BB gun to euthanize chicken ?

[Trisseh]

I concur with the best method being cervical dislocation. I’ve used it successfully on multiple birds of multiple sizes and ages and it is by far the better option for you. I’ll never forget the story that my mom had from when she was young. She was hunting for ruffed grouse (partridge) and the bird she found took 16 pellets before it died. The first pellet knocked it out of the tree and then the others were at much closer range. I would not advocate for using a BB gun on any bird unless it was truly the only option, which it never would be as all you need for CD is your 2 hands. Even if you don’t get it completely perfect the first jerk, the bird is unconscious for the second. There’s a reason there are only 2 acceptable methods (at least here in Canada) for slaughter of conscious birds, being cervical dislocation or decapitation.

 

[Kimmyh51]

i've played with bb guns and pellet guns as a kid ... i do not think a bb is powerful enough ... pellet guns sure ...as long as its over about 800 foot per second ... i'd still recommend a clever ... there no missing with that ... with any gun if you don't know what you doing ...you may not deliver that instant kill shot and leave the animal suffering ... i've witnessed pigeons with half a head fly off !!! ( Not me --- local guy around these parts shoots them for his pot)...use a clever or a sharp axe ...bang its done!

I read somewhere recently that decapitation is no longer considered a humane method of euthanasia as the brain can remain conscious for up to 25 seconds afterward. Here is a link to some research about this (not actually where I initially read it is now being considered possibly inhumane, but I can’t remember where I initially read that)
https://www.researchgate.net/public..._issues_surrounding_decapitation_reconsidered

I personally think if it were me, I’d rather be shot in the head and that is probably not so pleasant for the person doing it, due to the gore, but is better for the animal. Ideally the brain should be immediately destroyed as this makes it impossible for the animal to feel or sense anything after they have been ended.

I have an air pistol myself and have never used it to euthanise any of my birds (those that have died have either died naturally before veterinary help could be obtained or were euthanised at the vet) but I have considered whether, given the amount of stress it puts a bird like a duck under, to go to the vet (especially if it’s only to end their life) whether it might be more humane if in the future I had a bird who was clearly suffering and not able to be saved who also was not passing quickly, for me to end their suffering with my air pistol. However I am not sure if it is strong enough to do the job.
If I were going to do this, however, I would have thought that aiming at the eyes would be the best chance of a kill shot first time? Is there a reason no one has recommended this?

My gun is a co2 powered pistol which I have used to dispatch the occasional rat and it has been very effective at doing so. I also had a mouse run into a trap and it was not caught around the head but the belly so did not die immediately. I heard it go in and grabbed the trap and could see it was clearly not dead and suffering. So I grabbed my pistol and put it to the mouse’s eye, said ‘sorry little one ‘ and fired two shots (it’s a co2 pistol so you can fire more than one - there was no reason to think shot one didn’t do the trick, I just feel better doing two shots in a row, in case the first doesn’t work). Anyway the top half of poor mr mouse’s head was gone after this. Which looked pretty horrible, but in my opinion that was a good thing as it meant it should have been medically impossible for that mouse to have suffered at all, or even known what I did. Probably the worst part of its suffering was the snap trap round it’s belly.

Anyway, gross as it sounds, that is the reason I have always felt that if I had a duck in sudden distress that was obviously not something it could recover from (ie a duck maybe mauled by a predator or hit by a car with very bad injuries yet still breathing) that in that situation I would want to end its suffering, and putting it in the car and driving it up to an hour to a vet to en euthanised in my opinion would be unacceptable suffering.

So I would like to ask anyone who has more knowledge of this than me, whether it is best to shoot to the eye and if not why? I am not concerned about my own squeamishness only about the best, most effective, most bullet proof (excuse the pun) way to end the suffering of the bird.

Oh, and for anyone with an air gun which is co2 powered, if you are going to use it, please make sure you put a brand new co2 cartridge in first.
In my pistol the speed and force it shoots with varies hugely depending on how many shots the cartridge has had.
Even after a few (it’s supposed to shoot at a good speed for around 60 but is often like a kids slingshot by 40 and noticeably slower after as little as 10) it is much less powerful so I would not want to even think about using it to euthanise an animal on anything except a brand new co2 cartridge.

At the moment I would not even use it for that as I am not sure it is strong enough.

Maybe I should test it on a road kill or a duck that dies of natural causes, rather than find myself in a situation where a duck is suffering big time and I have to decide whether to put the duck through a drive to the vet or risk the air pistol ...

