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

[Beekissed]

I do it so that I can try to keep common sense as "common" instead of just sense. Too little of it in the world anymore to call it "common".

 

[scrapingran]

I understand how you feel since my chickens have become pets. I think that the hatchet is far and away the most
humane way to kill a chicken. Try to remember that the bird is a food source, and if it helps you to feel better,
thank the bird for giving its' life to feed your family. Many Native American cultures took that step on a hunt
as a way to acknowledge the animal's sacrifice. Personally, I wouldn't eat the meat from a bird that had been gassed.

 

[scrapingran]

By the way, farming is not a bad thing. The more you can do for yourself, and the less you rely on the government
and others to take care of you, the better off you will be. You can also check with local meat lockers to see how
they kill the animals. They will usually use the fastest method, which usually ends up being the most humane.

 

[cowcreekgeek]

I'm a bit frustrated, after sortin' though *fifty-eight* pages ... some of y'all oughta be ashamed.

Not for your methodology, in regard to any humane manner of ending a chicken's life, or for anyone's inability to do so. And, most certainly, not for hoping to do so in the most humane and peaceful manner one can find.

It's the intolerance, and the arrogance, and the utter disrespect ... and, if you think that I might be talkin' about somethin' you've said/done? Then, I'm hopeful, for your own sake, that it's your conscience that troubles you, for having offended the absolute God-given RIGHT of any other to think, and to feel, just as differently about this as they choose to.

I don't recall ever shedding any tears over the loss of my own chickens, but I've cried for the suffering some go through, due to the loss of their own. And, if you lack the empathy to understand their pain, then ... thank God there's still some folks that will shed a few for you, too.

I have been asked (and asked) to develop a far more practical (and, of course, more humane) device for carrying out Controlled Atmosphere Killing (CAK), so as to eliminate both the human error, which too often occurs, and their response to elevated CO2 levels.

I've been most reluctant, 'til now ...

 

[LilyD]

cowgreekgeek ~ I don't think anybody is being unsympathetic on this forum. If you are getting into meat birds then one of the parts of it is thinking long and hard about how you are going to do the actual processing. Everyone has their own comfort level. While some might not be comfortable with hands on killing, others might be more uncomfortable watching an animal dying from suffocation due to being put in a gas chamber. It's a personal thing that each person has to decide for themselves.

I have a friend that loves having farm raised chicken and knows that she needs to help on processing day if she is going to eat the chicken but can't be anywhere near where they are being killed. Since there are many different jobs to do on processing day she works in the kitchen with the birds that are already processed packaging them up. That way she is making her contribution but not being near what makes her uncomfortable and that is totally fine.

The OP asked for our thoughts on their ideas for killing in the way she posted and so we are trying to give her our honest opinions. It's not meant to be anything but that.

Personally the killing part of processing day is the most distasteful part of the whole thing for me. I use the way shown by the respectful chicken processing lady on you tube. I sit, I hold them as I have since they were little and I take their life. I feel it isn't something that should be comfortable for me, but it should be the most comfortable for them. They are used to being held and laid in my lap. They are used to being petted and with me playing with their wings, feet, heads and all over their bodies and it doesn't bother them. I do it in a way that makes them the most comfortable and if I am uncomfortable it's a small price to pay for giving them the final respect they deserve.

 

[cowcreekgeek]

cowgreekgeek ~ I don't think anybody is being unsympathetic on this forum. If you are getting into meat birds then one of the parts of it is thinking long and hard about how you are going to do the actual processing. Everyone has their own comfort level. While some might not be comfortable with hands on killing, others might be more uncomfortable watching an animal dying from suffocation due to being put in a gas chamber. It's a personal thing that each person has to decide for themselves.

I have a friend that loves having farm raised chicken and knows that she needs to help on processing day if she is going to eat the chicken but can't be anywhere near where they are being killed. Since there are many different jobs to do on processing day she works in the kitchen with the birds that are already processed packaging them up. That way she is making her contribution but not being near what makes her uncomfortable and that is totally fine.

The OP asked for our thoughts on their ideas for killing in the way she posted and so we are trying to give her our honest opinions. It's not meant to be anything but that.

