chicken culling question

[6of6chicks]

I was reading another thread about humane ways to kill a chicken. There were lots of detailed descriptions, which was very informative and helpful. But I've never personally seen this done, and if I tried to do it based on the descriptions I'd end up torturing the poor bird. It may SOUND simple to say "axe and wood block," but to someone who has NEVER done this it sounds terrifying. I know this is going to sound like a ridiculously morbid request, but can anyone recommend a good video that will show a how-to for humanely killing a chicken?

I'm kind of nauseous just typing that! But I tried looking it up on YouTube and I got all kinds of horrifying dead chicken videos - everything from undercover investigations on animal cruelty to chickens being buried alive in South Korea. Some videos seemed like what I was looking for, but I honestly couldn't bring myself to click on anything because I was scared of what might come up.

I really love my little balls of fluff (6 week old Orpingtons) and right now can't imagine eating them. But realistically I want to move towards a lifestyle that is based on self-sufficiency. And realistically, expanding my flock and keeping meat birds is part of my plan. So I will have to learn how to do this eventually. I don't want to be one of those people who think it's cruel to kill a chicken but will happily scarf down a fried chicken dinner (not to judge anyone or get on a soap box - no offense intended). But I feel like if I'm going to eat chickens, then I need to be respectful of the fact that that requires taking a life - and when the time comes I want to give my birds the BEST death possible. For that I really need to see it done before I try it myself!

Anyway, please don't think I'm creepy (even though I FEEL creepy just asking about this!). I'm just trying to be honest and responsible about the realities of keeping chickens, and I'm hoping someone can point me towards an instructional/educational video that can show me how to humanely get the job done.

 

[iwiw60]

 

[chicken hawc]

My family and I are on our third year of raising chickens for the dinner table. We have buff orpingtons for our egg layers and cornish X for our butchering chickens. We have butchered some of our buff chickens, and while they do taste great, in my opinion their isnt enough meat for the trouble. We only use the cornish x now for meat. They are easy to raise and the turn around is about 8 weeks vs 16 weeks or longer with the buff orpingtons.

Now to your question. We have experimented with a few different ways to cull our chickens. I prefer a kill cone attached to a post and a fish fillet knife. Drop the chicken head first into the cone: the head and neck will stick out from the bottom of the cone. Grab the head with one hand and pull downward: I use my thumb to push some of the neck feathers out of the way. The neck has a main artery on either side right behind the ear, and a wind pipe directly down the center. You will want to cut at an angle from below the ear towards the center of the neck. It takes some practice but you want to try not to cut the wind pipe in the center of the neck. It is nowhere near as hard as it may sound. A good sharp knife and a deep angled cut will cull the chicken very quickly and humane.

I hope that is of some help to you. If you decide on the cornish X in the future, they are a dirty bird and by the end of 8 weeks you will have no problem sending them to freezer camp.

 

[6of6chicks]

Thank you - that video was VERY helpful! Although I will admit I cringed while watching it!

My six little buff orpingtons will probably always be egg-laying pets (fingers crossed). But it is almost shocking how as soon as you get a few chickens you start dreaming about expanding! They weren't even out of the brooder yet and I was already out in the yard with the tape measure planning where coop/run #2 is going to go! That coop will be for meat birds, and I have a lot of planning/researching to do before I'm ready for "Phase 2" (as I've started calling my chicken experience). But for me, personally, I felt I needed to face the reality of killing a chicken before I even start thinking about the next coop!

So I cringed while watching the video, but I also know that I can do that. I hope it doesn't make me a bad person to think of my future flock of birds as future dinners. I feel better about raising my own birds, giving them the happiest lives I can provide while they are alive, and ending their lives humanely, than I do about buying shrink-wrapped chicken parts from the grocery store. Anyway - really not intending to start a moral debate!

Thank you, and I'm sure I'll be back to "Meat Bird" forum in the future. Very helpful!!

 

[RedMini]

I hope that is of some help to you.  If you decide on the cornish X in the future,  they are a dirty bird and by the end of 8 weeks you will have no problem sending them to freezer camp. 

Sorry but this made me laugh a bit. They are a very dirty bird indeed!

Freezer camp