I have read about cervical dislocation but not tried it. Again I guess it’s something I’d want to practise with an already dead bird before trying it. Ducks necks are supposed to be one of their strongest parts, so I wonder if it’s the best method for ducks?

If I had access to it, I would be interested in co2 as I have read that when you breathe co2 you don’t even feel like you are not getting a proper breath, as apparently you do with some other gases, so you just think you are breathing normally and everything is normal till you lose consciousness... not sure if this is correct though and have never personally researched it.

This might seem like a morbid topic to think about, particularly when you don’t have any sick or critically injured birds at the time, but I think for many of us who have poultry, it is actually maybe one of the best services we could do for our birds, to be prepared and able, ifthe need arises, to give them as fast and as stress free a death as possible.

Birds, ducks anyway, get SO stressed out when taken away from their friends, out in the car, and taken to the vet. And geese also maybe? My gander went from maybe 8/10 health wise with pneumonia, to about 2/10 in the half hr drive to a vet. His breathing went from a teeny weeny bit raspy, to struggling to breathe at all, and from being fine just a little bit like a mild cold, to ‘is he going to die?’ in that same half hr drive (and the reverse happened when I got him back home).
That experience in particular, confirmed for me how very stressful it is for most birds to be taken to the vet. So when that trip is for euthanasia, I really feel that it is a service we can do for our waterfowl or chickens if we can educate ourselves and do our research so that if a bird is clearly in need of euthanasia we are already prepared and have a method that we are confident is going to be fast and painless for them that allows them to pass at home. It would be nice if a vet could be gotten outnto do this, but the time delay is possibly going to be unreasonable in many situations given the fact that it’s at short notice and the vet is probably already booked up for most of the day. And the cost is also expensive. And (at least where I live,) it is apparently illegal for a vet to prescribe euthanasia medication an owner to give the animal themselves even if the owner is technically able to do so, because of the risk that people might obtain it to commit suicide.

My opinion that home euthanasia is something we should all learn about is not at all about the cost of veterinary euthanasia, which here is not that much, certainly not a reason I would not take a duck to the vet to be euthanised.

But for most ducks (the exception being ducks who are hand raised house ducks or other ducks very comfortable being handled or going in the car) the stress a trip to the vet will cause isn’t something I want to put them through. I don’t want to see the head of a beloved duck blown in half either. But if that means the duck departed this world very quickly with no knowledge of what was coming and no suffering, then I would rather bury a duck who meant a lot to me with half a head, than bury them with an entire head and less certainty about whether they suffered when they died...

 

[Trisseh]

I read somewhere recently that decapitation is no longer considered a humane method of euthanasia as the brain can remain conscious for up to 25 seconds afterward. Here is a link to some research about this (not actually where I initially read it is now being considered possibly inhumane, but I can’t remember where I initially read that)
https://www.researchgate.net/public..._issues_surrounding_decapitation_reconsidered

I personally think if it were me, I’d rather be shot in the head and that is probably not so pleasant for the person doing it, due to the gore, but is better for the animal. Ideally the brain should be immediately destroyed as this makes it impossible for the animal to feel or sense anything after they have been ended.

I have an air pistol myself and have never used it to euthanise any of my birds (those that have died have either died naturally before veterinary help could be obtained or were euthanised at the vet) but I have considered whether, given the amount of stress it puts a bird like a duck under, to go to the vet (especially if it’s only to end their life) whether it might be more humane if in the future I had a bird who was clearly suffering and not able to be saved who also was not passing quickly, for me to end their suffering with my air pistol. However I am not sure if it is strong enough to do the job.
If I were going to do this, however, I would have thought that aiming at the eyes would be the best chance of a kill shot first time? Is there a reason no one has recommended this?

My gun is a co2 powered pistol which I have used to dispatch the occasional rat and it has been very effective at doing so. I also had a mouse run into a trap and it was not caught around the head but the belly so did not die immediately. I heard it go in and grabbed the trap and could see it was clearly not dead and suffering. So I grabbed my pistol and put it to the mouse’s eye, said ‘sorry little one ‘ and fired two shots (it’s a co2 pistol so you can fire more than one - there was no reason to think shot one didn’t do the trick, I just feel better doing two shots in a row, in case the first doesn’t work). Anyway the top half of poor mr mouse’s head was gone after this. Which looked pretty horrible, but in my opinion that was a good thing as it meant it should have been medically impossible for that mouse to have suffered at all, or even known what I did. Probably the worst part of its suffering was the snap trap round it’s belly.

