A sad subject.....

[JensChickies]

Sooo...this is a controversial subject and a hard one to deal with. I have a hen who is a pet, that is not doing well. My husband and I don't want her to suffer anymore. Sooo...

I have read on a post somewhere that alcohol was used to sedate their chicken before hand. Does anybody have any experience with this? Can alcohol kill a chicken if given the right amount? Do they suffer??

Once again she is a pet. We don't want to use an axe or anything like that. We were planning on sedating her then do a CO2. Can anybody help out with this?

 

[CrazyTalk]

The axe is way less cruel than CO2.

 

[JensChickies]

The axe is way less cruel than CO2.

That's why I want to use the alcohol first. My husband and I can't imagine using an axe on her.

 

[bobbi-j]

While I feel, too, that an axe is more humane (the chicken is dead in an instant), I understand that this is your pet and it is not a neat, clean way to put your chicken down. I really don't have any helpful advice about sedating and then suffocating them, but I wanted to tell you that I do understand why decapitation is hard for you. Maybe take her to the vet to be put down? It might be easier on you.

 

[newwestchick]

The quicker the better, an axe used swiftly is your best bet. There are some horrible stories here on BYC about CO2 gone wrong...

In lieu of axe then vet, if you're not going to consume her then the euthanasia drugs are of no consequence.

Good luck, and know you are doing the best thing possible by not letting her suffer.

 

[JensChickies]

Thank you for everyone's input. She is such a sweet girl. We might just take her to the vet....I was just trying to eliminate the stress of the car/vet/being held down so the needle can stick her. Too me, that's more stressful on her. Plus I need to figure out a good way to take care of them when they become like this. It part of owning chickens. It would be a lot easier if it was my mean hen, but it's my sweet one. The good ones always go too early.

 

[Mrs. K]

Wrap the bird snugly in a towel, covering their head. She will not be stressed and will calm right down. For the trip, put her in a box and cover it so that it is completely dark. Chickens in the dark are nearly comatose, that will calm her down. While at the vets, keep her wrapped in the towel.

Mrs K

 

[donrae]

Do you know someone who could come put her down for you? I totally understand you not wanting to use an axe or knife, but perhaps someone else could. It's honestly a very quick, clean death. Anyone who hunts or fishes, etc?

I've used CO2 successfully, but only on chicks. The website I went by advised not to use it on animals over 2lbs. Never heard of the alcohol, sorry.

Thing is, no matter how you do it, the animal usually struggles some. We get this idea of going peacefully to sleep, but in reality no one wants to die.

 

[JensChickies]

Do you know someone who could come put her down for you? I totally understand you not wanting to use an axe or knife, but perhaps someone else could. It's honestly a very quick, clean death. Anyone who hunts or fishes, etc?

I've used CO2 successfully, but only on chicks. The website I went by advised not to use it on animals over 2lbs. Never heard of the alcohol, sorry.

Thing is, no matter how you do it, the animal usually struggles some. We get this idea of going peacefully to sleep, but in reality no one wants to die.

I have read a post on here about alcohol and contacted the person who did it. She has been very helpful. She said that she gave about 20ml vodka and her hen simply just passed out. It took about 30 minutes before she did, but she just held her in her arms.

I have googles it and googles it and have found nothing on it alcohol, except that some people use it before butchering....I guess it calms down the bird. Then I found another one where the chickens got into some and half of them died.

I don't have anybody that would do that for me...I wish I did. Thank you for the advice, I do appreciate it.

I have also read stories about ether. I would use ether or CO2 as the primary way....it would come after she goes unconscious from the the alcohol, just to make sure she's gone.

 

[donrae]

Here's the link I used for the chicks. I likes that there was some research, and they did a smaller dose first, to put the bird to sleep, then the lethal dose which can be distressing. Doing alcohol first would allow you to skip the initial dose, but you could go ahead and do it just for peace of mind. I'm just not sure how much you'd need with a larger animal? I agree with Mrs K about wrapping her in a towel and keeping things dark, chickens think dark means sleep and they're much calmer.