DIY HUMANE way to Kill Slaughter Chicken (Stun-kill, Gas)

What we do Quick & Easy!!!

you need 2 people
2 - 5 gallon bucket
3 - storage bins
sharp knife
((try using it on leather something tough if you are doing a lot sharpen in between))

one holds body of chicken other holds neck out & cuts the head off (toss head in 1 bucket & toss body in other bucket (hold foot over top of bucket while trashing)
that was it they were done left in bucket till ready!

We hang after they are done trashing! with a bin under the birds!
other 2 bins 1 ice 1 water
((I wanted to do the ax)) so they didn't know what happened! but too much time for them to think!

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I have no problem with this! The life they had was Good well fed & a little spoiled!
 
Hi, I'm new to the forum but thought I would share my way of killing chickens and turkeys with you as I find it easy to do all on my own.

I made a funnel shaped bag out of stout fabric to put the bird into. The narrow end has a hole for its head to poke out of and the wide end has a draw string to pull tight and then tie the legs with. I got the idea watching animal rescue shows when they rescue swans and geese, being in the bag calms even wild birds so my birds never even struggle.

Then I put a baby sock over its head so I dont have to look it in the eye and it makes the bird even more relaxed. With my turkeys I had to lift and walk and then put them down for me to rest and then pick them up again and they never even tensed up, just dozed away till the end. It also makes them easier to maneuver into the jaws of my dispatcher.

Then I use something called a wall mounted humane dispatcher. It works like a wall mounted nut cracker with a hook shape to settle the neck into (just behind the head) and the top bit is a handle and a solid U shaped bit of metal that fits into the hook. Its a bit hard to explain but what it does is when you pull the handle with a firm fast pull it separates the neck vertebrae, breaks the spinal cord and blood vessels and completely separates the head from the neck bones WITHOUT breaking the skin!

And because the skin is stretchy, the body can bleed out into the space the broken neck provides so no blood spraying every where:D

Using a wall mounted dispatcher meant I could kill our poultry without any help from a squeamish husband and still manage to kill 40 plus pound turkeys.

I got my dispatcher from Dingle Poultry when we lived in Ireland and have only seen them on line for sale from over seas and yes, they are expensive but I wouldnt be without mine, a clean kill every time without any chance of mucking it up or cutting my self.

Win win all the way round really:cool:

If I didnt have my dispatcher I would still bag and sock the head and then I would probably try a set of long handled pruning shears, they would do the same kind of job but just a bit messier.

I have nothing but respect for anyone raising their meat and having the love and understanding to want the end to be as important as the life of their birds. Its really hard to kill some thing you have raised from a tiny baby but the feeling of satisfaction in knowing you did it is something money cant buy.
 
I couldn't find a link or a picture of one on the web although I did find Dingle Poultry. Do you have a link so we can see what you use?
 
The only trick with them is to make sure your jaws are set very close together and when you have pulled the handle to pull gently down on the bird if you are in any doubt as to a clean kill. The only time I had any trouble was with a year old rooster but even then it crushed the neck so he was well stunned and he bled out instead of having a clean break. He was well out of it, limp as a noodle so I know he didnt suffer but it taught me the gentle pull after handle slams down.

Then just hang by the feet till the thrashing round stops.

Easy peasy.

I have heard mixed reviews for dispatchers too but honestly, I cant see how anyone could muck it up:/

I cant seem to find my pictures of it in use but I will have a root round the computer and see if I can find them. A picture really is worth a thousand words;)
 
This is the first time I've read this post and all I can say is wow....

I mean seriously if you have to go such desperate measures to process your own poultry has it ever occured that you might just not be fit to do the deed.... period?

I understand the fact that most people want to do is to put meat on the table and such but there has to be a line. I mean inhaling different gases to see what the smell is like is on the border line of quite of few things....

There are a lot of good farmers and people for that matter that are willing to supply you with fresh chicken or infact do the deed for you.

I mean if your starving and need the chicken, your going to do whatever method it takes to eat, anyone would. So you must not be starving to death... because if it was you or the chicken.... I'm sure your motives would change.

This isn't meant to come accross bad but man if you can't do it.... you can't do it. Don't take it to the extreme of dangering yourself before you process. With all else if you can't do it and do not have the money... I will send you some seeds to plant yourself a garden so you can eat. Become a vegan if it bothers you this bad.
 
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Get a stout block of wood, a sharp hatchet, then chop the head off. Don't be a weenie, chop it off. Then hold the bird to keep it from "running around like a chicken with its head chopped off."

I whole heartedly agree with Brunty Farms, if you can't stomach harvesting a chicken then find someone to do it for you.

Jim
 
Brunty, Lazy J, I respect what you're trying to say and, to a certain extent, I agree with you. However, in some parts of the country, finding "someone to do it for you" is not the easiest thing. I think I would have no trouble killing my own quail, since they are small and probably don't require a lot of strength to do. However, I am uncertain about killing my own chickens/ducks because I don't know what I'm doing, don't know what kind of strength it takes, and would seriously hate to cause any animal suffering due to my ignorance or incompetence. My problem is that posting here about it resulted in one less than helpful response (even though this person lives less than 100 miles from me and could have possibly suggested someone, if he knew about it), Freecycle has not resulted in any response, and there does not seem to be any activity *yet* about the topic on Craigslist. We'll see, as the spring/summer goes on.

All I'm saying is to please try not to be so judgmental. Some of us want to do the right thing and not all of us who are reluctant to butcher our own birds for the first time actually campaign against animal rights activist activities.

Thanks.
 
theres noone in my area (at all) to do the deed for me..or i would go that route in a second....so sometimes we have to do it ourselves....
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I am sad every time I dispatch a bird. The easiest way I have found is to hang them upside down by their legs and stretch their necks out (not real tight), find the right place for your knife (under the feathers) then in one coordinated movement, pull down tight and slice hard. The head comes off and I run so as not to get spattered. My helper stands there with a hose and hoses the bird off. Seems to work for us.
 

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