Anyway, gross as it sounds, that is the reason I have always felt that if I had a duck in sudden distress that was obviously not something it could recover from (ie a duck maybe mauled by a predator or hit by a car with very bad injuries yet still breathing) that in that situation I would want to end its suffering, and putting it in the car and driving it up to an hour to a vet to en euthanised in my opinion would be unacceptable suffering.

So I would like to ask anyone who has more knowledge of this than me, whether it is best to shoot to the eye and if not why? I am not concerned about my own squeamishness only about the best, most effective, most bullet proof (excuse the pun) way to end the suffering of the bird.

Oh, and for anyone with an air gun which is co2 powered, if you are going to use it, please make sure you put a brand new co2 cartridge in first.
In my pistol the speed and force it shoots with varies hugely depending on how many shots the cartridge has had.
Even after a few (it’s supposed to shoot at a good speed for around 60 but is often like a kids slingshot by 40 and noticeably slower after as little as 10) it is much less powerful so I would not want to even think about using it to euthanise an animal on anything except a brand new co2 cartridge.

At the moment I would not even use it for that as I am not sure it is strong enough.

Maybe I should test it on a road kill or a duck that dies of natural causes, rather than find myself in a situation where a duck is suffering big time and I have to decide whether to put the duck through a drive to the vet or risk the air pistol ...

I have read about cervical dislocation but not tried it. Again I guess it’s something I’d want to practise with an already dead bird before trying it. Ducks necks are supposed to be one of their strongest parts, so I wonder if it’s the best method for ducks?

If I had access to it, I would be interested in co2 as I have read that when you breathe co2 you don’t even feel like you are not getting a proper breath, as apparently you do with some other gases, so you just think you are breathing normally and everything is normal till you lose consciousness... not sure if this is correct though and have never personally researched it.

This might seem like a morbid topic to think about, particularly when you don’t have any sick or critically injured birds at the time, but I think for many of us who have poultry, it is actually maybe one of the best services we could do for our birds, to be prepared and able, ifthe need arises, to give them as fast and as stress free a death as possible.

Birds, ducks anyway, get SO stressed out when taken away from their friends, out in the car, and taken to the vet. And geese also maybe? My gander went from maybe 8/10 health wise with pneumonia, to about 2/10 in the half hr drive to a vet. His breathing went from a teeny weeny bit raspy, to struggling to breathe at all, and from being fine just a little bit like a mild cold, to ‘is he going to die?’ in that same half hr drive (and the reverse happened when I got him back home).
That experience in particular, confirmed for me how very stressful it is for most birds to be taken to the vet. So when that trip is for euthanasia, I really feel that it is a service we can do for our waterfowl or chickens if we can educate ourselves and do our research so that if a bird is clearly in need of euthanasia we are already prepared and have a method that we are confident is going to be fast and painless for them that allows them to pass at home. It would be nice if a vet could be gotten outnto do this, but the time delay is possibly going to be unreasonable in many situations given the fact that it’s at short notice and the vet is probably already booked up for most of the day. And the cost is also expensive. And (at least where I live,) it is apparently illegal for a vet to prescribe euthanasia medication an owner to give the animal themselves even if the owner is technically able to do so, because of the risk that people might obtain it to commit suicide.

My opinion that home euthanasia is something we should all learn about is not at all about the cost of veterinary euthanasia, which here is not that much, certainly not a reason I would not take a duck to the vet to be euthanised.

But for most ducks (the exception being ducks who are hand raised house ducks or other ducks very comfortable being handled or going in the car) the stress a trip to the vet will cause isn’t something I want to put them through. I don’t want to see the head of a beloved duck blown in half either. But if that means the duck departed this world very quickly with no knowledge of what was coming and no suffering, then I would rather bury a duck who meant a lot to me with half a head, than bury them with an entire head and less certainty about whether they suffered when they died...

There have been a number of studies discussing decapitation vs other methods, and the biggest issue I’ve seen in those studies is that the spinal cord cannot be crushed, because consciousness remains much longer. There are some species, reptiles come to mind, that decapitation definitely is not acceptable because of the way their nervous system behaves. Pithing is recommended for them, which also could be an option for poultry, if necessary.

Theoretically if you were to use a firearm of any sort, you can use the eye as a landmark, but the same as most every other animal, a straight shot to the eye enters the front sinus and doesn’t necessarily contact the brain. (Hence why with cattle you draw an imaginary line from each ear to opposite eye, and the “X” is your shot location). A better option would be a shot to the back of the head, angled in such a way to be sure to contact the brain. If you have an animal that is otherwise unconscious, but still breathing and alive, a shot into the brain from inside the mouth is also a possibility. But the biggest thing there is to know your anatomy of where the brain is in relation to other things. Personally I find manual cervical dislocation fast, simple to execute, and no need for additional items - and no real mess, unless you pull too hard. Practice on already dead birds to get a feel for the action, and you’re good to go, any time, anywhere. The only problem with it is that it’s very hands on, and some may have trouble with that aspect.

