Culling chickens, killing chickens, chickens you’re not going to eat, other uses for older chickens
The word “cull” is both a noun and a verb. It can be used as the selective slaughter of wild animals or it can be the process of selecting from a large quantity. It can also mean to obtain from a variety of sources. So, in the process of selective breeding, you will often hear the phrase, “cull, and cull hard” or “you need to cull for that (particular trait).
What does this mean exactly? I was brought up that when you cull, you kill. In fact, I was told that the work kill comes from the word cull. This is what you get for not doing your research once you learn how to read. The truth is that the origin of the words cull and kill are no where near related and while kill comes from words that mean strike or blow, the word cull comes from words that mean to gather. So, used out of context this incorrect definition could really cause a problem. For the purposes of this article, I will use chickens as an example, but the concepts are applicable to all animals, even plants.
When you are told to cull for something positive, you need to gather it. You need to bring it out or enhance it in your line. In the negative you need to get rid of it. Make sure you ask your mentor or the person you are talking to what they mean by that. Am I culling in the positive or the negative? Do I WANT that trait or NOT? Mentors, you need to make sure you are using simple terms or explaining your meaning to these newbies so that they do not misunderstand what you mean. Remember that new endeavors always come with a learning period and vocabulary is a big part of that. These words are second nature to you, but are a foreign language to someone just starting out.
When you get rid of things you don’t want in your line or to perpetuate what do want, what do you do with the birds you don’t select? The standard answer is put them in the freezer, why waste money and time on an animal that has no value to your breeding program? The rising costs of everything at the time of this writing only drive the point home. This is a farm and the long and short of farming, homesteading or simply raising your own food in your backyard is to provide a source of food for you and your family, not provide a retirement home for birds that have no purpose.
If you read, “The Value of Old Birds” you will know that I have developed a soft spot for the animals I tend to. In fact, the other night I was very worried and sad when I couldn’t find Pip. Pip is a completely useless bird, generations of inbreeding from the hatchery have compounded in her and she has major dwarfing. I should have put her down (culled in the negative) when she was a chick, but I didn’t and here she is eight months old and just hangs out around the coop by herself all day. But there’s something about the retarded way she runs to me to be picked up and hand fed that brings a smile to my face every evening and I breathed a sign of relief and held her just a little more appreciatively when she appeared later last night for our evening ritual.
What about breeding though? You need hundreds of chicks to choose from to get a few that will be worthy of your program, especially if you are breeding to the standard of perfection. Using simple math, because we all know I don’t do math…let’s say we have 100 chicks and we decide 10 are good enough for the breeding pens. Now I have 90 birds I need to home and feed or sell and try to offset some of the costs of breeding. Is it fair to kill them all? Is if fair to sell or rehome them to others knowing you decided they weren’t the best?
I have more than one avenue of thought on this question. First, birds that are not show quality are not necessarily not breed quality. What else does the standard say? Is the bird supposed to be dual purpose for meat and eggs? Has selecting for the perfect color diminished the egg laying potential of the breed? In terms of perpetuating the breed itself do they become broody? If not, should they? In other words, what other desired traits are there that you could breed for outside of the show standard?
Second, I can’t afford to feed these 90 birds because I’m going to have another 90 birds in a very short period of time. I’m not going to kill all of them either. I’m going to raise some for the freezer, but I’m going to rehome some too. That being said, be honest when you do it. These are pure line x-breed, but I did not choose them as being the best for breeding should be part of your rehoming conversation.
These other traits you may want that don’t fit with the standard such as broodiness, egg production, hardiness, etc. should all be part of a well rounded homestead bird that is beautiful in my opinion.