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

[WalkingWolf]

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That is how the chicken plants do it, I have a friend who runs a Purdue chicken plant.

From what he tells me they are hung upside down by the feet and pass on conveyor to a shock device that knocks them unconscious, and then a automated slicer cuts the throat(all automated). I will ask him the voltage and amperage next time I talk to him. Maybe it is close to the same as a personal stun device.

I may be wrong on the hanging by the feet, seems to me it is actually the head, because when shocked the chickens empty their bowels. And the neck slicer makes more sense if hung by the neck. Seems there are a lot of government regulations on how to kill a chicken.

 

[TimG]

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I really think this post is more about the personal aspect of slaughter than with finding a humane way to slaughter.

The poster does not want to look into the chicken's eyes or see the twitching (which is perceived by a human as pain even if the chicken brain is not attached to the chicken's twitching parts).

I think it is OK if you can't bring yourself to do the deed whether it is by axe, but slitting, by breaking a neck, or by shocking. I don't think it is hypocritical if you cannot bring yourself to do the deed, but can pay someone else to do the deed. Hypocritical would be criticizing someone else for being able to do the deed while you're dining on meat that you paid someone else to slaughter (whether it be meat you raised or you bought at the grocery store).

I've slaughtered a grand total of one chicken in my life. I am not ashamed to say that I was a bit apprehensive and that it took me a few seconds to get up the courage to actually swing the hatchet even after the chicken and I were in position. It was an experience that I am not likely to forget, but it was not life altering (for me).

I don't think a chicken knows that its life is about to end. For it, the experience of being held or restrained prior to killing is no different from when I hold it and inspect its feathers and skin or restrain it while it is being weighed. It doesn't know that the axe or knife in my hand is about to be used to kill it. Whichever method is used, there is likely an instant of pain before unconsciousness or death. But, I don't think the chicken has the time (or the smarts) to shift from the fear of being held/restrained to the fear of death. If, that is, chickens even experience fear as opposed to instinctual reaction to what humans might characterize as danger.

I think a lot of the hang-ups associated with slaughter are the result of projecting human feelings and thoughts into a chicken. We can't know exactly how the mind of a chicken works, but it is a fair bet that it is nothing like the consciousness of a human.

 

[Nikki28]

I still like Gbov's way of doing it (posted earlier) what a great idea! Putting a baby sock over the chickens head will keep it calm and you don't have to look in their eyes. It makes since we would cover the heads of the wild birds we worked with to keep them calm.

 

[estpr13]

This is starting to become a good thread. I really like the different mature perspectives on this issue.

I own and still use a .22, and a high powered pellet gun, but if I can reach out with my hand to get my food, that is the way I do it. It is my preference.

A mature and thoughtful use of the .22 is good but requires background training to use responsibly, like WalkingWolf says. I would put its use into the "professional method" category.

I don't advocate someone going out and buying a .22 just to kill chickens, when there are other methods available. Guns require respect and responsible users, and that takes time and experience.

Becky and Buster, I like your posts as well. Keep up the good work and professional tone on this sensitive subject.

 

[dancingbear]

There seems to be some confusion about the act of shooting a chicken (or other critter). When we raised turkeys, my DH dispatched them by walking up behind them and shooting them in the head. Since he's taller than a turkey, and the turkeys were always standing on the ground, they were not in a tree, perched on top of a power pole or up on the roof, the shots were aimed in a downward direction. Even if he had missed, the bullet would have gone into the ground, not flying off into some passing car or other inappropriate place.

Contrary to some opinions, it doesn't really require a super genius to figure out the you should pay attention to where you aim. Not many people would be chasing a bird all over the field, taking shots at it in a reckless and dangerous manner such as some suggest. Taking careful aim at a bird ON THE GROUND, especially one that's restrained, or at least not paying much attention to you, is not that huge a risk.

People who manage to turn such a thing into a public danger are probably people who turn everything they do into a public danger, whether it involves firearms or not. I've met a few people like that. I'm always surprised that they aren't either dead or locked up in a nice padded room somewhere. Those few should probably not be encouraged to kill a chicken in any way whatsoever, as I'm certain that if they were armed with axes, sharp knives, hammers, or other implements of destruction, they would be also be dangerous, at least to themselves, if not to others.

Shooting a bird in the manner described by Walking Wolf, or as done by my ex-Marine DH, (Marines have excellent firearm training, if there are any of you unaware of that) is perfectly safe, if you use any common sense at all. I'm not the sharpshooter that he is, but I can hit a distant target. I believe I could most likely manage, by some miracle, to hit a target right in front of me, with the gun pointing toward the bird and the ground, without killing myself, the dog, the neighbors, passing motorists, or people in the next county.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

I had 2 roos to process today and put each one to sleep before dispatching. I tucked the head up under a wing, held the bird by his sides, head down, and swung him side to side about 10 times. This put the birds to sleep so deeply I could lay them on the table and they wouldn't move while I zip-tied their feet and taped their wings to their sides.

One was breathing so deeply it sounded like he was snoring.

They barely woke up when I hung them from the frame to slit their throats. I like to think this is a humane way to dispatch chickens, surrounded by the familiar sights & sounds in the yard, not feeling alarmed or threatened, but instead lulled into a deep sleep right before the end.

 

[dancingbear]

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Wow. That's cool. I'll try it. I've tried 'hypnotizing' chickens without success, but I'm always willing to try again. Thanks for posting that.

 

[estpr13]

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Wow. That's cool. I'll try it. I've tried 'hypnotizing' chickens without success, but I'm always willing to try again. Thanks for posting that.

I agree. I have my three last Cornish x's to process this week and will try that. Thanks for the post Sunny Side Up.

 

[Buster52]

Apparently studies have been conducted regarding humaneness of the use of gases and electric shock during slaughter...

http://www.grandin.com/references/humane.slaughter.html

 

[warmfuzzies]

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I still cant get the throat slit fast enough for them to bleed out, so I will stick to the chopping black and axe, but everything you said is very very true.