Awful experience

[Alwayswantchics]

I processed my two cornish on Monday. I decided tip let them bleed out as opposed tip just cutting their heads off. That seemed to have taken to long. I few felt as though they suffered. This was my first time. Plucking was easy. Husband came in and finished gutting them
for me without me asking he him to do so. Guess he thought I was taking to long to get it done.

 

[delisha]

Processing is hard work at first. It takes time to experience it and learn. You have emotions getting in the way the first times. You will get better and feel better in a few more birds. The birds suffer little on a bleed out. They fall asleep.
Take a look at this video. I am sure you can find parts you did well and learn to do other parts better next time.


http://video.search.yahoo.com/video...icken+pt+1+(kill+...&c=5&sigr=11ajnt99d&&tt=b

 

[kizanne]

Hang in there. Some parts are always hard. For me it is the first bird each time that has to get the throat slit. All death will have some unpleasant part but if you cut the artery in the neck it takes on average 1-5 minutes though it seems like forever to me. Having someone help makes it go quicker and will help your spirits too. Next time ask hubby to help from the start. Mine is very good at that and he also is nice enough to do the deed as he knows it is the part that bothers me the most.

 

[ScottnLydia]

I'm sorry , kizanne, I hope that was a typo. Death from cutting the carotid arteries should happen in 1 to 5 seconds, not minutes!

I just finished processing 6 turkeys last week. A good, firm slice to the throat with a razor sharp knife, they were unconscious in 2 to 3 seconds and totally bled out in 5 to 6 seconds. However, that's when nerve impulses begin the automatic wing flapping. Don't confuse this with suffering! It's a convulsion, an electric storm from dying neurons. It happens without a head, too.

The turkeys didn't suffer because they never felt the cut. I know this because I held their head and watched their eyes as I did it. They just looked at me, and went to sleep! This is why a super sharp knife is so important! When you cut yourself with a sharp blade, like a razor, you barely (sometimes never) feel it. Whereas when you get cut with a dull blade it hurts like the dickens. I use a pocketknife that I sharpen so that it will shave hair, and no one feels the cut!

It is also important to cut in the right place, from behind the ear down past the jaw, and with a firm hand to cut deeply so that you cut both the jugular vein and carotid artery. You will know if you have done well because the blood comes out in a great gush, all at once. Do both sides, and let them drain for 5 minutes or so, until nothing is dripping out.

Practice makes it easier, thanking the bird in advance for their sacrifice also helps my conscience.

Good luck!

~S

 

[kizanne]

Well I actually couldn't say when death happens as I do not attach anything to their brains or hearts to measure such things so precisely.

I meant the movement all death throws/jerking the time in which I leave them alone before continuing with the processing. I hope that is more clear.

 

[Alwayswantchics]

Thanks Scott n Linda. That was really encouraging.

 

[ScottnLydia]

Well I actually couldn't say when death happens as I do not attach anything to their brains or hearts to measure such things so precisely.

I meant the movement all death throws/jerking the time in which I leave them alone before continuing with the processing. I hope that is more clear.

I mean no disrespect! I worked in the medical field as a paramedic for years and one of the things I learned about for sure is that without enough blood, the brain is unconscious, and without any blood, the brain is dead. Like if you stand up too quickly and get light headed, that's from a slight drop in the supply of blood going to your brain. Cutting the carotid arteries results in zero blood pressure to the brain, not just a drop. This method requires the heart to keep beating for complete exsanguination (bleeding out), but the heart beats on it's own, regardless of brain death, until it's own blood supply ends.

It is imprtant not to confuse a fowls wing beating and involuntary movements at death, what you refer to as '"death throws/jerking" as signs of life. Any fowl will do these seemingly coordinated movements even after having their heads cut off. While it can be distressing, take comfort in remembering that the life has passed quickly, and this is just reflex movement.

I can look my bird in the eye as they pass now. I know now that they experience no pain, no panic, just the discomfort of being upside down for a short time.

~S

 

[donrae]

Even cutting the head off all the way it takes a few minutes for the body to realize it's dead. That's why I embrace the kill cone, it contains the flapping and jerking. Just a word, though, if you do cut the head off don't look at it after...........drop it into the garbage can and forget about it.