Personally the killing part of processing day is the most distasteful part of the whole thing for me. I use the way shown by the respectful chicken processing lady on you tube. I sit, I hold them as I have since they were little and I take their life. I feel it isn't something that should be comfortable for me, but it should be the most comfortable for them. They are used to being held and laid in my lap. They are used to being petted and with me playing with their wings, feet, heads and all over their bodies and it doesn't bother them. I do it in a way that makes them the most comfortable and if I am uncomfortable it's a small price to pay for giving them the final respect they deserve.

:: COLOR-CODED FOR EASE OF REFERENCE ::​

Unsympathetic can most certainly to those behind a handful of these posts, along w/ intolerant, and arrogant, and utterly disrespectful ... to clarify: I meant towards one another, rather than the chickens, and (thankfully) it's limited to the actions of just a few. Based upon nothin' more than this one post of your own? I'd bet my favorite chicken that you'd easily recognize, if you skimmed through 'em all closely. But, it's not important that others know, so long as they, themselves, do. Movin' on ...

I absolutely have no problem w/ cervical dislocation, or any other humane method(s) folks choose. I rely upon the certainty of my swing w/ a sharp knife, if I've any choice. Controlled Atmosphere Killing (CAK), if properly performed w/ the right gas(es), is absolutely *not* death by suffocation, which would be no more humane than drowning ... and, if done right? It's nothing more than gently falling asleep, but for the last time, and (obviously) there could be nothing more humane than that ... it's how most people pray they'll go when it's their time, right before prayin' that it ain't tonight.

I also have no problem w/ the OP's thread, or honest opinions, or even folks gettin' a bit passionate about their point(s), or defensive of their method(s). But, I doubt our 'way of life' is being threatened by growing interest in, and a shift towards, CAK.

Grandmother harvested very specific chicken(s), with nothing more than small round rocks, fired w/ incredible precision from waist level. Mom's never personally killed a single one of 'em, but concedes, as a consumer, to bein' responsible for the manner in which they were raised, and ultimately, the way those she's consumed were killed. My last order was for 26 females, which means that I sent 21 or 22 roosters to the gas chamber. So, there's no escape from the killing, which is *supposed* to be the least pleasant part (avoid anybody that thinks otherwise ~'-)

 

[galanie]

I always enjoy the amusement this thread gives me when it gets resurrected yet again. And again.And again.

 

[LilyD]

:: COLOR-CODED FOR EASE OF REFERENCE ::​

Unsympathetic can most certainly to those behind a handful of these posts, along w/ intolerant, and arrogant, and utterly disrespectful ... to clarify: I meant towards one another, rather than the chickens, and (thankfully) it's limited to the actions of just a few. Based upon nothin' more than this one post of your own? I'd bet my favorite chicken that you'd easily recognize, if you skimmed through 'em all closely. But, it's not important that others know, so long as they, themselves, do. Movin' on ...

I absolutely have no problem w/ cervical dislocation, or any other humane method(s) folks choose. I rely upon the certainty of my swing w/ a sharp knife, if I've any choice. Controlled Atmosphere Killing (CAK), if properly performed w/ the right gas(es), is absolutely *not* death by suffocation, which would be no more humane than drowning ... and, if done right? It's nothing more than gently falling asleep, but for the last time, and (obviously) there could be nothing more humane than that ... it's how most people pray they'll go when it's their time, right before prayin' that it ain't tonight.

I also have no problem w/ the OP's thread, or honest opinions, or even folks gettin' a bit passionate about their point(s), or defensive of their method(s). But, I doubt our 'way of life' is being threatened by growing interest in, and a shift towards, CAK.

I did read through all the posts before I made my post and I saw attacks made on both sides. Yes there were some who were against gassing the there were others who were definitely against the more common methods of processing. But I thought that was what this thread was for. It was set up originally as a posting to discuss the ways to process and think about which one might be the most humane. The problem with that idea is that the most humane for the chicken is often not the most humane for the human. So it depends on what you are looking for. I guess I can see both sides of the argument and can agree in some ways with both people.

