Title

When using an axe to decapitate a chicken, a pair of large nails driven 3/4" apart into a sturdy stump, and bent apart a bit ....will prevent the bird from reflexively ducking the fatal blow......

Timely information. Unfortunately I may be needing it soon if I can't help my beautiful BCM by any other means.

@jimbob86 that is a good tip.

@birdbrain1948 I hope you can help your hen.

Vinegar and baking soda produce carbon dioxide, not carbon monoxide. Carbon dioxide will not make the chicken fall asleep. The production of CO2 simply displaces the air in the container, including the oxygen. The bird will essentially suffocate/asphyxiate.

I put the chicken in the killing cone I use for my meat bird processing. I cut the vein in the neck. It is quick and the chicken and humane. The chicken doesn't flop around on the ground further traumatizing the person doing the deed.

good article!

Good article. I chose to shoot my hen through the head. She had been failing for some time. The day when she laid at my feet and could not get up I knew I had to do one last thing for her...

For a real Carbon Monoxide method, put the chicken in a big enough bag, and then take it to your car. Put the bag on the exhaust, so that the gas goes into the bag, and then turn on the car. It puts the chicken to rest within a minute or two.

I guess im wondering why shooting the chicken wasnt brought up? Its quick, dies instantly. I couldnt bring myself to snap a neck or suffocate. In my mind, shooting a chicken is quick, effective and no wondering if the bird is in pain. Not to sound morbid...but some of these seem cruel

Would the medication one work on a turkey? I wish I had found this when searching this site for this exact type of info about two months ago. My poor PTSD hubby and our poor turkey. My hubby is still not ok after breaking the neck of our beloved pet. Thank you for the info. It seems the best solution for wimps like us that love our dear ones so much.

After my four ducks were attacked by a bobcat, two died and two were still alive. One was fine but the other had a broken neck, and we ended up having to shoot him to put him out of the misery. Shooting is a quick and painless way of euthanasia, if you have the means to do it. However, it is a bit traumatizing to see them flailing their limbs after they die.

Well I know which one I'm using when the old man finally calls it, 500mg of ground up acetaminophen (Tylenol) with 200mg, of Valerian root.

I think I would have to opt for the drug overdose, shooting would be fine but you still get the flailing around which I personally find kind of disturbing.

Could you put the bird in a freezer? I would just go to sleep right?

For reptiles the freezer works but I've heard it's a slow process for warm blooded animals. I think it would be similar to the suffocation death.

What even is this article. I wouldn't care, except BYC FEATURED this?

Freezing and suffocation are NOT humane methods of euthanasia for ANY animal over a handful of ounces. This may be humane for very small birds that are not yet feathered, but PLEASE do not try this for even young birds! They will suffer for many long minutes, and in the case of freezing possibly even hours, in severe pain. Freezing them will make it worse during suffocation as they will breathe more slowly and need less air as they slowly, painfully choke to death. This is NOT OK and in fact you can wind up with animal cruelty charges against you in many cases if the wrong people find out. Suffocating a chicken is exactly the same physical process and sensations as drowning a rabbit or throwing a bag of kittens in a river. It's Not OK and it's NOT humane! It's slow, painful and illegal! And apparently BYC featured an article that recommends it. Why???

CO2 euthanasia can also be tricky. Larger animals often panic while being euthanized this way as the CO2 does not always knock them out until AFTER they start experiencing the pain of CO2 poisoning, at which point the animal is, again, just dying slowly and painfully. CO2 poisoning is painful if they aren't already knocked out for it and the larger the animal, the slower they will be knocked out. They can panic and can knock the container over or injure themselves. This is especially true if the container is not totally air tight. A little bit of CO2 will not kill a bird, nor fill a container large enough to hold a bird. 1C of vinegar reacts with about 1.5tbs to make 1.2 gallons of CO2, a bit over the size of a jug of milk. You need to use a lot of baking soda and vinegar to make enough CO2 to safely fill a chamber large enough for a chicken. Not even saying how much you need is irresponsible and using a minimum appropriate amount is SO important for humane euthanasia!
The AVMA (American veterinary medical association) only approves the use of CO2 for euthanasia in SMALL animals including amphibians, birds, reptiles, rodents, and other small mammals that weigh less than two pounds (1 kg). Most chickens will vastly outweigh this recommended size and there's lots of horror stories about animals larger than 2lbs suffering horribly in CO2 chambers. They do NOT always pass out before they start to feel the pain. I have a friend who works in a research lab, and CO2s animals for a living. Some of the rats they use get big enough that they start to panic in PROFESSIONAL gas chambers before knocking them out and it takes 30 minutes+ to fully euthanize a rat this way. Chickens are much larger. Consider this seriously.

