The Meaning of Culling

Culling—or removing—undesirable, sick or under-producing animals from a herd or flock allows farmers the opportunity to improve production. Whether it be sheep, cattle, chickens or goats, culling inferior specimens strengthens the overall profitability of the business.

  1. Sight Culling

    • Identifying sick, undersized, crippled or weak animals by visual inspection facilitates quick culling. The farmer studies each animal's outward appearance, noting signs of disease, malformation or injury, in order to make an informed decision.

    Production Evaluation

    • Evaluating the production of each animal provides the farmer with the information necessary to determine whether to cull a particular animal from the program. Considerations such as egg production, reproduction and potential meat quality are factored into the decision.

    Age Culling

    • As animals age, factors such as maintenance, feeding, reproductive ability and soundness of body gain in importance. If the animal will cost more to maintain than it will contribute, culling it will save money in the long run.

    Genetic Progress

    • Culling a percentage of a herd's population once a year by removing older animals, animals that reproduce less frequently or have physical imperfections, and replacing them with stronger, healthier specimens strengthens the herd's probability of producing better quality offspring.

    Disposition Issues

    • Dealing with bad dispositions within a herd or flock by culling the problematic animals improves the program's overall quality. The time spent dealing with animals that fight, injure offspring or refuse to stay with the herd is eliminated, resulting in more efficient time management.