Benadryl to Euthanize Chicken?

[hayley3]

It usually takes between 1½ - 3 minutes for a chicken to bleed out. So it's not exactly that long.
Cervical Dislocation method/broomstick method does take alittle practice. I've messed up on it a couple times in the past, but now have mastered it.

I'd like to know what you learned from messing up. I know this is an older post but hoping you are still around. I saw the broomstick method on youtube but I'm afraid I will mess it up.

 

[Anon112]

I'd like to know what you learned from messing up. I know this is an older post but hoping you are still around. I saw the broomstick method on youtube but I'm afraid I will mess it up.

Please read this article: https://the-chicken-chick.com/how-to-humanely-euthanize-chicken-by-dr/

Like the article says, the goal is to make the chicken unconscious as fast as possible. Mess ups have to do with something that prolongs the time it takes for the chicken to become unconscious.

I can't speak to the broomstick method, but something I learned from recently euthanizing a chicken with decapitation (with an axe) was to swing like I meant it the first time, but to immediately get ready for a second swing if the first didn't work.

I would imagine with the broomstick method that the main mistake would be not pulling hard enough.

Do you have someone who can help you?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

When you pull a friend's stuck car with your car using a chain, there's a right way and a wrong way to do it. Bear with me, this will make sense in a minute. If you are the one doing the pulling, you want to sloooowly pull forward until the chain is taut (snug, tight), and only then give it more power to try to pull the other vehicle. This is important! People who don't know any better will back up so the chain is slack, then GUN their engine, thinking a lot of power and speed are needed to yank the stuck vehicle loose. WRONG! What this will do is snap the chain.

Now what does this have to do with the broomstick method of dispatching a chicken? This. If you grab the chicken's feet and yank up hard and fast, there's a good chance you will decapitate the chicken, blood will squirt everywhere, the chicken will flap like crazy, splashing blood all over you and you will be so traumatized you'll never do it again. So don't do that!

Instead, gently hold the chicken head down for a moment to relax it. I know, I know - this is not the way you want to carry your chicken around on a general basis. But its life is going to be over in a few minutes anyway, and this is a form of anesthesia. Now scrape a little groove on the ground where its neck is going to be. May as well make it comfy. Lay your "broomstick" over the bird's neck just behind the head. Place your feet on the broomstick, one on each side of the bird's head. Grasping the bird's feet, gently but steadily pull up until the neck is stretched taut. Do it fairly quickly. Then give one more quick yank upward, without first dropping your hands. You may feel a "pop." The bird may thrash, but the deed is done. I like to have a bucket handy with a trash bag in it to drop the bird into immediately. Close the bag and tie it shut. This is especially handy if you did pull too hard and there is bleeding. And that's it!

 

[coach723]

I'd like to know what you learned from messing up. I know this is an older post but hoping you are still around. I saw the broomstick method on youtube but I'm afraid I will mess it up.

If not pulled hard enough, or the broomstick is not held securely enough it can result in a do over. Or several. Which can be stressful. If the pull is too hard, the head may actually come off, which some would find disturbing. Hens are easier than roosters for this method, as roosters have stronger necks.
I still prefer the method linked to in post #17 here.
My issue with an axe, is accuracy. Birds move, flap, struggle, and I like to keep all my extremities. And for a first timer, you might find the force needed to be surprising. If using any blade, make sure it's very sharp.
The best method is the one you are most comfortable with, that is as instantaneous as possible, which ensures that there will be less chance of error and less chance of any suffering for the bird.

 

[MysteryChicken]

I'd like to know what you learned from messing up. I know this is an older post but hoping you are still around. I saw the broomstick method on youtube but I'm afraid I will mess it up.

It's a learning experience. Messing up is when you fail to step firmly on each end of the broomstick before you pull up on the bird to sever the cervical cord from the brain, but instead the bird gets pulled out in the process just getting injured instead, forcing you to redo it, & put bird out of it's misery.
It's happened a few times, so it's usually not the first thing I recommend for putting a chicken down.

 

[hayley3]

It's a learning experience. Messing up is when you fail to step firmly on each end of the broomstick before you pull up on the bird to sever the cervical cord from the brain, but instead the bird gets pulled out in the process just getting injured instead, forcing you to redo it, & put bird out of it's misery.
It's happened a few times, so it's usually not the first thing I recommend for putting a chicken down.

I am planning on using a piece of rebar. That's a good thing to watch for though..thanks

 

[hayley3]

If not pulled hard enough, or the broomstick is not held securely enough it can result in a do over. Or several. Which can be stressful. If the pull is too hard, the head may actually come off, which some would find disturbing. Hens are easier than roosters for this method, as roosters have stronger necks.
I still prefer the method linked to in post #17 here.
My issue with an axe, is accuracy. Birds move, flap, struggle, and I like to keep all my extremities. And for a first timer, you might find the force needed to be surprising. If using any blade, make sure it's very sharp.
The best method is the one you are most comfortable with, that is as instantaneous as possible, which ensures that there will be less chance of error and less chance of any suffering for the bird.

I bought a Swedish hand axe just for this purpose but it's not sharp enough..I'm sure.

 

[hayley3]

When you pull a friend's stuck car with your car using a chain, there's a right way and a wrong way to do it. Bear with me, this will make sense in a minute. If you are the one doing the pulling, you want to sloooowly pull forward until the chain is taut (snug, tight), and only then give it more power to try to pull the other vehicle. This is important! People who don't know any better will back up so the chain is slack, then GUN their engine, thinking a lot of power and speed are needed to yank the stuck vehicle loose. WRONG! What this will do is snap the chain.

Now what does this have to do with the broomstick method of dispatching a chicken? This. If you grab the chicken's feet and yank up hard and fast, there's a good chance you will decapitate the chicken, blood will squirt everywhere, the chicken will flap like crazy, splashing blood all over you and you will be so traumatized you'll never do it again. So don't do that!

Instead, gently hold the chicken head down for a moment to relax it. I know, I know - this is not the way you want to carry your chicken around on a general basis. But its life is going to be over in a few minutes anyway, and this is a form of anesthesia. Now scrape a little groove on the ground where its neck is going to be. May as well make it comfy. Lay your "broomstick" over the bird's neck just behind the head. Place your feet on the broomstick, one on each side of the bird's head. Grasping the bird's feet, gently but steadily pull up until the neck is stretched taut. Do it fairly quickly. Then give one more quick yank upward, without first dropping your hands. You may feel a "pop." The bird may thrash, but the deed is done. I like to have a bucket handy with a trash bag in it to drop the bird into immediately. Close the bag and tie it shut. This is especially handy if you did pull too hard and there is bleeding. And that's it!

Thank you..this is exactly the detail that I needed. The issue is I'm short...so will have to hold it closer to the body. But knowing to stretch out the bird is really helpful before giving the yank.

 

[hayley3]

Please read this article: https://the-chicken-chick.com/how-to-humanely-euthanize-chicken-by-dr/

Like the article says, the goal is to make the chicken unconscious as fast as possible. Mess ups have to do with something that prolongs the time it takes for the chicken to become unconscious.

I can't speak to the broomstick method, but something I learned from recently euthanizing a chicken with decapitation (with an axe) was to swing like I meant it the first time, but to immediately get ready for a second swing if the first didn't work.

I would imagine with the broomstick method that the main mistake would be not pulling hard enough.

Do you have someone who can help you?

I have no help...so an axe is out of the question, although I bought one for this purpose. I definitely do not want to prolong the chicken's suffering.