Feeling Nervous

[Bessetti]

Okay... Today is slaughter day. I have never killed an animal before and I only have four birds to dispatch of. My neighbor (who culls 50+ birds a year) is going to show me the ropes. Any words of advice/encouragement?

It is very important to me that I do this for my son and I. These chickens have been raised with very good care and have led happy lives. I can't go on eating meat from the store, but I choose to eat meat. So I'm doing it in the most humane way I can think of.

 

[littlesparrow11]

We raised and slaughtered our meat birds for the same reasons- there are just so many problems with the meat industry. I know it can be hard to think about taking an animal's life, but your birds are so much luckier than any grocery store chicken. For us, it was helpful on harvest day to think of them as food that needed to be prepared... believe it or not that did make it easier to do. It's great that your neighbor will be there to help you- good luck!

 

[Rock Ranch]

I hope all went well, anytime life is to be taken its not fun but knowing how much better a life they had than those from the store makes it bearable.

 

[perchead]

Hope all goes well. I hate butchering and tend to put it off long as possible, but once you start it's no worse than a deer or fish you caught

 

[Toddrick]

It is hard killing and processing animal, but having a veteran help you should make it very smooth. I slaughtered my first deer under supervision and it was very methodical. I haven't processed a chicken yet, but I did cull one rooster, and it is actually harder in some ways because a deer/fish/squirrel was not under your care since birth. Anyways, I agree with your logic and I'm sure it will get easier, although never be anything to look forward to necessarily.

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

I cried the first time I dispatched a chicken, partly because it took much longer than I thought it should. I've worked hard to be sure that my methods are as quick and efficient and with as little drama as possible, both for myself and for the bird. I think that lack of drama is a big part for me. You can be kind and gentle with your chickens from the moment you first get them, moving quietly around them to keep them calm, trying to make their living conditions clean and spaceous and stress free and when the end comes, trying to maintain that calm. I've learned that there isn't a gentle way to kill a chicken and if you try to be gentle, you might actually prolong the process. Instead you need to be firm, calm and buisness like so that it is quick. Good luck.

 

[Bessetti]

thank you all for such kind, helpful advice! I am BEYOND glad my neighbor was there to show me the ropes. The entire process was extremely quick and not traumatizing. They cared just as much about the birds as I did and helped me ensure that they were completely at ease and did not suffer. Mind you, I cried when my father squished a moth as a child. And I go out of my way to save spiders/ants and out them outside. I had mentally prepared myself to be sobbing and a total mess! I actually felt HAPPY. Not that I had to kill the birds, but that they lived a MUCH better life than if I had bought them from the store , had a VERY humane and quick death, and I was actually able to provide food for my family. I then learned how to process the chicken, cut it up, and preserve it. Wow! It was such and eye opening experience. Viewing it as preparing food helped an enormous amount. I really think I want to do meat birds again in the future.

I also got a TON of meat from just my four birds! I was very impressed, I thought I would get less meat than store bought chicken per bird but I got much, much more. Thank you all again.

 

[Bessetti]

I hadn't read of my neighbors method online before (it's a combination of a few methods). He took a traffic cone and turned it upside down and cut the little end off (upcycling!). He attached it to a tree. He would calm the birds down first and then flip them into the cone. Once they became calm, he would tie their feet up also (it helped the blood drain faster and kept the birds more calm and still). They used a VERY sharp exacto like blade utility knife. Covered the birds eyes while exposing the neck and pulling down a bit (this way the bird was very calm because it was dark). Looked away from the bird, count to three, then slice the head off. The second it comes off we would throw it forward into the dense brush WITHOUT looking at it. Then we let it drain for a while. There was no flailing and no having to watch it die or prolonged suffering. It was much less gruesome than any video or article had led me to expect.

 

[Rock Ranch]

That's an interesting method I will have to try that. I have thought about a traffic cone for a killing cone. When the legs were tied together what were they tied to ? That's the only part that I'm confused about.

 

[Bessetti]

There was a branch above the cone, they were tied to a string and the string tied to the branch