most humane way to put down a chicken at home :(

[danischi24]

Here is a great website about how to humanely & sensitively (for you) put down small animals at home. The weight recommendation is to prevent crazy people trying to do this with their dogs or whatever.
http://www.alysion.org/euthanasia/index.html

 

[Barred Rocker]

I agree that the head chop will be the most humane way. It's over in a fraction of a second. No matter what you do she's going to flap, it's nothing more than a reaction of the nervous system but it will be dead and won't feel a thing. You have my heartfelt sympathy. I have 2 roosters I have to process soon and I hate doing it. It helps me to say I'm sorry outloud before and after. At least that makes me feel a little less cold about it.

 

[Emzyyy]

I'm sorry, I don't see how you all know the chicken feels "nothing". You don't know that. A dog would feel it so why wouldn't a chicken. If its best for you, you could always have a vet do it.

 

[usschicago1]

Ive only done it once and here is what i did.
I hit the bird over the head as hard as i could with a board (this immediately knocks it out and cannot feel anything for a minute or so) and then immediately dunk it under water. Its instincts make it breath it and it fills with water. Quickly dies. And human, i hope

 

[Big Chicken Little]

So sorry you are faced with this and there is no method that takes away your pain. Maybe someone can do it for you. The flapping is something birds do after they die and it only lasts a few seconds. All the best to you !!

 

[HorseFeathers]

We just had to do this. Like, half an hour ago.

My dad cut a hole in a cardboard box, then rigged a hose up connected to the exhaust pipe of his car, and put the hose through a hole in the box. It's like the gas chambers. She looked like she was asleep.

 

[HEChicken]

Quote:
The reason it is painless is because it takes the nervous system time to transmit the message from the injury site to the brain where pain receptors process the request and send back the message that there is pain. The messages typically get passed so quickly that pain is felt very quickly after an injury, but if that connection is severed, there is no way for the brain to get the message that there is pain. Think about slicing potatoes and having the knife slip and slice your finger open. When it is a sharp slice and it happens quickly, you will *know* the cut happened and *see* the blood but initially it does not hurt.

 

[possumqueen]

Quote:
the flapping is going to REALLY REALLY REALLY freak me out. the last thing i want to do is torture it, or think I'm torturing it. I haven't decided what I'm going to do for her yet.

The flapping -- and the forceful physical action that you have to do -- is what makes it hard on you.

If you're freaking out over this, then you need to be easy on yourself and get someone who knows how to do it for you, or take her to a vet. The good thing here is that you care enough to not want to hurt her, and you care enough to know she needs to go.

A very dear friend told me this story once:

God looked down at man and said, sadly, "You want to see what it's like to be God? Here. This is yours." And He gave Man a dog. "Now. YOU make the decisions."

 

[feathersnuggles]

Does the head remain conscious after it has been severed? And for how long? IOW, with oxygenated blood still circulating in the head, how long does it take before unconsciousness occurs?

There IS A wound at the base of the head, where the severing occurs. Would THAT trauma be communicated to the still-conscious brain?

Just wondering about this gruesome stuff.

 

[greathorse]

Quote:
In processing plants (yes I am very familiar with them) there has been extensive research and study done on this particular method. It has also taken a lot of time and research to get the gassing system correct for the birds. After all that there is still some question as to whether or not this is more humane than the more common bleeding out. This question remains from industry experts and welfare folks. Some plants do it others do not. I do know that in the beginning before they fully understood how to regulate the CO2 levels there was trauma and a fair amount of it.

If you had great luck with yours good for you I think you got lucky. I couldnt imagine a homeade system that ultimately suffocates a bird. You are talking minutes as opposed to seconds in terms of death.

It really strikes me as odd that we do these "less invasive" methods for our benefit and let the animal be darn.

Sever the spinal cord as quickly as you know how to do or have someone do it and get it over with.