Processing Day Support Group ~ HELP us through the Emotions PLEASE!

[blackandtan]

I suppose my ritual such as it is depends on the situation; with a sick chicken there’s no hesitation, I shoot her and walk away until the flapping stops, and I tell her I’m sorry.
If it’s an overcrowding situation I usually do it after a fight, when I’m tired of the bickering...and I don’t tell them I’m sorry!
When it’s time for meat hens or turkeys etc to go, my ritual is to give them a treat to eat first, their favourite is melon so “melon day” has become a euphemism for “killing day”, they get separated and shot one by one (shooting never seems to bother the rest), I do feel bad for them because they’re healthy and could keep living, but I console myself with thoughts of the great life I gave them and how much better it was than the life of commercially produced birds.

 

[Nibarlan]

I suppose my ritual such as it is depends on the situation; with a sick chicken there’s no hesitation, I shoot her and walk away until the flapping stops, and I tell her I’m sorry.
If it’s an overcrowding situation I usually do it after a fight, when I’m tired of the bickering...and I don’t tell them I’m sorry!
When it’s time for meat hens or turkeys etc to go, my ritual is to give them a treat to eat first, their favourite is melon so “melon day” has become a euphemism for “killing day”, they get separated and shot one by one (shooting never seems to bother the rest), I do feel bad for them because they’re healthy and could keep living, but I console myself with thoughts of the great life I gave them and how much better it was than the life of commercially produced birds.

When you say shoot them how do you do it ? I've got broliers coming for the first time this spring and I've got a 22short pistol I've considered using on processing day. I just don't think I have it in me to use a knife, broom, or one the other methods like that.

 

[OneMountainAcres]

When you say shoot them how do you do it ? I've got broliers coming for the first time this spring and I've got a 22short pistol I've considered using on processing day. I just don't think I have it in me to use a knife, broom, or one the other methods like that.

I know you weren't talking to me but, honestly, after learning how to use the broomstick method (super easy), I personally could never imagine shooting them to kill them. Hubby had to shoot one once and didn't hit him in just the right spot and that roo lived longer than he should have :/ It was a hard lesson. The first time I tried the broomstick method, I didn't pull hard enough and just cracked that Roo's back. As in a good trip to the chiropractor lol. After that, it was a breeze and it's the only way I can process birds on my own.

 

[Molpet]

I had a bbb jake that I couldn't, he was so sweet. But he squashed his best chicken buddy trying to mate him. And he was getting leg issues.. I had a hunting buddy shot him in the head... after the 3rd shot with cb caps the turkey crawled under a bush.. I got the game shear loppers and put him out of his misery

I use pipe cutters now on the chickens https://www.menards.com/main/plumbi...6-c-8610.htm?tid=-6345063746384803479&ipos=20

 

[blackandtan]

When you say shoot them how do you do it ? I've got broliers coming for the first time this spring and I've got a 22short pistol I've considered using on processing day. I just don't think I have it in me to use a knife, broom, or one the other methods like that.

For turkeys and geese I used a .410 because I want to ensure a clean kill, meat hens and sick birds I use a .22 with special shot shells, sometimes called “rat shells”, they’re like a little tiny shotgun shell; it has to be close range though, within a foot you will almost remove the head. I use a rifle and a melon...as I said, they come out one by one for a last meal and dive right into the melon and I pop them from behind, there’s no stress and I think they die happy.
On that note, I think it is very important to give anything a calm and peaceful death, not only for your peace of mind but also to improve the quality of meat; I’ve seen it so often in raising livestock and in hunting - the animals that die quickly and with less stress are more tender - think Kobe beef

 

[Nibarlan]

For turkeys and geese I used a .410 because I want to ensure a clean kill, meat hens and sick birds I use a .22 with special shot shells, sometimes called “rat shells”, they’re like a little tiny shotgun shell; it has to be close range though, within a foot you will almost remove the head. I use a rifle and a melon...as I said, they come out one by one for a last meal and dive right into the melon and I pop them from behind, there’s no stress and I think they die happy.
On that note, I think it is very important to give anything a calm and peaceful death, not only for your peace of mind but also to improve the quality of meat; I’ve seen it so often in raising livestock and in hunting - the animals that die quickly and with less stress are more tender - think Kobe beef

I know which you're talking about, CCI makes them. What made you decide to use those instead of a normal 22 bullet?