I do understand the concept behind gassing, but I also understand that it must be done exactly right to make it so that it is just falling asleep. I was one of those people who brought their chicken pullet to the vet to have it put down (when I first started with chickens) because she had sustained a serious injury and there was no making things better for her so she could have a quality of life. I can honestly say that they used a gas chamber to put her down and she struggled and cried and was definitely panicked when it was done. She was the first and only chick that I have ever brought in to do it because I wasn't ready to help her myself and I can say I will never do anything like that again.

These were the professionals and they could not even make her passing easy so how successful would I be, for example if I tried to get the mixture exactly right so that it was humane. That's why personally this type of method wouldn't work for me. If you have mass quantities of experience with this sort of thing it might be right up your ally, but for others it's not a practical suggestion.

Unfortunately I have to humbly disagree with you when you say that our way of life is not being threatened by others who are determined that killing farm animals is not humane. I have had a few people stop and question how I could possibly do this sort of thing to my chickens who love and trust me when I could just go down to the store and get chicken without killing anything. One person (who was vegetarian) actually told me that even if I let them have my entire property to run on before I processed them, I was still being inhumane because I kept them caged in a fence to keep them on the property rather than letting them free range everywhere and taking my chances with the road and predators in the neighborhood. I can see in the future that people who are as rigid in their beliefs as this might try to petition others to make farming more humane. No don't slap the cows on the butt to get them to come in to the barn it's not humane. You can't get them pregnant once a year that's not good for them it's inhumane you have to run two herds if you want to sell milk each year. Putting a light up in my coop I have been told is not humane because chickens need a break in the winter from laying so making them lay in the winter is wrong. Processing my layers after 2 years when they stop laying is not humane I should try and rehome them instead even though I can see the tons of adds already in the paper where people are totally being unsuccessful trying this. I guess the question I will pose is if this move to treating meat animals humanely is growing and I am already seeing and hearing these things from people what is the next step going to be? Will we be regulated and controlled? Not trying to attack you but just offering food for thought on some of the ideas presented.

 

[cowcreekgeek]

You'd be mighty useful to those seeking advocacy, if you weren't so obviously good at farmin' (which we really can't afford to lose )-;~

My shotgun was aimed at just a few folks, and on both sides of the fence, by the way. As to those that interfere w/ your best practice methodologies? I've a fairly tolerant nature when it comes to ignorance, 'cause folks that wanna ask why can be educated. And, I can even play nicely w/ those that choose to remain ignorant, even though I personally think that's sorta dumb. But, when it comes to anybody pushin' folks around, or offending their moral and legal right(s)? Well ... you've seen how I feel about that sorta thing ... it's not to be tolerated, from anyone, even if I otherwise agree w/ them.

I'm sorry for your experience at the vet's office, and that there might have been errors made in the operation -- you're absolutely right, in that to be properly done requires a good deal of precision, along w/ proper timing, most esp. when carbon dioxide is used, which was most probably the case. I swore off the vet's office for euthanasia long ago, although they'd done everything right for Tigger ... he hated car rides, 'cause he knew it meant he was goin' to the doctor. Rather than returning him home, to bury him where he preferred to watch over things? I shoulda let him go there on his own power; shoulda put him down myself, right there where he'd have been most happy, and w/o him ever knowin' what happened.

And, that's where I can see benefit in the home use of CAK, but with the incorporation of gases such as helium and nitrogen, with the result of asphyxiation (respiration of inert gas w/o oxygen) rather than the suffocation which too often occurs, when improperly performed ... the brain detects the excessive levels of CO2, which they wish to escape. Carbon Dioxide is cheap, which is why it's preferred ... those that are forced to put down any pet they love most probably won't mind payin' for the appropriate gas(es).

And, despite the fact some on here poke fun at the thought of such a thing? For those that wish to make their bird as comfortable as is possible, there should be no hissing or fizzing sounds for birds to contend w/ during the process, and the bird should be as familiar w/ the device as is practical, so as to not so much as frighten it in the slightest bit.