The drugs will kill your chicken fast but it will feel pretty crummy while it happens. Please also consider the effects of the medications you use for euthanizing on the environment. Those things enter our water systems if you intend to bury the bird. You can't allow that bird to be consumed by other animals either. It...

What even is this article. I wouldn't care, except BYC FEATURED this?

Freezing and suffocation are NOT humane methods of euthanasia for ANY animal over a handful of ounces. This may be humane for very small birds that are not yet feathered, but PLEASE do not try this for even young birds! They will suffer for many long minutes, and in the case of freezing possibly even hours, in severe pain. Freezing them will make it worse during suffocation as they will breathe more slowly and need less air as they slowly, painfully choke to death. This is NOT OK and in fact you can wind up with animal cruelty charges against you in many cases if the wrong people find out. Suffocating a chicken is exactly the same physical process and sensations as drowning a rabbit or throwing a bag of kittens in a river. It's Not OK and it's NOT humane! It's slow, painful and illegal! And apparently BYC featured an article that recommends it. Why??? THIS CAN BE A FELONY LEVEL CRIME.

CO2 euthanasia can also be tricky. Larger animals often panic while being euthanized this way as the CO2 does not always knock them out until AFTER they start experiencing the pain of CO2 poisoning, at which point the animal is, again, just dying slowly and painfully. CO2 poisoning is painful if they aren't already knocked out for it and the larger the animal, the slower they will be knocked out. They can panic and can knock the container over or injure themselves. This is especially true if the container is not totally air tight. A little bit of CO2 will not kill a bird, nor fill a container large enough to hold a bird. 1C of vinegar reacts with about 1.5tbs to make 1.2 gallons of CO2, a bit over the size of a jug of milk. You need to use a lot of baking soda and vinegar to make enough CO2 to safely fill a chamber large enough for a chicken. Not even saying how much you need is irresponsible and using a minimum appropriate amount is SO important for humane euthanasia!
The AVMA (American veterinary medical association) only approves the use of CO2 for euthanasia in SMALL animals including amphibians, birds, reptiles, rodents, and other small mammals that weigh less than two pounds (1 kg). Most chickens will vastly outweigh this recommended size and there's lots of horror stories about animals larger than 2lbs suffering horribly in CO2 chambers. They do NOT always pass out before they start to feel the pain. I have a friend who works in a research lab, and CO2s animals for a living. Some of the rats they use get big enough that they start to panic in PROFESSIONAL gas chambers before knocking them out and it takes 30 minutes+ to fully euthanize a rat this way. Chickens are much larger. Consider this seriously.

The drugs will kill your chicken fast (a few minutes) but it will feel terrible while it happens. Please also consider the effects of the medications you use for euthanizing on the environment. Those things enter our water systems if you intend to bury the bird. You can't allow that...

(too short comments deleted half my post)
You can't allow wild or domestic animals to consume the carcasses by accident or they could end up dying too.

Remember, just because your chicken doesn't express pain, doesn't mean it's not FEELING pain. Chickens are designed by nature to hide their pain. If your chicken isn't moving, or squwaking, that doesn't mean it's not suffering... It probably means the opposite! Sticking your bird in a box or a bag or the freezer bight be soothing for YOU, but it doesn't mean the bird isn't suffering!

I also find it ironic that an article that is high and mighty about not euthanizing a chicken when it's injured, but COULD recover (which many people with production flocks do), offers such terrible advice...

Credit where credit is due; cervical dislocation (which is both of the first two options here) is instant and humane. Vet euthanasia is also humane and painless, though it shares the same concerns for wildlife that the other drugging option does... But the article doesn't even cover things like killing cones, broomsticking or the obvious option; shooting a chicken...

If you can't humanely euthanize a chicken yourself, PLEASE find someone with experience who can. Perhaps ask other local chicken keepers or a local farmer.

Using the methods described above could wind up with people in serious legal trouble or having a really bad experience with serious emotional trauma and a half-dead bird on their hands. I hope people do their own research before deciding to euthanize. Frankly, I'm stunned BYCs featured this...

Sorry if that ruffles some feathers, especially the article's poster, but it really had to be said. This is serious business and it's important to be well educated to you DON'T end up making the sorts of mistakes described above.

@jrjoplin
Thank you, thats good to know.