Chop or Neck Slit?

[Bossroo]

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The bleadout is the same no matter of eather method, the limiting factor is when there is no more blood to carry oxigen to the heart muscle at which point the heart stops pumping.

 

[nivtup]

We slit the neck. Seems they just go to sleep.

 

[Overeasyplz]

Quote:
ditto..

 

[mountainpridefarm]

My theory is that when you slit the neck it makes them unconscious in nearly seconds due to the rapid blood loss. I am assuming they essentially just pass right out. Is this true?

 

[quercus21]

I put them into a cone, then slit their throats.

 

[Garden Gal]

Killing cone and slicing... I just wasn't up to seeing birds flooping around on the ground.

This method seems as humane as it can be; the birds die very quickly and we do our best to make the entire process as easy and stressless on the birds as possible. We just had our second experience today; culled five roosters.

 

[Southerngirl]

We have done both chopping(first) and later slicing. The chickens we used the axe on would flop around and beat their wings. The ones where we sliced the necks were still, quiet and bled out much better; less of a mess versus using the axe too.

 

[Ibicella]

I don't use an axe because I'm a clumsy cuss. I can't even swing a hammer straight and I've had more than my fair share of whacking myself, so I don't want to see what would happen with an axe!

I learned on pithing. If you're only doing one or two birds, we'd take the time to flip them over on their backs and hold them so they'd go into tonic immobility (also knowing as "trancing" or "hypnotizing" the chicken where they grow quiet and still and look like they've gone to sleep).

Then pithing was a snap. Open the beak and stick a small knife in while aiming between the eyes and give it a sharp stab and a quick turn once it's in. The bird shudders and goes limp after it's brain is destroyed. It never knows a thing.

Then you can slice the neck cleanly and leave it to bleed. Best part is, because the bird never has that adrenaline rush, after you scald it the feathers practically fall out on their own!

For doing more than three birds, I'd use the slicing method.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

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You can use a variety of materials for a cone to hold your birds, plastic detergent/bleach bottles, traffic cones, metal flashing or plastic sheets twisted into a cone shape, etc.

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That's what I've heard & read to be true.

 

[rhoda_bruce]

I have been slitting the throats. Family members ask why I don't wring the neck, but I was never good at that. Yesterday I hung a rooster to kill and I had difficulty with the kill. I usually like bleeding them alive because they bleed quite a bit and its cleaner. Well this rooster was a difficult stick and I couldn't figure why I was having so much trouble, so I used a garden device to break the neck and then I cut off his head, but I didn't find he lost as much blood as if he had bleed out on me alive.