Can i use an axe to slaughter meat birds?

[Chick_a_dee]

i had this thought yesterday of using a sharp axe and block to kill meat birds... would that work? has anyone used an axe?

 

[CoopCrazy]

A close friend of mine did all her chickens with a tree stump with two nails in it . She would put the chickens head between the nails stretch out the neck and swoosh chop off its head . I helped her a few times and she would always wear this huge rubber boots and after she cut off the head she would push the chicken upside down against her boot to bleed out.. I like the killing cones mainly because they are much less messy.. But axe is very doable..

Also make sure have a sharpinening stone handy...after a few bones it gets dull and you want it sharp..

 

[Chickie Mamma]

 

[Chick_a_dee]

Quote:
Haha yeah mess doesn't matter, since we only have 25 chickens our first time we wanted to do the butchering ourselves especially since no one around here butchers chickens. any other manner of livestock but not chickens!

 

[girlsaint]

The axe is the only way I have ever seen it done. What is a cone?

 

[PurpleChicken]

An axe is so large I'd be afraid of missing. I've missed with my hatchet
a few times and it's not fun at all.

I'd keep that axe sharp and just use a small chop, not a wood splitting
swing.

 

[CoopCrazy]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160316305210

Hope this works.. This is a killing cone, you place the chicken upside down in the cone , the cone will hold the body while the head is sticking out the small end, take large knife/sharp knife and remove head ...Much less blood and the chicken stays clean it does it's death flop in there..

My dad also did use an axe a few times he would use the boyscout trick..Loop a piece of rope around head hook nail into stump puill rope around nail fopr leverage strech out neck and chop... Still much messier then the cone..

 

[Chick_a_dee]

Quote:

We have a small axe, not sure what it was ever used for and it's far too small to use for wood splitting lol.

 

[Kezzie]

The way it was explained to me (and the only way I've seen it done) is that slitting the arteries on either side of the neck is the best way to kill. First because it is less stressful for the bird to be in the cone and second because slitting the arteries allows the heart to continue pumping out the blood until the bird drifts off which drains the blood more thoroughly.

I would think that the axe method would run the risk of more potential injuries and more gruesomeness if you don't get it right the first time.

 

[patandchickens]

Probably you had this thought because it's what you've often heard of people doing?

Yes, a full sized tree-cutting-down axe is rather big to be accurate, but a "little axe" as you say, or what people would call a hatchet, is a very, very common way of dispatching a chicken.

Sharpen it well, practice beforehand if you are not comfortable and accurate with an "axe", I recommend the two nails method, and make sure your swing has a goodly amount of resolution behind it.

Remember that, like pretty much any other method of killing, the body will flap like crazy for a minute or so afterwards, so it is smart to have the wings well wrapped against the body and/or put the body head-down in a narrow wastebasket or such til it is limp again, to avoid blood everywhere and broken bones on the chicken.

Good luck,

Pat