Axe/hatchet method of chicken dispatch - is it the most humane and cost-efficient method?

[Brooks_]

Whatever you can carry out confidently and humanely is the best.

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

I think it all comes back to the advice that @Ridgerunner always gives -- the best way is the way that works best for you.

@RiverOtter -- when you machete the chicken in the cone, do you just sweep the machete through like a sword stroke, or is the bird hanging near a wooden wall/board that you smack the machete into? You holding on the head as you do this?

Good advice. Thank you.

And I had that same question about the machete thing!

 

[Glennda]

Another thing to tuck away but do not forget....I am 70 y/o (plus a few) and I still remember seeing the neighbor cutting off heads----I might have been about five y/o. It surprised me but not too bad---the neighbor was a family friend, she showed me around the chicken yard but most importantly she calmly told me the chicken didn't feel it and didn't KNOW he was running in circles, without his head. Yes, I was shocked at first but I took-on HER attitude and remained calm....because of her explanations. (Turns out the dead armadillo's tail coming-off in my hand was much worse. LOL)

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

Another thing to tuck away but do not forget....I am 70 y/o (plus a few) and I still remember seeing the neighbor cutting off heads----I might have been about five y/o. It surprised me but not too bad---the neighbor was a family friend, she showed me around the chicken yard but most importantly she calmly told me the chicken didn't feel it and didn't KNOW he was running in circles, without his head. Yes, I was shocked at first but I took-on HER attitude and remained calm....because of her explanations. (Turns out the dead armadillo's tail coming-off in my hand was much worse. LOL)

I appreciate that advice and your perspective as someone "more experienced" in life than I. Thank you.

 

[3KillerBs]

Thanks for sharing this! Reading that was helpful. Also that's kind if nice to know how neatly things go for you with the broomstick method. Maybe I'll bring to us to my husband to see if he would consider that method.

Whatever way is the most comfortable for you and that you are sure you can accomplish is best. If you can find someone to teach you then whatever method you are taught is best because being taught in person beats learning from a video or a photo essay by a long shot.

 

[RiverOtter]

Wow! You guys are blood-thirsty!
Why not just...

"Grab the legs with your left hand, and the neck with your right hand so that it protrudes through the two middle fingers and the head is cupped in the palm. Push your right hand downward and turn it so the chicken’s head bends backward. Stop as soon as you feel the backbone break, or you will pull the head off." - The John Seymour way.

That's the way I was shown a long time ago, and it's less of a strain on the chicken or the person who has to do it!

Do we really need all that blood, cones, Spanish inquisition stuff, etc?

Blood thirsty? Spanish inquisition? And then you go on about breaking a chicken's neck by hand, as if that's impossible to screw up and have the poor thing suffer. I don't know about you, my chickens mostly instinctively panic when picked up - you kill them scared? They calm down after a bit, and cones are very humane for the bird. Any bird that is head-down for more than a few seconds goes into stupor. They go limp, breath deeply and are aware of very little so long as the head stays down.

I think it all comes back to the advice that @Ridgerunner always gives -- the best way is the way that works best for you.

@RiverOtter -- when you machete the chicken in the cone, do you just sweep the machete through like a sword stroke, or is the bird hanging near a wooden wall/board that you smack the machete into? You holding on the head as you do this?

The bird is hanging on a wooden wall/beam that I smack the machete into. My machete was $7 at the tractor supply, easy to sharpen and there is no missing with it. No, I don't hold the head, or have to, after a couple of seconds head down, they are relaxed and the neck extends. A very rare bird won't do this immediately, if you hold the head down gently with it's eyes covered for just a second, it will go into stupor. ~ I also do this if a bird needs to be doctored in any way. They wake up and don't seem to remember anything after you turn them right side up again.

 

[high5]

And then you go on about breaking a chicken's neck by hand, as if that's impossible to screw up and have the poor thing suffer

If you know what you're doing, you don't screw up.
Horses for courses, I suppose. I still prefer the bloodless path.

 

[high5]

I think it all comes back to the advice that @Ridgerunner always gives -- the best way is the way that works best for you.

Absolutely!

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

Whatever way is the most comfortable for you and that you are sure you can accomplish is best. If you can find someone to teach you then whatever method you are taught is best because being taught in person beats learning from a video or a photo essay by a long shot.

Thanks. Yeah, my only resource so far has been what I can find online, and what little my husband remembers from his childhood. I'm from the suburbs and live in the city now, so there aren't many who can teach me. But I've seen some urban farms selling pasture-raised meat though, I wonder if someone there could show me if they raise and slaughter their own.

But if not, I'll just prepare myself with whatever resources I have here, and then just go for it and learn by doing. Gotta learn somehow!

 

[BarnyardChaos]

After many different trials and errors (regrettably), I've settled on this method: I use a killing cone and PVC cutters. It's fast, no bruising or broken wings, the bird suffers as little as possible, mess is contained, little risk of injuries to myself - and I don't make mistakes.

I grip the bird's beak to hold the head steady, then one FIRM clip with the cutters below the jaw area, and it's done. I have full control of the cutters and the bird.

I bought the biggest PVC cutter I could find that did NOT have a ratchet grip, and some extra blades. (I worried that the ratchet would take a few squeezes to cut through - mine has a spring-loaded handle that closes with one squeeze.) 1-5/8" size, about $15.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-PVC-Pipe-Cutter/5003750421