Culling Chickens - Advice Needed

[AZ Heat]

**Might be slightly graphic**

Ok, so I've recently had to eliminate my flock due to disease. But in doing so, I ran across some problems during the cull process. The method I used was to hold their back legs with my left hand while holding their necks (with thumb behind their neck and other fingers in front) and bending their neck back while pulling down, snapping their necks quickly. The whole process is done very quickly. I do this to make it as humane as possible and eliminate the mess of blood since I am disposing of them due to sickness and am not eating them.

The problem I'm running in to is that half the time, the whole head snaps off before I feel the dislocation of the neck. The other half of the time I feel the neck dislocate but there is no "complete" separation, if you know what I mean. Is there a trick that I'm missing here? I'd rather not be pulling their heads off, but would rather just be humanely snapping their necks.

Any suggestions?

(Sorry if this is graphic, but I really do want to know what I'm doing wrong... I don't like it when this happens).

 

[opchicks]

We killed two roosters by hanging them upside down, hypnotizing them, then hung them in a bleach jug with the opening enlarged so the head could come out. We hung the jug on a post over a garbage bag, then drove a sharp knife into the brain. They were calm through the whole process, and died instantly. If you're trying to avoid blood, you could just do the hypnotizing, then snap the neck - I think they'll be more manageable.

 

[AZ Heat]

How do you hypnotize them?

 

[jamesrm]

Well, generally a chicken hung upside down is "hypnotized", also being on the back has worked for me. They stop fighting and are calm. I have found the best method for me (granted I am going to eat mine so I want blood loss) is to gently step on the neck, then quickly mash down and yank up with the legs. Breaks the neck and removes the head. You could do that with not a long of a pull and it would work.

Also, if you want a clean break and to know you have a clean break **graphic warning** after you do your twist method, grab by the head or neck and just spin the bird around in the air like your twirling something. Guarantees multiple vertebre seperation.

Sorry about your flock

 

[columbiacritter]

My Big hairy contractor guy neighbor once asked me to show him how to butcher his chickens. He had bought 20 straight run and had 15 roos.

I'd warned him about straight run.

I had my suspicions about how well he'd do so when he asked I just bent down and scoopped up a passing chicken. "First thing you do," I said, "Is just grab your chicken and pull the head right off." I was just playing and not about to behead my layer, but he was already passed out cold on my lawn.

Couple days later we crated up those roos and took them to a processor for him. Funny thing was, after he paid to have them processed he couldn't handle eating them and gave them all away.

Now when his layers get old he just gives them to me.

 

[AZ Heat]

Quote:
That's funny!