Benadryl to Euthanize Chicken?

[Laurasb65]

My grandma used to break their necks with one hand supposedly, just a flick of the wrist. I have yet to meet anyone who uses this method but I would sure like to know how it worked cause it seems very no-nonsense.

Yes it does sound very no-nonsense

 

[Echelontheory101]

Granted my method is for meat birds, not necessarily to put a sick chicken out of its misery but would have the same end result. If you look online or at feed stores you can buy (or make) a processing cone to attach to a tree. You put the chicken in the cone and I use a very sharp pair of branch loppers rated for atleast 3 inch branches. One snip and its all over immediately the head is gone so there is no chance it felt anything after the cut which is why I prefer it over all other methods for me atleast BUT as others have stated you do have to commit to the cut. If you dont think you can I would probably stick with the broom method

 

[Anon112]

I would argue that this method is riskier (in that it may or may not work), longer (who knows how long it took for the bird to die or if it was painful?), and far less "accurate", than decapitation. Did you spare yourself from the disturbing "image"? Yes, but as others have said, humane culling is not about making the human feel better, it's about what's best/most humane for the animal.

This was my initial reaction as well. I would be very hesitant to give a chicken a medication unless I was sure of the effects. What if it looked peaceful from the outside, but what was really happening inside was that the chicken was suffocating or something similar? What if it caused confusion/stress/pain/discomfort/fear that lasted minutes or even hours?

I would love it if there was a magic pill that could quickly and gently kill a chicken in need of euthanasia. But until that exists, it's the axe and stump at this house.