DIY HUMANE way to Kill Slaughter Chicken (Stun-kill, Gas)

[katamount]

I believe I can help anyone who is trying to get a perspective on propper humane killing techniques. have eaten meat that has been gassed, and was a Vet tech for ten years. Gassing does indeed spoil the meat, unless you use excess quantities of O2 to sedate, rather than kill. Then you could kill quite unnoticably by the bird, and O2 gives a sense of euphoria, so the bird would not panic. All other gasses would not be advised- even if it were a naturally occurring bloodstream gas, such as CO or CO2. The bird would indeed feel as though it was suffocating- not pleasant.
As far as beheading, I've also done extensive research, including field research. It is NOT necissarily the most humane tactic, as the head is indeed still alive for a few moments. I would not personally want to feel the pain in my neck from being decapitated, while knowing that my body was not attached anymore AND being unable to breathe. (This goes for humans, also, as alas, the guillotine was proven not to be particularly pain free, as it's purpose had intended. )
It is a personal choice how one kills one's bird, but I do advocate slitting the neck after calming the bird- inverting it and tucking it's head under a wing. Cones work well, but I wonder if the bird would feel any better being held by a person, who is speaking softly to it, rather than a device. Light pressure has been proven to calm mammals (look up Temple Grandin's "hug box"), but I'm not sure about birds, as they have multiple air sacs as well as lungs, and pressure may cause fright. It is something to look up.
The last aspect to consider, if slicing the neck, is whether to get the jugular alone, or the trachea as well. I have not, as of yet, gotten only the jugular, as it is difficult to sever one without the other. However, when putting myself in the bird's position, I tend to believe it would be more pleasant to merely bleed to death than to also cough and sputter and choke on my own blood, breathing through a massive gash in my neck. We're talking about seconds, here, but if you really want to treat the bird well, it is something to ponder. Hope this has been helpful. Happy killing.

 

[raacampbell]

>It is NOT necissarily the most humane tactic, as the head is indeed still alive for a few moments.

I'm not so sure about that. The brain would loose consciousness in under 3 seconds (probably less) and pain information tends to travel slowly and builds up over time. I suspect the sensation of pain wouldn't even have had time occur before brain shuts down.

 

[GBov]

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Yeh, thats what I thought too!

 

[redhen]

We used the broomstick method (breaking the neck...) last time and it worked well..the bird died instanly..

 

[raacampbell]

Yes, oxygen would work as well as nitrogen. Although oxygen is poisonous at high concentrations (it's highly reactive) whereas nitrogen isn't. I really doubt you'd spoil the meat with nitrogen. Whichever way you kill the animal, it ultimately dies because the circulation stops and the cells run our of oxygen.

Carbon monoxide wouldn't distress the animal--this is why CO is so dangerous: it kills you without you realizing it. You probably wouldn't want to be messing around with CO at home....

 

[jaku]

Wow, I think if one is so hung up on humane killing methods that they want to figure out complex ways to gas their birds, they should consider NOT eating them, and just keep chickens for eggs, and possibly just becoming a vegetarian. I think that if the chickens had to choose a method to die, they would choose old age. Eating chickens involves killing an animal- there's NO way to make that fun for the animal. One should just decide if they're going to be ok with that or not. Messing with oxygen or carbon monoxide is just a lot of extra work that could also land you on the "Darwin Awards" when it kills you along with your chicken.

 

[raacampbell]

Yeah, I agree totally. My points on the matter are merely academic. When I have to, I just heartlessly lob off their heads with an axe. They don't actively enjoy the procedure (neither to do I) but it's also pretty obvious that they have no clue what's going on and I'm quick so they aren't in pain. Also, they are no more distressed by being handled for this procedure than when I pick up them up for other reasons.

 

[Dust Bunny]

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i found this profoundly true and very helpfull, thank you so much!

 

[Dust Bunny]

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lol

 

[fowltemptress]

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Yeh, thats what I thought too!

I do not at all think the brain would manage to stay alive long enough for the pain receptors to do their job, and when a truly traumatic injury occurs there's even more of a delay in the firing of that information. It evolved as a survival tactic so that the animal could get away from whatever was causing the injury before hunkering down and either wait out the healing process or die from the injuries. Has anyone ever been around someone who's had a limb torn clean off? When it happens there's a moment of, "What the heck? Where's my leg?" shock before the pain really begins to register.

Here's where I'll admit that, even knowing all that, I do not like to see the head doing it's weird death thing. Even though it only takes two seconds at most, that's two agonizing seconds for me. To ease my irrational mind, I have my SO help me dispatch them. We've worked it out to where he thwacks off the head, and a nanosecond later I have the head crushed beneath a large rock I use for the purpose. Even if I'm found to be wrong and the head can still feel pain after decapitation, I figure there's no way it can be feeling anything when the brain has been smashed to jelly.