Need better technique for killing my Pekin ducks

[JHaller]

I like the idea of using the rabbit wringer and holding the duck by the body. I could probably use my whole body to give its whole body a strong yank. But wow....the price on these has sky rocketed since I considered using wringers for rabbits (which I decided not to raise).

The other downside is that the wringer needs a wall available to attach it, which I don't have in my crowded small urban situation.

The folks at the feed store said I need to stick with the cone and get the duck totally upside down and massage its neck, feeling for blood vessels along the front side. Massaging the neck helps blood flow into the head and make them stuporous. The cut should be about 1-2 inches below the bill, not too close to the jaw. I will need to make it deeper, like 1/3 of the way through the neck, without cutting the windpipe. The cut should also be straight across, not angled.

The ducks hit the 8-week age this week, so I have to do it soon.

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

I feel for you. Most of us on this forum started raising meat birds at least partly so that we'd know that what we were eating lived a good life and died a quick, clean death and it is distressing when we feel we've botched that last part.

I usually use a killing cone with my chickens, "pithing", which is basically stabbing a very sharp, pointy knife up through the roof of their mouth into their brain before slitting the throat and bleeding them out. In theory, they are dead the second that knife enters their brain and any movement after that is just nerves. However, as you said, ducks struggle more and they also have much bigger heads and huge bills and I was afraid that I'd simply injure them trying to come in through the bill so decided to do the hatchet head-chop instead.

What helped was having an assistant to hold the duck. The assistant held he duck on its chest on the chopping block, keeping the wings and body still. I grabbed the head and pulled the neck out long with my left hand and weilded the hatchet with my right hand. Some times it took two chops to completely sever the head from the body, but by positioning the duck chest down, I was confident that the first chop had severed the spinal column and again, there was no further pain for the duck. Second chop was mostly skin with a bit of connective tissue.

I don't know how I would have managed without an assistant. I think I would have come up with a complex restraining system, perhaps cutting a hole in the corner of a pillow case and slipping it over the ducks head, using the pillow case like a straight jacket to hold the duck still. I might even rig some sort of straps to the chopping block to seat-belt the duck down so that my left hand was free to hold the head and my right hand was free to hold the hatchet.

Someone needs to invent a poultry guillotine!

 

[chiques chicks]

If you want to use an ax, there is a trick. Not saying this is the best way, but it is a tried and tested method of dispatching poultry.

The problem most people have with an ax is that the bird is not held stationary and securely.

Drive two large nails into the flat top of a log about an inch or inch and a half apart in a slight v shape. Size it for the poultry you are dealing with. They should be far enough apart the neck fits but the head doesn't slip through. Place the neck in the v, hold the legs to stretch out slightly and using a thin blade sharp ax, sever the neck. A sharp machete may work as well.

 

[JHaller]

I went shopping for a guillotine. Only found neck breakers in England and Australia. So, I tried to buy a Rabbit Wringer, but it's a 3-week wait.

I tried the feed store guy's advice, but I got the same result as always. I also tried cutting the throat higher up, just under the ear, but still no difference.

This website shows how to do cervical dislocation, using a DUCK as an example:

The woman did a wonderful job, with no drama, no paraphernalia, little mess. I tried to duplicate her movements with one of my ducks after watching the video a few dozen times. However, I couldn't feel if the bird's neck was actually broken or tell at what point I succeeded. When I finally opened the birds body cavity, there was about 1/4 cup of blood. Internal injuries I presume? I SO MUCH wanted this method to work for me.

I called the hatcheries that provided my birds, but they know more about making them lively than about killing them.

I still have 7 birds to process. I'm going to use the nails in the stump plus a cone. If it takes multiple whacks, it is still kinder than the throat cutting. Thank you to all who provided advice to date, it's been valuable to me. I'll post with results in a few days.

 

[nhrocks]

I killed a pair of ducks a week ago. I used the broomstick method. These were small ducks, Swedish, so I guess I overestimated the amount of force I needed to use (my last time using this method was with muscovies, much bigger). I ended up decapitating them inadvertently, but it saved me a step!

My process: catch the duck! I hold him under my arm, wings folded tight against his body. I put him on the ground, holding his feet out behind him, still holding his wings closed. I use my knee to help hold him down a necessary. I get my broom stick ready in front of us, and stretch out his neck so his head goes under the stick. You want the stick right behind the head for easiest/fastest result. Once his head is in place, I put one foot on the broom stick, hold his feet in each hand, then step on the other side of the stick and stand up, pulling his feet up with me. If you don't overdo it, you will hear a popping sound as the neck breaks, and feel the neck give way and stretch out. If you do what I did, you will have a headless duck in you hands, with the head still under the stick, with a surprised expression on his face.

None of this requires much force, it's all in the leverage, and using the strength of your legs to do the deed. No precision or technique required.

At least, that's how it worked for me.I hope you find a method that works well for you!

Amy

 

[JHaller]

Wow, this sounds like a great solution! It's really important to me to have the feedback of knowing the bird is not suffering, and I prefer being able to feel that the neck is really adequately broken.

Yours must be the best description of this process on the entire internet. I've spent a lot of searching for this kind of information.

I will give this a try -- and have my hatchet ready as a backup if I screw it up. Many, many thanks!

 

[JHaller]

I concede defeat for now. I tried to practice the broomstick maneuver without much success. I put 7-8 pounds of beans in a pillow case and knotted the end. I found a piece of pipe that was the perfect length and diameter. Pretending that the knot was a Pekin head, I tried to yank the pillow case from under the pipe, holding the bean bags as the body.

Although I didn't hurt myself, I lost control of the pipe with my feet and rolled it, falling over; then I yanked too hard and pulled the knot from under the pipe. Sitting leaning over the beanbag bird, I still had coordination issues controlling the stick. And i got very tired.

Luckily, I found a chicken-keeping neighbor who came to my aid. My seven remaining ducks were swiftly and surely and gently dispatched by a guy with a surplus of upper-body strength and sound hatchet skills.

Next year, if I do meat ducks again, I will have a Rabbit/Poultry wringer. I ordered one to keep on hand for emergency use. It should arrive in a week or two. I have some chickens to be processed next month, so I can test it out on them. If I'm not in better physical condition next year, I just won't do ducks. I will also be doing a LOT of research on using cones/vessel bleeding with ducks, as I am just not convinced this is a humane method.

Thanks again to all for the helpful ideas and moral support.

 

[adpad5]

Why kill them when mine died I was so sad and I only had him for a day

 

[adpad5]

It's cruel

 

[Nupe]

This is the meat bird section of the forum. It's not cruel, it's dinner.