hurt or sick can make the rest of the flock sick. In coops with a lot of birds, diseases like infectious bronchitis, coccidiosis, and fowl pox spread very quickly.
By humanely culling sick birds, farmers stop contagious diseases from infecting the entire flock. Only chickens with mild treatable conditions are given a chance to recover.
3. Eliminate Aggressive Roosters
Some roosters can become very aggressive and injure hens with their spurs and claws. They also disrupt the social order and cause stress in the flock.
Rather than risk hens or handlers getting harmed, aggressive roosters are routinely culled. Only docile roosters good at protecting hens are kept.
4. Rapid Flock Depopulation
During disease epidemics like avian flu, farmers are legally required to cull infected flocks to contain the outbreak. Chickens are often killed en masse using foam or carbon dioxide.
Over 52 million birds were culled in the 2022 U.S. avian influenza epidemic as a public health measure. Though tragic, it limited the virus’ spread.
5. Dispose of Male Layer Chicks
Male chicks don’t lay eggs so they’re considered useless in the commercial egg industry. They’re culled right after hatching since raising them for meat is unprofitable.
Around 7 billion male layer chicks are macerated or gassed each year. However, new sexing technology helps avoid killing them.
How Are Chickens Culled On Farms?
There are several culling methods, some more humane than others:
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Cervical Dislocation – Manually separating the spinal cord from the brain by stretching the neck. Causes immediate unconsciousness and brain death if done correctly. Considered most humane method.
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Asphyxiation – Depriving birds of oxygen via carbon dioxide, nitrogen foam or ventilation shutdown. Controversial but used for large scale killings.
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Maceration – Putting day-old chicks through high speed grinders. Causes instantaneous death but considered inhumane by many.
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Electrocution – Electrically stunning chickens to induce unconsciousness before slaughter. Can kill them if current is high enough.
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Shooting – Gunshot to the head causes immediate brain death. Quick but requires skilled precision.
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Decapitation – Severing the head with a sharp blade. Controversial due to handling stress.
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Suffocation – Sealing birds in crates/coops to deprive air. Arguably inhumane. Used only for mass emergency depopulation.
Of these methods, cervical dislocation and electrocution are considered the most humane when carried out correctly by trained professionals.
Controversy Around Culling Chickens
Though culling is standard practice in the poultry industry, it is quite controversial:
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Animal cruelty – Some culling methods like maceration and suffocation are considered inhumane even though they’re legal.
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Killing male chicks – The routine culling of billions of male chicks in the egg industry is facing growing backlash. More humane alternatives are being developed.
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Mass depopulation – The cruel killing of millions of birds to contain outbreaks also raises welfare concerns. However, it may be necessary from a public health standpoint.
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Emotional impact on farmers – Culling birds they have raised humanely can be emotionally traumatic for farmers. It takes a psychological toll.
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Lack of transparency – There is limited visibility into factory farm practices. Most culling happens behind closed doors, unlike small family-owned farms where practices are generally more transparent.
Alternatives To Culling Chickens
While culling is frequently deemed necessary in commercial poultry farming, some alternative approaches can minimize or avoid culling:
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Rehoming chickens – Instead of culling, older, less productive hens can be rehomed as pets or to small hobby farms. This gives them a chance to live out their natural lifespan.
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Keeping chickens longer – Small organic farms focused on animal welfare may keep hens for 4-5 years despite lower egg yields in older birds. They prioritize natural lifespan over maximum productivity.
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Medical treatment – Isolate and treat chickens with illnesses and injuries to avoid culling. However, treatment may not be financially viable on large commercial farms.
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Improving living conditions – Provide more space, cleanliness, ventilation and access to outdoors. This reduces illness and stress which lowers the need for culling.
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In-ovo sexing technology – Determine sex of fertilized eggs before hatching so male layer eggs can be destroyed early in incubation, avoiding chick culling.
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Dual purpose breeds – Breed chickens for both eggs and meat. Then males can also be raised for poultry meat instead of being killed as chicks.
Culling chickens is a complex practice that aims to maintain optimal flock health and production. However, certain culling methods raise welfare concerns while the killing of male chicks faces growing criticism.
There is a place for more humane practices like keeping birds longer, medical treatment, improving living conditions and technology like in-ovo sexing that reduces the need for culling.
Ultimately, there are no easy answers to this controversial issue. Poultry producers need to balance productivity, biosecurity, public health, ethics and consumer perceptions when making tough culling decisions for their flocks. But progress is being made to improve chicken welfare at all stages of commercial poultry production, including end of life management through more humane culling practices.
Identification of Poor Layers
After the laying flock has reached peak egg production and production begins to decrease, you should occasionally check your flock for poor producing hens. These poor producers have highly pigmented (yellow) beaks and shanks.