 

[puddyglum]

Registered just to thank those of you who suggested wrapping the chicken’s body in a towel (neck and head exposed). Doing so calmed the chicken down and allowed for an accurate shot (steel bb with a 700 fps air rifle). I used an old dark colored towel just in case of blood. Looked up a diagram on the brain location, which is mainly just the back of the head.

To minimize mess I placed a plastic bag in the garbage bin on top of some compost. Barrel placed on the back of the head and aimed into the bag. After the shot I loosened the towel and the body immediately fell into the plastic bag. Lots of twitching as usually always happens.

This was our very first chicken but had disease in its legs and damage was so severe it couldn’t walk. Absolutely broke my heart for a few minutes but I’m very thankful for the suggestion of wrapping in a towel.

 

[Kimmyh51]

Registered just to thank those of you who suggested wrapping the chicken’s body in a towel (neck and head exposed). Doing so calmed the chicken down and allowed for an accurate shot (steel bb with a 700 fps air rifle). I used an old dark colored towel just in case of blood. Looked up a diagram on the brain location, which is mainly just the back of the head.

To minimize mess I placed a plastic bag in the garbage bin on top of some compost. Barrel placed on the back of the head and aimed into the bag. After the shot I loosened the towel and the body immediately fell into the plastic bag. Lots of twitching as usually always happens.

This was our very first chicken but had disease in its legs and damage was so severe it couldn’t walk. Absolutely broke my heart for a few minutes but I’m very thankful for the suggestion of wrapping in a towel.

This is a slightly graphic question, but are you certain (from the visible results) that your pellet instantly ended the chickens suffering

And do you think an air pistol with a lower FPS would be effective?
The reason I ask this is I have a CO2 powered air pistol, (if you wanted to look it up it is a crossman vigilante) and although I am not intending to use it as a method of euthanasia, I have a lot of ducks and more than once I have considered the possibility that I might find myself in a situation at some time where there were no vets open and I had a duck who was suddenly ill, or maybe suddenly injured, who was in extreme distress and pain (I have NSAIDS my vet prescribed on hand but nothing stronger) who might have no chance of recovery but was also not dying straight away.
I have wondered whether, if I were to find myself in that situation, my crossman vigilante would be sufficient , if I put in a brand new co2 cartridge, and aimed it directly through the eye, this would be effective at putting the duck out of its misery?
Hopefully I will never have to find out, but from your experience with your 700fps rifle, do you think my (I think around 450fps) pistol would do the job if aimed right at the eye.
If I were ever to have to do this, as it is semi auto, I would probably line up and put 2-3 shots in, one after the other, just in case the first was not enough.
If I lose a member of my flock who I can bear to try this with, I will test it out on a dead duck, but the only adult duck I have lost in the last 6 months whose remains were in a suitable condition to test this theory was a drake who was extremely dear to me (who I am still grieving) and there is no way I could have used his remains as a test subject for this.

To me from what I have seen with my ducks, it is actually a real problem. Birds can get SO distressed when put in a cage, and driven in the car to the vet, that I feel like it is heaping more suffering on top of what is already a painful, horrible, terrible situation for a bird who is suffering from severe illness or injury, when you have to load them into the car and drive them to the vet, then take them in a cage, into a strange place with strange predators (people) and often cats and or dogs as well. I am convinced that this experience is very distressing and terrifying for any bird, except maybe the occasional hand reared house bird who is handled by people multiple times every day throughout their life.

I really do think, that for me to be able to provide a truly humane life, including death for my birds, it would be only possible, if there were a way of giving a bird that was sick or injured or for any other reason needed to be euthanised, a quick, painless death, in a non terrifying way in a non terrifying environment at home. Obviously the ideal would be if vets were able to prescribe for responsible animal owners, the medication used in surgery (after training the owners in its proper use, storage, etc). But apparently it is illegal for vets to prescribe euthanasia medicine, at least in my country, mainly because apparently there is a risk people will use it to commit suicide.

