How To Humanely Euthanize A Chicken..

[gypsychicken]

Has anyone ever tried chloroform to put chickens out before slaughter? Would it make the meat toxic in such a low dose? I would love to just knock them out first and then do the deed. Anyone have any ideas on this?

 

[Audio51]

Has anyone ever tried chloroform to put chickens out before slaughter? Would it make the meat toxic in such a low dose? I would love to just knock them out first and then do the deed. Anyone have any ideas on this?

Never tried anything like that. I am not sure it would benefit the bird though. I think it has a bad odor and would cause stress before it knocked them out.

 

[hennypenny82]

There are so many recommendations here that are astoundingly cruel. Please don't freeze your chicken or use the carbon monoxide method- both are horribly uncomfortable. Carbon dioxide also causes panic and is a prolonged death. I've just been faced with the same dilemma and simply took my little 5 week old chicken to the vet. They charged $15 for an anaesthetic and it was over instantly. Animals deserve kindness, even in death.

 

[teria]

I'm preparing to euthanize our two turkeys, and wanted to know how much of the baking soda and vinegar you would use for an animal that size?

We're probably going to just take the plastic playhouse they are using as their coop, seal it up with duct tape and plastic, and run a shop vac hose from a tail pipe of a car into it. I was thinking that they would be less stressed to be in a familiar place, and we would put the playhouse far enough away from the car so the turkeys can't really hear the engine start up. At least not loud enough to disturb them.

First I will put a rag or two soaked in ether inside the sealed coop. Then put the turkeys inside with a treat to make them distracted and relaxed. Once they are closed up inside we can start the car and run it long enough to fill the playhouse.

So, for those who have done it, how long would you run the gas into it before you turn off the car?

If we have to, we can resort to the baking soda/vinegar method, but, I don't think a space as large as the playhouse will really work, and I wouldn't like the idea of trying to force a large turkey into a plastic bin no matter how big it is.

 

[Blooie]

Okay, why do you want the turkeys dead is the first question. Because if you want them for the meat considering the holidays are coming, the last thing you'd want to do is poison them to get it. Makes no sense. If meat is the answer, why get them, spend all the money on food, fencing, and housing just to end up with meat I sure wouldn't put into my family? What that turkey inhales goes into the blood stream. The blood is what feeds the cells, and the cells make up the meat. Here we have half the world up in arms about not feeding Non-GMO and only wanting to raise birds on organic and/or gluten free food and maybe 30 pounds of meat being poisoned.

If you want them gone because you just don't want them anymore, save yourself a whole lot of money and take them to the nearest shelter and ask them to do it. It might cost you some money, but you owe it to those birds to treat their last day with at least a modicum of dignity and a painless end. It will cost you less than all the plans you currently have. Put an ad in the paper or Craigslist - surely this time of year someone will take them and kill them as it should be done, quickly, safely, and utilizing the gift of the meat for their families.

I'm trying to understand, I truly am. But I'm dumbfounded and I admit it. If you took on the turkeys, then you are responsible for them from the time they come into your possession until the time time they leave, and that means you have to have the courage to do the right thing. Sticking them in a plastic playhouse full of poison just ain't it.

Now I'm going go back into my corner and watch this unfold because sadly I can't do anything about it.

 

[mommadearest]

I'm curious about baking soda & peroxide, what does it do exactly and how? Just for my chicken keeping file.

 

[teria]

We're trying to find the most humane way to end their life, they were purchased for thanksgiving and Christmas, and that is what their purpose is. They are not pets. We were not naive about getting turkeys and then changed our mind. We wanted healthy turkey for our family, and everything I've read everywhere indicates that gassing is the most humane if done correctly. Sure, we could chop their heads off, but, we are trying to take the stress away, and the only way to chop off their heads is to hang them upside down and then lay them on a chopping block, then hope you don't miss. We do care about these turkeys, we don't want to risk missing the mark and causing them horrible pain. All that we have researched has told us that having them just go to sleep is the least stressful and most humane method, which is why we chose it. Accusing us of being callous or short sighted is not really called for when this entire thread is about humanely euthanizing and other posters have discussed gassing as a humane option.

Thanks for the help.

 

[Blooie]

As I said, I was truly trying to understand. I don't believe I called anyone any names, but if you feel I did then I apologize. Knowing why you want to butcher them for helps. I still say that poisoning is a lot less humane than any of the ways the rest of us who have to do this take care of it. Here at our place we simply confine the chickens to be harvested in the smaller run area one at a time, then a quick, single shot to the head with a pellet gun does the job. And yes, we live in town. Even putting them upside down in the cone and cutting the throat is still more humane than putting them in a playhouse, pumping poison in there, and letting them slowly lose consciousness.....how frightening that would be for them as they try to escape to clean air.....and it won't happen quickly, either. It sounds so gentle to say they would just "go to sleep." That isn't the reality. Imagine being starved for air...even poultry know that breathing is essential. That panic they will feel will send adrenaline pumping through them and anyone who hunts or has had to cull birds for the table tries hard to avoid that, not to mention the residual chemicals left in their bodies.

I know that first time is hard. I've been there, and so have a lot of us. But taking the easy way out for you isn't necessarily the easy way out for them. Please, look online. I'm sure there are many videos on how to cull a turkey or chicken in a much kinder way that choking off the air they breathe and sending poison coursing through them.

 

[trudyg]

Blooie, what kind of pellet do you use? I had to cull my polish last night and had the round-nosed pellet & it didn't seem to do very well. We use the sharp-pointed ones on squirrels, but the rounded ones seem to not go straight thru for a close shot. DH did it for me last night and made a terrible shot (I wanted him to wait until I set the bird down in the hole--poor thing was circling, I'm guessing equine encephalitis from my research), then he fumbled and didn't get the kill shot off quickly (his health isn't good--he should have stayed inside and let me do it). Our pellet gun is the kind that shoots like a .22. For the record, the humane way to kill anything is quickly. Gas doesn't seem quick enough to me, but a bad chop isn't either. I can't seem to wring a neck, so I use a head shot.

 

[teria]

Ya know you really aren't being very helpful to keep accusing me of either being inexperienced, or uneducated about killing chickens, deer, rabbits, and other food animals. We have done it, and we know how to do it. We have done our research, and are by far not the first to use this method of euthanazia. If you don't support it, fine, you have made that clear, but, I did ask a question in what I thought was a helpful and informative, non judgemental, format. Clearly, I have chosen the wrong website.