BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[Molpet]

There are really good questions, and ones that I've wrestled with myself. I've tried that slit the throat and then stab the mouth method but haven't been successful. Even when restrained in a cone it was hard for me to hold the mouth open and still for the stabbing and I almost stabbed myself instead.

My guess is that the most humane method is instant decapitation. I say "guess" because I've yet to do this myself. I use the cone and slit the jugular because I can manage it completely by myself. I'm not convinced I could cut off their head by myself without removing my own hand in the process. Perhaps if I had a chicken guillotine...

Much of my butchering occurs when my husband isn't home, and my son is useless when it comes to killing anything. (He can't even bring himself to flush a sickly goldfish down the toilet if it's still alive.) The problem is, even though they bleed out really well, it can sometimes take a lot longer for them to die than I would like. I've found that the more hyper the bird just prior to putting it in the cone, the faster they die. For that reason, I grab the bird by the legs and allow it to "fight me" by flapping and 'doing crunches'. Then I quickly secure it in the cone and make the cut. The heart is still pumping so fast that the blood pours out quickly and death takes just a few minutes.

I've also put the birds into a tonic before culling my holding them upside down for a while until they grow calm and their eyes are closed. They stay very calm and still through the entire process and some haven't even responded to being cut, but death takes longer. That bothers me. I want it over quickly.

One word of advice...if you choose to cut the jugular and let them hang upside down (cone or rope, etc.), I suggest you walk away once you know you've cut deeply enough. It's just a lot easier to not have to watch them go through the death throws.

I am too squeamish to slit and I use a pair of game loppers to chop the head.. no chance to become 'stumpy' and I can close my eyes when I do it

usually does't cut the windpipe so you have to finish cutting .. older model of this .https://www.amazon.com/Browning-322230-230-Outdoorsman-Shears/dp/B005L2M2US

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

Quote:
Well, having just gone through this last weekend...

I use a cone and slit the neck on one side, preferably in a single stroke with a scalpel (found that aiming just under the earlobe is best). That's it. I actually don't walk away, I watch them and am with them the whole time. I hold the head tilted gently to the side away from the cut to encourage the blood to flow. I also sometimes stroke the face under they eye a bit as they bleed, as that calms all of my chickens generally - I don't know if it matters, but it can't hurt. For the latest group, I definitely noticed that it took some longer than others. It did take longer if I didn't tilt the head, but I'm wondering about your observation about them "fighting" - I don't remember whether that correlated or not. But I did note that if it took them longer, it was entirely because it took them longer to bleed out (well, duh.) Probably a combination of depth of my cut and the beating of their hearts.

- Ant Farm

 

[Beer can]

I am too squeamish to slit and I use a pair of game loppers to chop the head.. no chance to become 'stumpy' and I can close my eyes when I do it     usually does't cut the windpipe so you have to finish cutting .. older model of this  .https://www.amazon.com/Browning-322230-230-Outdoorsman-Shears/dp/B005L2M2US

 

I basically use the same!
Soo much easier than a hatchet.

 

[Kev]

Didn't someone post a pipe cutter? Seemed like a great idea...

or was it for cutting bones instead..?

 

[Beer can]

When using a killing cone, I use a modified 2gal bleach jug, helps if you tape the feet together, I forgot that part first time I used one.
Complete decapitation to me seems like the most humane way, instant death, the heart still pumps regardless if the body has a head or not. When you chop their heads off with a hatchet and let them go, they fly a long ways, and flip and flop, blood pumping out the whole time.
I prefer the cone nowadays, and a bucket to catch the blood. And the tree branch loppers just make everything easier and quicker.
Figure a lawn sprayed with blood is just too much advertisement for predators.

 

[Kev]

I do it old school.. cut the head off completely.

There is a variation in how long the body thrashes around, some barely do it, others are seeming to fight and jump around for minutes.

Also noticed sometimes if the bottom of feet was not touching anything it won't really trash around but as soon as there's pressure on the feet, they suddenly come to life, kicking very strongly and often start flapping around. It is a little freaky to see...

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

I have read a number of times/different places that cutting the jugular is one of the most humane ways to dispatch. (Otherwise I wouldn't do it that way). Not sure where I read it, but I have actually read that decapitation can actually be more painful/difficult for the bird (albeit briefly), with regard to the pain mechanisms and also brain function, as opposed to the gradual loss of consciousness that comes with bleeding from the jugular. (I'm sorry, I can't tell you exactly where I read it, I don't recall, but I think it was the same place I was reading on how to humanely euthanize young chicks.)

(Not sure how much actual difference there is in the end, but for whatever it's worth...)

- Ant Farm

 

[Turk Raphael]

I have a somewhat gruesome question but it's to ensure the most humane method of killing for eating while getting the best meat quality. I'm doing as much research as I can so the rooster has a stay of execution until I'm sure about all this. In the meantime he has started to crow :-/ so it's almost time.
I've been reading that when you cut the veins and let the chicken bleed out, you get more blood out of the meat than if you chop the head off. I also watched a video where someone cut the throat and then immediately stuck the knife into the brain through the mouth, killing the chicken instantly so they didn't wait to die by bleeding to death. That looked pretty humane for the chicken.
I really have to do a good job with this first chicken, the meat cannot be gamey and in fact the more it tastes like commercial chicken the better, or it will be tough to get my husband to eat any more of our chickens.
Does killing the chicken instantly after cutting its throat ensure less blood in the meat, or is that about the same as just chopping off the head? My guess is that just bleeding gives you the best meat, is there really any difference?
Does brining reduce gamey taste?

We were taught to cut one vein and let them bleed out. They are in shock so I doubt they are in much pain, By puncturing the palate, and provided you actually hit the brain, the bird is instantly killed and I personally think less blood will flow from the corpse.

The salt helps relax the muscles and further removes blood that might have been trapped and I think what might make the birds taste gamy could be retained blood in the carcass.

For what it's worth......

 

[bnjrob]

I have a somewhat gruesome question but it's to ensure the most humane method of killing for eating while getting the best meat quality. I'm doing as much research as I can so the rooster has a stay of execution until I'm sure about all this. In the meantime he has started to crow :-/ so it's almost time.
I've been reading that when you cut the veins and let the chicken bleed out, you get more blood out of the meat than if you chop the head off. I also watched a video where someone cut the throat and then immediately stuck the knife into the brain through the mouth, killing the chicken instantly so they didn't wait to die by bleeding to death. That looked pretty humane for the chicken.
I really have to do a good job with this first chicken, the meat cannot be gamey and in fact the more it tastes like commercial chicken the better, or it will be tough to get my husband to eat any more of our chickens.
Does killing the chicken instantly after cutting its throat ensure less blood in the meat, or is that about the same as just chopping off the head? My guess is that just bleeding gives you the best meat, is there really any difference?
Does brining reduce gamey taste?

We slit the throat and then immediately pith the bird and drain the blood for a few minutes till it stops coming out. Pithing it also helps to get feathers out a little easier.

Yes, brining reduces gamey taste. Home grown chicken to picky people is going to seem tough because you actually have to chew it instead of it falling apart like commercial chicken does. I have family that complain about this. Brining helps to break up the meat fibers even more so that they aren't quite so picky about it supposedly being tough.

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

Quote:
I can't even stomach commercial chicken any more. It's weirdly like soft tofu comparatively, it seems.