I had been looking at a drug which is sold without any prescription, for the purpose of pest control in wild birds, which apparently stuns them and knocks them out so they can be humanely killed, or revived if non target. I had hoped it might be a useful way to anaesthetise a bird prior to killing, so that they would not be aware when the killing process happened, or feel it (ie prior to decapitation or prior to shooting)
But did some research which indicated it only anaesthetises to level two which apparently doesn’t block pain and while it immobilises, actually stimulates the nervous system, so would make it easier for the person handling the bird, but possibly if anything worse for the bird in terms of fear and pain, prior to being killed. I have a few drakes who are continually gang raping and injuring my ducks, and I was hoping it might be a useful assistance to euthanise these guys (they have been resistant to all efforts to train out of the behaviour, and cannot be separated from the ducks as even in small groups of 2-3 they were turning on each other).

Anyway I hate the idea of having to transport a sick, distressed and terrified animal, or even a drake who is behaving unacceptably and can’t be rehomed or rehoused to a strange alien place to then end its life in the presence of what it sees as predators, and wish there were some acceptable ways to solve this problem, and also that vets were more interested in working with owners of birds on this, including ways to ensure suitable methods of euthanasia could be obtained in advance so if an urgent situation occurred we already had the necessary items or drugs on hand and had been trained in their use.

Is there anyone else that thinks this is also something that is essential to provide human care of birds, and is sadly lacking?

Or anyone else who feels that they have a good way to address this problem?

Oh btw I am kinda talking about two different things here as I don’t ever intend to use my crossman air pistol as a form of non urgent euthanasia, so while I would like to know if it would be effective in an emergency situation, my other comments about their needing to be effective euthanasia methods for bird owners, are not implying that I think my air pistol would be a good way to euthanise problem drakes, or any other situation where immediate euthanasia was not necessary to end suffering. So I am also interested in considering ways to offer any of my ducks that need to be euthanised, a calm, painless, instant at home method of euthanasia. I have read studies that have implied that decapitation may not cause loss of consciousness for up to 25 seconds which I think if someone cut my head off, 25 seconds would be a horrifically long time to consider my situation, therefore I do not want to use decapitation to euthanise any of my birds, except if I were able to medicate them to the point where I was certain they were unconscious and unable to feel or understand what was happening, before, after, and during the decapitation process.

I wish there were a drug available that we could give to a bird who needed to be euthanised but not so immediately that half an hr or so for an oral drug to kick in was inhumane.. ie something that would send them painlessly to sleep and also counteract and reduce or completely remove any anxiety they might be feeling.

 

[puddyglum]

I have wondered whether, if I were to find myself in that situation, my crossman vigilante would be sufficient , if I put in a brand new co2 cartridge, and aimed it directly through the eye, this would be effective at putting the duck out of its misery?

I wouldn't aim front the front, but from the back, unless you have a lot of room behind the bird. The middle of the back of the head, maybe pointing towards the eye, would definitely do it.

This is a slightly graphic question, but are you certain (from the visible results) that your pellet instantly ended the chickens suffering

Yes, no suffering observed. Yeah, it's weird writing on this topic, but I am truly appreciative of the advice.

And do you think an air pistol with a lower FPS would be effective?

I think 450+ FPS would be fine at point blank at the back of the head. If you haven't killed an animal in the head before, their nerve endings cause a lot of shaking, so be prepared for twitching after the fact.

I don't know about the euthanasia medicine. That seems likely to introduce the risk of a serious accident, even if most people are responsible. I don't use rat poison for the same reason. I think cervical decapitation is a good idea, I just felt more comfortable with the pellet gun.

 

[bugzziee]

Hello, I have a sick chicken that I need to euthanize. I just cannot bring myself to cut off her head or slit her throat. My neighbor offered me a BB gun, It is a small handgun pistol type thing. It only shoots BBs, not pellets. With this be sufficient at basically point blank range to quickly kill the chicken? Wood pellets be better? I’m not looking for something long range, very close will be fine. Any suggestions? Also, I know the chickens flap and move even after they’re dead. How long does this go on for?

no no no. so inhumane and painful. slit her throat with a razor. why can’t u let her live out her life

 

[Alanlett]

Hello, I have a sick chicken that I need to euthanize. I just cannot bring myself to cut off her head or slit her throat. My neighbor offered me a BB gun, It is a small handgun pistol type thing. It only shoots BBs, not pellets. With this be sufficient at basically point blank range to quickly kill the chicken? Wood pellets be better? I’m not looking for something long range, very close will be fine. Any suggestions? Also, I know the chickens flap and move even after they’re dead. How long does this go on for?

Sorry to hear that . But today we’re gonna put down a chicken too because of the leg I think we’re gonna use a Marlon gun to put her down.