Zanya,

That is how hatcheries here do it, in fact worse - they toss the defective chicks in to a box and I cannot stand or stop it! At the very least, the stomp is an end to suffering. It is true that chickens will tromp all over any chick that is ill or has a club foot - the healthy survive.

"Pearl" is in residence in the house, our of the aviary, though she makes visits to the aviary in her cage and has taken up singing! So, there you have it. With peafowl, I had to ask another rancher to remove the bird in a crate and do it mercifully for me - the surgery went well, actually; I was thinking of her life in the aviary being over, and it is, but we can keep her in the house. I have reduced the population and stopped breeding. It is too heartbreaking at hatching time, and the population rises all too fast.

Best!