Culling by Individual Inspection
The modern egg producing strains of chickens usually have fewer poor producing hens if you manage the birds properly as pullets. In commercial egg laying operations the birds are not usually culled after being placed in the laying house unless the birds become diseased or crippled. In the small laying flock the hens should be culled about eight to ten weeks after being placed in the laying house. This allows the birds plenty of time to adjust to their new surroundings and reach peak production. It also provides extra time for the development of the slower maturing pullets. Often, you can tell which birds aren’t laying eggs or aren’t producing well by looking at the condition of their combs and heads. Body characteristics will indicate if the bird is capable of being a good layer.
| Character | Layer | Non-Layer |
| Comb & Wattles | Large, bright red, glossy | Small, dull, shriveled |
| Head | Neat, refined | Beefy, weak |
| Eye | Bright, prominent | Dull, sunken |
| Eye ring | Bleached | Yellow tinted |
| Beak | Bleached | Yellow |
| Abdomen | Deep, soft, pliable | Shallow, tough, tight |
| Pubic bones | Flexible, wide apart | Stiff, close together |
| Vent | Large, moist, bleached | Small, dry, puckered, yellow |
Culling at night is recommended, since the birds are less likely to be frightened and reduce egg production. A flashlight with the lens covered with blue cellophane will make it easier to detect poor layers without disturbing the flock. Handle the birds as little as possible so that production will not be greatly reduced. Delay culling if a significant portion of the flock is suffering or recovering from a minor disease or molt. Culling a diseased or molting flock often removes some of the better laying birds.
The general condition of a good layer will reflect health and vitality. The comb and wattles will be large, bright red, and glossy. The head will be trim and refined with large, bright eyes that reflect proper health. The eye rings will be bleached, indicating an onset of lay. The beak may either be fully bleached or becoming bleached.
In contrast to the good layer, the poor layer usually has smaller, poorly colored wattles and comb as well as dull, sunken dyes which reflect low vitality. The eye rings and beak of yellow skinned breeds of chickens will be yellow tinted.
A good layer will have a large, smooth, moist, almost white vent. The two small bones at the sides of the vent are called the pubic bones. They should be flexible and wide apart, with at least two finger widths between them. The abdomen should be deep, soft, and pliable without an accumulation of body fat. The depth of the abdomen is measured between the tip of the keel or breast bone and the pubic bones. Laying hens should have a depth of three or four finger widths.
The non-layer will usually have a smaller body with a shallow, firm abdomen. Pullets and non- laying hens have a depth of about two finger widths between the pubic bones and keel. The pubic bones are usually stiff and close together when the hen is not laying. The distance between the pubic bones is one finger width or less. The vent of a non-layer is usually small, puckered, and round.
How do you cull a chicken humanely? #chicken #homestead #backyardchickens #farmlife #homesteading
FAQ
What does culling the chickens mean?
Culling hens refers to the identification and removal of the non-laying or low producing hens from a laying flock. Unless the birds are diseased, they are suitable for marketing or home cooking. The following topics will address the molting process: Sight Culling. Culling by Individual Inspection.
Does cull mean to kill?
When talking about livestock and wildlife, “culling” usually means killing animals that have been removed because of things like their sex or species, or to stop the spread of disease.
Why do farmers cull chickens?
Yes, there have been reports of farmers culling chickens due to outbreaks of avian influenza (bird flu). In many cases, governments and agricultural organizations provide compensation to farmers for the culling of infected birds to control the spread of the disease and to mitigate financial losses.
What does it mean to cull an animal?
to lower or control the number of (something, like a herd) by getting rid of the weakest or sickest ones (by hunting or killing them). The town issued hunting licenses in order to cull the deer population. culling a herd of cattle. also : to hunt or kill (individuals) for culling. culling diseased cows.
What is culling a chicken?
The term “culling” is a sanitized way of referring to the process of removing chickens from a flock and killing them. The shocking mass killing of day-old male chicks as part of the egg production industry is perhaps one of the best-known examples of culling, but millions of other birds are annually culled for a variety of reasons.
Why do I need to cull my chickens?
There are several reasons why you need to cull your chickens. To begin with, the process of culling helps you get rid of diseased or injured chickens. This, in turn, reduces the risk of other chickens contracting the disease from the sick birds. Culling increases chicken feed and water space for other chickens.
Should you cull a chicken?
Deciding to cull a chicken is never easy. You have to weigh many things, including the chicken’s well-being and the health of your entire flock. Sometimes culling is the more humane option, especially if a chicken is suffering. Financially speaking, keeping a chicken that’s not producing eggs or is causing problems can also be a burden.
How do I know if my chickens need culling?
Signs to look for include reduced egg production, frequent illness, or poor physical condition. Emotional preparation: Culling can be emotionally challenging, especially if you have raised the chickens. Understanding the necessity of culling as part of responsible flock management is crucial.
Why do chicken farmers cull chicks?
Farmers kill chicks for a number of reasons, such as: Keeping diseases from spreading: If your chicks are weak, it could mean they are sick. With culling, you get to contain the disease before it spreads. Earlier this year, there was an outbreak of avian flu, and culling was recommended.
Which chickens should be culled?
Consider culling excess roosters, nonproductive hens, and slow-molting hens. After processing these culled birds, you can look forward to tasty chicken dinners because chickens eliminated from home flocks tend to be more flavorful than supermarket birds.