Peanut kits ethics question.

[Kyle@theWintertime]

So my litter of two is now a litter of FOUR!!! The "second half" was a normal kit, and a very obvious peanut. The first "peanut" might actually just be a really tiny runt.

The runty-kit "peanut" is doing great, it's lively and squirmy, crawls all over it's bigger siblings, uses them as a pillow (or throne, LOL) and it has a nice big taunt belly like they do. It's obviously nursing and thriving.

The obvious peanut though...I don't think it will make it. It isn't very lively, it barely crawls around when I take it out of the nest, and it's belly is wrinkly and tiny. I don't think it's fed yet. Not once.

This is my first litter of Mini Rex (I am not going to count Liz's tragedy-litter). I knew I'd get peanuts from time to time and my viewpoint was that I'd let nature take it's course unless the litter was very large. I'd let the peanuts just stay with their siblings no matter what.

Well...now I'm having issues, LOL. Humane treatment and quality of life are very, very important to me...and this shriveled peanut doesn't look good. I know all peanuts die eventually. I do NOT want this thing to suffer...but I hate to cull a kit unless it is OBVIOUSLY suffering. The little thing isn't even trying to move much...I don't think it's in pain or anything, but...well I'm just not sure what to do about it. Do I cull or no?

I put all four kits onto an old t-shirt to take some photos, and the three healthy, vibrant kits (including the runt) climbed right on top of the weak kit. You can barely see it in any of the photos...they just dogpiled the poor thing. :/

And anyways, how would you cull a sickly kit? I don't think I can swing it hard enough in a bag or whatever to smack it to death. I'm really, really unsure of what to do, LOL.

 

[Cottie]

I put off culling mine for 2 weeks. I tried another method, failed. Then I had to swing. If anything, I swung harder than necessary, just to ensure I got it over with as fast as possible.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

If it was the depths of winter and you needed the extra body to keep the others warm I might say let it linger to save the others. But since that is not the case now, I would cull it because it is the humane thing to do.

The only way I have culled small animals like that is the bag method you mentioned. I don't think it takes much force to break their necks, but I always swing really hard anyway.

Sorry about your dilemma.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

I hold them by their back legs and smack the back of their head against a solid surface. It only takes one good, hard whack. Sounds awful, but it is quick and sure.

 

[ladysown]

peanuts....oh the dear wee things... They generally do not survive.

My approach is this.
I give you a day.. a day tells me if you are eating. But I can't much abide an animal suffering.
But after a day I pick you up, and whack/throw you hard on the floor like I'm throwing a bouncy ball hard to hit a high ceiling. Instantaneous death.

Put in freezer, go to snake guy.

 

[Kyle@theWintertime]

peanuts....oh the dear wee things... They generally do not survive.

My approach is this.
I give you a day.. a day tells me if you are eating. But I can't much abide an animal suffering.
But after a day I pick you up, and whack/throw you hard on the floor like I'm throwing a bouncy ball hard to hit a high ceiling. Instantaneous death.

Put in freezer, go to snake guy.

I just called a friend who keeps snakes...I'm going to cull this poor thing and drop it off for a cornsnake. That way it will at least have a purpose.<br /><br />__________ Thu Jul 18, 2013 5:58 pm __________<br /><br />I put it down. I swung it really hard onto the edge of a stone countertop. I may have swung a little excessively hard, the back of its head was caved in...but at least I know it didn't hurt and that it isn't suffering now.