 

[blackandtan]

I tried bullets but birds’ heads’ are just too small a target for a single pellet, even if you’re close to them, (yes I had a couple misses early on, it was awful).
So I practiced on some cans to be sure of my range, I also practiced on some already dead birds just to be sure. Now it’s fast and easy, they never know it happens

 

[Nibarlan]

I tried bullets but birds’ heads’ are just too small a target for a single pellet, even if you’re close to them, (yes I had a couple misses early on, it was awful).
So I practiced on some cans to be sure of my range, I also practiced on some already dead birds just to be sure. Now it’s fast and easy, they never know it happens

Thanks! I'll keep that in mind when I have to make the decision.

 

[igorsMistress]

My husband has an air rifle that he used with a shotgun shell in it at close range. It's quick and not messy.

 

[Mar-Kea1]

How to Hypnotize a Chicken Source: zyra.tv

THIS is a bit weird but I found it while searching pithing, and if DH walks in on me doing this I will be divorced for sure!

This article was written by someone who used the hypnotized chickens for "parlor tricks". With a few changes, it can be used to butcher the chickens painlessly.

1. First catch your chicken. This should be done neatly without fuss. Avoid unseemly behavior such as chasing wild chickens around. Having a tame chicken is best.

2. Holding the chicken the right side up with the head uppermost, gently but firmly grasp the legs of the chicken underneath. It's important to have a good grip on both of the legs but to avoid squeezing too much. The claws should be arranged to avoid damage to you or to the chicken.

3. With deft sleight-of-hand, the chicken is swung speedily and carefully roll into the upside-down position, leaving you holding the chicken by the legs! This will surprise the chicken, but it will not be upset. Note that although it is no longer regarded as acceptable by magicians to lift a rabbit by the ears, rabbit ears are not designed by nature to hold the weight of the rabbit. In contrast, the legs of a chicken are easily strong enough to hold the weight of a chicken.

4. Hold on to your chicken. If it flaps its wings, the wing tips should not come into contact with anything. You have to be careful, for the safe well-being of the chicken and also to save your eyes from feather-damage.

5. Within a few seconds the chicken calms down and becomes accustomed to being upside-down. This usually happens quite quickly.

6. Being upside-down is interpreted by the brain of the chicken as being a condition in which it is appropriate to go into a state of sleep. Within half a minute or so, you have a sleeping chicken in your hands. Or at least, you have hold of the legs of a chicken which is mysteriously hanging there upside-down, asleep.

7. You can now stroke the chicken on the head, and under the chin, and straighten any feathers which might have been ruffled up.

8. It's now possible to carefully lower the chicken and lay it down on a flat surface. With practice it's possible to skillfully drape a sleeping chicken across the top of a television or a conveniently placed garden object. RT: At this point, tie the birds feet with a single piece of rope. The bird will later hang from this rope for butchering.

9. You can in effect leave the chicken on its back with its feet up in the air. This is an extraordinary sight and it beggars belief that a live chicken will remain in such a condition. However, I recommend you don't just walk away and leave it. Two minutes is plenty, and will adequately prove the point that you can definitely hypnotize a chicken.

RT: It is during this time the chicken is easily butchered...or given a post-hypnotic suggestion that it stop smoking. If you kill the chicken, you succeed in both goals. If you kill the bird, there is no step 10, either.

10. At some point, the chicken is roused and will resume its usual right-way-up state, with the feet on the ground, and will walk around almost as if nothing has happened. If anyone says "it still looks a bit dazed" then you're probably showing off your chicken hypnosis technique too much. Go easy on those chickens!

Never heard of this as hypnotizing, my dad hypnotized them, using his finger, with them in an upright position. He could then do anything with them.

I am seeing a lot of unknown words being used, such as crop instead of craw, or cervical dislocation instead of wringing their neck, which is the usual way of dispatching them.