It's official. I'm not a cold-blooded murderer after all ....

[Fishkeeper]

Do NOT freeze her! It's not a humane method of euthanasia. Nor can I think of anyone who actually has space in their freezer for an entire chicken.
Decapitation is the best bet, or the broomstick method, or euthanization with ether (but don't feed the carcass to anything) if you aren't confident with the other two.

 

[FowlWitch]

Do NOT freeze her! It's not a humane method of euthanasia. Nor can I think of anyone who actually has space in their freezer for an entire chicken.
Decapitation is the best bet, or the broomstick method, or euthanization with ether (but don't feed the carcass to anything) if you aren't confident with the other two.

To my understanding, hypothermia isn't painful based on what people who've experienced it have reported. I tried to find studies to back it up, but I can only find anecdotal reports. From my experience, when I need to feed my snakes and the appropriately size rodents are unavailable (meaning I need to buy live), I euthenize in the freezer. I never find any signs of a struggle, and the mice or rats are usually curled up like they fell asleep. That's just my 2 cents

 

[Junebugsin]

I hope this doesn’t come off as rude, but why would you just throw her into the woods to be eaten? In my eyes that’s a little inhumane.

There are much better ways to euthanize a chicken.

Hi. The answer is in the previous post, which is linked at the beginning this post. But the short answer is, I didn't "just" throw her into the woods. I thought I had put her out of her misery first by wringing her neck. Apparently, I'm not very efficient at that.

 

[Junebugsin]

Oh wow, that is amazing! Super incredible! Give her lots of hugs! Keep her comfy, and try to give her vitamins. Also, a nutrient rich treat like no salt added scrambled egg might be delightful.

Well, she certainly deserved to be super, extra pampered. And I'll try to do the best I can.

 

[Junebugsin]

Wow... I mean wow.... I read your post earlier and... wow... I have no words!!!!

I know. It's unbelievable. I can't get it out of my mind. Didn't sleep very well last night.

 

[Junebugsin]

I guess the lesson here is make 100% sure the bird is actually dead, as tough as that may be under the circumstances. I admit I have a fear of not finishing the job properly, so anything I've ever had to dispatch, even a pest, I always check back a short while later to make sure it's dead as dead can be.

I certainly can't say that I disagree after this experience. But I was so horrified at having to put her down. And I so didn't want to have to do it (Freud, anyone?) so I dispatched her as fast as I could to get the deed done and over with. I guess this is something that shouldn't be done quickly.

 

[Junebugsin]

Wow. Well, I guess the bird has spoken. She's not done yet.
I'd just keep nursing her. Was she hungry when they brought her back? I feel like most physical injuries will heal over time if they're not super horribly infected or a flesh wound that severs an artery or something. Humans can take a long time to heal from a broken leg or a sprain or whatever. I imagine chickens are the same. Give her time. She's a survivor apparently.

Actually, yes she did eat. My daughter brought some cracked corn out to her to see if she was interested. She was interested. So, DD picked her up and put her back in the cat condo cage. I'll get to see Lunch for the first time tomorrow. I've had to be away from home for a few days and haven't seen her yet, just got the call from a shocked husband when he saw her come out of the woods yesterday.

 

[BGcoop]

Zombie chicken!!!

 

[Junebugsin]

Maybe next time you kill her, make sure you actually do it right and she actually dies before you go tossing her like a volleyball into the woods.

Poor thing. That's really sad.

Lesson learned.

 

[Junebugsin]

You don't need to be mean. This was her first experience "killing" a chicken, and she was upset to have to do it. When you're nervous and doing something for the first time mistakes are bound to happen.

Thank you. That was exactly how I felt.