And, no, I'm not suggesting this as an alternative that all should choose. And, certainly, I wouldn't wish to see such a thing forced upon anyone ... you got a point, when it come to the way some folks think, and far too often? Politicians tend to do what they're told, w/o regard to what is right, by those w/ the most effective control over 'em. I'm uncomfortable w/ seeing the Humane Society having control over shelters, as that's where the worst cases of neglect and abuse have occurred recently ... when they're this inept w/ cats 'n dogs? I'd sure hate to see what they'd do w/ chickens. The vegan that stopped by your farm? She'd be a volunteer, there.

:: edited to add the following excerpt from:
AVMA Guidelines on Euthanasia
(Formerly Report of the AVMA Panel on Euthanasia) ::

AVMA Guidelines on Euthanasia
(Formerly Report of the AVMA Panel on Euthanasia)

INHALANT AGENTS
Any gas that is inhaled must reach a certain concentration in the alveoli before it can be effective; therefore, euthanasia with any of these agents takes some time. The suitability of a particular agent depends on whether an animal experiences distress between the time it begins to inhale the agent and the time it loses consciousness. Some agents may induce convulsions, but these generally follow loss of consciousness. Agents inducing convulsions prior to loss of consciousness are unacceptable for euthanasia.
Certain considerations are common to all inhalant agents. (1) In most cases, onset of loss of consciousness is more rapid, and euthanasia more humane, if the animal is rapidly exposed to a high concentration of the agent. (2) The equipment used to deliver and maintain this high concentration must be in good working order and in compliance with state and federal
regulations. Leaky or faulty equipment may lead to slow, distressful death and be hazardous to other animals and to personnel. (3) Most of these agents are hazardous to personnel because of the risk of explosions (eg, ether), narcosis (eg, halothane), hypoxemia (eg, nitrogen and carbon monoxide), addiction (eg, nitrous oxide), or health effects resulting from chronic exposure (eg, nitrous oxide and carbon monoxide). (4) Alveolar concentrations rise slowly in an animal with decreased ventilation, making agitation more likely during induction. Other noninhalant methods of euthanasia should be considered for such animals. (5) Neonatal animals appear to be resistant to hypoxia, and because all inhalant agents ultimately cause hypoxia, neonatal animals take longer to die than adults. Glass et al,44 reported that newborn dogs, rabbits, and guinea pigs survived a nitrogen atmosphere much longer than did adults. Dogs, at 1 week old, survived for 14 minutes compared with a 3-minute survival time after a few weeks of age. Guinea pigs survived for 4.5 minutes at 1 day old, compared with 3 minutes at 8 days or older. Rabbits survived for 13 minutes at 6 days old, 4 minutes at 14 days, and 1.5 minutes at 19 days and older. The panel recommended that inhalant agents not be used alone in animals less than 16 weeks old except to induce loss of consciousness, followed by the use of some other method to kill the animal. (6) Rapid gas flows can produce a noise that frightens animals. If high flows are required, the equipment should be designed to minimize noise. (7) Animals placed together in chambers should be of the same species, and, if needed, should be restrained so that they will not hurt themselves or others. Chambers should not be overloaded and need to be kept clean to minimize odors that might distress animals subsequently euthanatized.
(8) Reptiles, amphibians, and diving birds and mammals have a great capacity for holding their breath and anaerobic metabolism. Therefore, induction of anesthesia and time to loss of consciousness when using inhalants may be greatly prolonged. Other techniques may be more appropriate for these species.

 

[galanie]

I do understand the concept behind gassing, but I also understand that it must be done exactly right to make it so that it is just falling asleep. I was one of those people who brought their chicken pullet to the vet to have it put down (when I first started with chickens) because she had sustained a serious injury and there was no making things better for her so she could have a quality of life. I can honestly say that they used a gas chamber to put her down and she struggled and cried and was definitely panicked when it was done. She was the first and only chick that I have ever brought in to do it because I wasn't ready to help her myself and I can say I will never do anything like that again.

This. Is what happens nearly every time one is put down with gasses. My animal loving neighbor wouldn't allow me to deal with an obviously dying wild bird. Rather than have the bird leave his hands and get put down quickly out of his sight, he chose to gas it with his truck exhaust. If only true Animal Lovers really knew what they were doing, we'd not have this kind of thing happen. That bird would have had a much easier death even if just allowed to die on it's own.