Ceremonies or rituals for putting down a chicken

[zebular13]

Hi,
I hope this is the right section to post this.
I have a 3 year old Rhode Island Red who I am pretty certain is laying internally because she has water belly and several large lumps on her side near her gizzard. She's clearly in pain and hasn't moved and has been barely been eating or drinking for the past three days. This is after nearly a month of me treating her for vent gleet, which got better with monistat but I think may have permanently damaged her reproductive organs. The other chickens in the flock are all still healthy and happy thankfully.

Unfortunately the nearest avian vet has no appointments until late next week. I've decided that if she's not doing any better by tomorrow afternoon I will put her down by cervical dislocation.

I've watched several videos on how to do it, and while I'm confident that I can give her a good death, I'm totally distraught at the thought of this. Are there any ceremonies or rituals that you have used to make this easier emotionally?
I just want to end her suffering, but thinking about breaking the neck of my little friend has me totally messed up. Will I have PTSD from doing this? Should I have a friend or neighbor with me when I do it? (I don't want to traumatize anybody else though)

 

[SilverBirds]

I think it would be nice to have moral support. A good friend or family member who could either do it for you or just be there for emotional support. I'm not sure if you will get PTSD or not as I don not know your personally. Death is one of the hardest parts about keeping animals. I have never had tp physically put down one of my animals, but I have still experienced plenty of deaths. It will not be easy, but remember you are doing it for her own good and she will be in a better place. Afterwards, you can do a little burial ceremony if you would like. You can plant flowers around or engrave her name (if she has one) into a rock.

So sorry you have to go through this, but we're here for you as well.

 

[zebular13]

Thanks so much for your kind reply.
I've enlisted my neighbor to help as he has experience putting chickens down. I watched a couple more videos on how to do it and I'm feeling a bit more calm about the process. I'm certain that I want to do it myself so that I can hold her and calm her in her last moments.
I spent some time with my chicken this evening and let her know that her suffering will be over soon. She wasn't in much of a mood to hang out, which reinforces the fact that I need to do this soon. Previously when she was feeling well she was my cuddliest chicken.

 

[Sally PB]

I'm sorry that your chicken is suffering, and that it's come to this point. A quick, merciful passing is the best thing you can give her.

I've buried the birds I had to put down in my garden. I thank them for their contribution to the soil.

As a practical side note, if there are dogs or raccoons in your area, bury your girl 18-24" deep so that they don't smell her and dig her up. As hard as it was to bury my birds, having their bodies dug up would have been worse.

 

[Acre4Me]

Sorry for the sick hen.

Note: keep her in a darker area bc that keeps them calm before the event. If possible, perform the event in a darker area, ok if using broomstick/cervical dislocation, but may need more light if using a sharp object.

 

[Isadora]

I had to put down a guinea keet last year and, not going to lie, it was unpleasant and I cried. But, but! I knew it was the right decision and had no regrets.
I feel as long as you know that you are doing what's best for your chicken in the end, you won't have PTSD.
If you're concerned about potentially not doing it properly or have any other concerns, I would reach out to see if there's people more capable (meaning, having done it before) who could help you.
Big hugs and I'm sorry about your chicken.

 

[salshep20]

I'm sorry that your chicken is suffering, and that it's come to this point. A quick, merciful passing is the best thing you can give her.

I've buried the birds I had to put down in my garden. I thank them for their contribution to the soil.

As a practical side note, if there are dogs or raccoons in your area, bury your girl 18-24" deep so that they don't smell her and dig her up. As hard as it was to bury my birds, having their bodies dug up would have been worse.

I understand how it feels to take and animals life! But the best thing help it is to keep doing it! I know it sounds crazy! But if you keep doing it for whatever reason! Lets say you processing some for meat! As you keep doing it over and over again your mind will get used to it because its technically in our DNA to do it long back when in the prehistoric Era our ancestors killed animals for food! They keep being able to do it because 1. They were hungry so they had a hunger drive and 2. They kept doing it so they got use to it. Now as we evolved we became smarter we developed technology solutions to problems! That's when animal husbandry came along. Animal husbandry not only made it so that we did not have to hunt our food but it made us more attached to animal because we were raising it from baby to adult! That made us humans more attached but we still had the hunger mentality because we knew that no one else was going to put on the table but me so we still processed our animals!

Now fast forward to 2022! A lot has changed now we have became industrial! Our system provided our food we just buy it ! So hunting and gathering is already gone. Animal husbandry is dying as we speak. So they are taking that ability out of us! Because major food corporations provide food for us we 'really worry about putting food on our table as much! So when we as a consumer finally get to buying something like a chicken on our own or a cow any farm related animal. We become emotionally attached as it is our pet! Because we don't need it! Which there is nothing wrong with!

We as humans are apart of the ecology of this planet and we die other animals die too! On earth there is an EXCHANGE of RESOURCES between animals and organisms! So there is nothing better than to stop this chickens suffering and giving her back to the planet to contribute to this amazing life cycle!

Thanks I'm Salvatore and Private message me if you have any further questions have a good day and please take into consideration to what I have said! Hope this helps!

 

[zebular13]

Thanks everyone for your support!
It's done.

It was easier than I expected it to be, both emotionally and physically (I pulled too hard and separated the head from the body, but I was relieved since that way I was certain that she was dead). I said a prayer first, even though I'm not religious, as a way to both honor her and to focus myself.
I put some flower petals in the grave and some on top of it.
It feels like a weight is lifted off my shoulders both to know that she's no longer suffering and also that I can kill chickens myself if I have to.

If I ever have to do this again, I will probably do this sooner so that the chicken won't suffer as long. I realized that I made killing a bigger deal than it actually is. Also, If I get a replacement chicken, I'll probably choose a breed that lays fewer eggs and is less prone to reproductive issues.

Finally, here is a photo of my sweet chicken Broccoli while she was still healthy, doing her favorite activity of sitting on my feet and pecking my toes until I picked her up.

 

[salshep20]

Thanks everyone for your support!
It's done.

It was easier than I expected it to be, both emotionally and physically (I pulled too hard and separated the head from the body, but I was relieved since that way I was certain that she was dead). I said a prayer first, even though I'm not religious, as a way to both honor her and to focus myself.
I put some flower petals in the grave and some on top of it.
It feels like a weight is lifted off my shoulders both to know that she's no longer suffering and also that I can kill chickens myself if I have to.

If I ever have to do this again, I will probably do this sooner so that the chicken won't suffer as long. I realized that I made killing a bigger deal than it actually is. Also, If I get a replacement chicken, I'll probably choose a breed that lays fewer eggs and is less prone to reproductive issues.

Finally, here is a photo of my sweet chicken Broccoli while she was still healthy, doing her favorite activity of sitting on my feet and pecking my toes until I picked her up.

Congratulations you did it! I knew you had it in you!