A Squeemish Subject: Euthanasia

[kari_dawn]

I agree with what you guys are saying. This post was not necissarily for me, but for any of us who may have to face the prospect of euthanasia in the future. Reading some of the horrible ways people have chosen to do in their birds here inspired this thread. It is simply here for sharing of information, and discussion of methods for all of us.

 

[Beekissed]

It is a good thread topic and much needed. The only problem is with how advice is viewed as thrusting one's methods upon another. The urgency expressed in the posts about just getting it over with quickly by cutting or breaking the neck is because these are people who have actually had to kill chickens.....many, many times. They've usually tried many different methods and found certain methods have quick results and so they are champions of that method.

Now, we can either let people explore methods that are experimental, at best, or we can urgently exhort them to just use the time-tested methods passed down through generations of chicken folks because we simply want a quick and merciful end to the animal and we don't much care about the feelings of the human at that point...it's not their death we are discussing. When one chooses to raise chickens, one really must put their own feelings aside when it comes to humane death for that chicken...it's that important to us.

Sorry if we came off a little pushy but we feel pretty strongly about the humane living and dying of our animals.

 

[ekemily]

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couldn't have said it better. We need to go grab a coffee Beekissed. We'd probably have a nice chat.

 

[Beekissed]

Don't consume the java but would still love the chat!

Can I have hot chocolate instead?

 

[SteveBaz]

Beekissed wrote:

It is a good thread topic and much needed. The only problem is with how advice is viewed as thrusting one's methods upon another. The urgency expressed in the posts about just getting it over with quickly by cutting or breaking the neck is because these are people who have actually had to kill chickens.....many, many times. They've usually tried many different methods and found certain methods have quick results and so they are champions of that method.

Now, we can either let people explore methods that are experimental, at best, or we can urgently exhort them to just use the time-tested methods passed down through generations of chicken folks because we simply want a quick and merciful end to the animal and we don't much care about the feelings of the human at that point...it's not their death we are discussing. When one chooses to raise chickens, one really must put their own feelings aside when it comes to humane death for that chicken...it's that important to us.

Sorry if we came off a little pushy but we feel pretty strongly about the humane living and dying of our animals.

 

[Thespoiledchicken]

I respectfully disagree on how to end my chickens life. I understand where people are coming from stating to cut or break the neck- I do. It is humane and the chicken probably suffers little at worst. The problem I have is it is not something I can do and TO ME it is a violent undignified death for a pet that I love. I am looking for a way I can peacefully end my chickens life if necessary. My chickens are treated like gold here and they live a great life, my husband likes to joke I treat the chickens better than him

Just because I am not willing to lop off it's head does not mean I should not own them.

I like everyone else would never want to see a chicken suffer, that is why I am here researching this in advance. The main goal is a humane death for the chicken BUT I also need to be able to live with myself afterwards. If there is simply no other humane method out there besides cutting/ breaking the neck than I will continue to pay my vet lots of money

JMO

Trish

 

[kari_dawn]

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this is why I tried to create this thread. There are lots of strong personalities here on BYC, and I respect that. I am just trying to provide people with alternatives.

 

[ekemily]

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I understand where you are coming from. Sometimes I like to think of it from the chicken's point of view
Example:
The bird is injured/dying and you go and take it from its flock... the protection and family that it knows. I don't know about you, but being taken from my family is distressing to me and I think would be distressing to any animal, regardless of its intelligence.
Then, you put him/her in the car, taking it further away from its flock, causing more undue stress
Then, you take the bird into the vet's office where the smell of predators hangs thick in the air. More undue stress.
Finally, after the bird has had prolonged pain from being sick/injured/dying, has been taken from its family and brought to a place that smells like predators, he is killed.
So, the chicken was led to a terrifying if not confusing death.

"tough on people's emotions" example:
The bird is sick/injured/dying and is beyond repair.
I take it from its flock. I go behind a tree, shed, whatever and dispatch the bird by the broomstick method. It doesn't know what's coming and felt little (or very, very quick) pain.
Taking human emotion out of it, I think this would be a preferrable death if a bird could communicate its wishes to us.

If you really want to go the vet route and do it the right way, then I think a barn call is in order. For my vet to come out to the farm, it's $90 plus the actual vet charges.
But, this thread could go on for ages and ages. We're all trying to achieve the ultimate thing which is the most peaceful death possible for our animals.

 

[kari_dawn]

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I just have to point out, that birds have a very poor sense of smell. So honestly, the only difference is that the car ride may be longer than the walk out behind your shed, which may be just as confusing and stressful.

 

[Beekissed]

I take a more personal approach. I pick up the bird and do the football cradle hold and pet her until she is resting her head on my chest and has her eyes closed. I then gently grasp her head in my hand, let her body fall as I jerk upwards with the head...the weight of her body against the sharp upward thrust of the head usually dislocates the cervical spine the first time. I then catch her body against mine once again while her nervous system sends left over signals... and then all is quiet.

She goes out with her eyes closed, is cradled in my arms at the very end of the end, and it is all over so fast that she doesn't even realize it is happening.