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

[lacyloo]

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bye chance are u talking about drigges in madison? near blue springs? if so i would call them ,i know they do cows,goats,sheep and othere costum slaghter and prosses

 

[PurpleChicken]

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but i am and i do..

i think i have attachment issues.. (with animals, not all but most)example my cat had 8 kittens.. and i kept them for a year.. and it was super hard to give them up and chose which to keep and just about every day this particular one of them them shows up in my mind.
i so regret giving her away.. (at the time it was just another kitten comperd to the liter) i know how a ladie feels when she has to give up her baby. (yes its the same for me) i wonder bout her all the time.
and i gave them away about a year ago..

that is what i don't want to happen..looking back on them..

i wont be able to ignore them as babies or raising..
my later goals are to start my own hatchery for personal and friends..
so i can have Free Supply of chickens..
Costs are being micromanaged since there isn't much to for any project. to ensure this not only is HUMANE im trying to get cost super low..

i know im confusing.. sorry

thats all i gots for now

Are you really serious about the gas? Your scaring me a bit here.
If you gas an animal using a non toxic gas like CO2 or nitrogen all
you are doing is depleting oxygen. This is a slow and horrible way to die.
There is no going to sleep. The birds suffocate. Toxic gases like carbon monoxide
are even worse. People have this idea that you just go to sleep. This
is incorrect. It's a violent way to die. The third type of gas would be
something like they used for the death penalty. These are complex
mixtures of gasified chemicals. Even if you could get them the expense
would be tremendous. We shouldn't even be talking about this.

You also mention keeping the cost low. There is no way you can compete
with the factory farms on cost. I see chicken for as little as $.50/pound.

I fear your expectations on raising chickens may be a bit unrealistic. I wish
you the best of luck with it and hope you succeed.

 

[tlordon]

purpl thanks..

ya i scare me to with the gas..

what got me on the gas was the UK and there gassing..
i was totally unaware they didn't just fall asleep..
nor would i experiment on the Gas Killing Chamber with any animal

i thought its like when we die in a fire we just stay asleap..
or when you trying to get out your house u get tired and just pass out..
(i personally suffered carbon monoxide poisoning once..
all i remember is watching the TV wide awake talking and then we where all out being woken up by EMS/Rescue..
they said any longer and we would a been dead..
i didn't feel any thing.. or maybe i was hurting but didn't realize it..

what about NOX (nitrous oxide) they use it prego delivery in UK.

as far as lethal gassing like Death penalty.. they have 2 major chemical options. cyanide Capsule dropped in an acid in the middle of the room (makes cyanide gas)
and the Injection 3 chemicals one to make sleep. one to stop heart and another to shut down rest.
those are from what i remember on the History chanel..
so NO to all those..there not safe anyways.. no sinid marinated chicken for me..

sorry ill stop thinking gas..i thought peta said it was better.. or is gassing just better than the hanging and some being dipped alive.. oh god they have to be so scared.. in the kill zone. that is the most important part of protecting them for me. more so than the Factory farm itself.. if that makes sence..

as far as elctro shocking i think that would suck..
i have been taiserd and it aint fun
so i dont think that will work.

it might come back to Chopin it head off.
its the fastest.. and the more i think of it thats the least tramatic on them.. but not me.. i wanted both but that aint looking good..
they will just think they getin petted on a block. but the hacking .. id prob hit my hand LOL from fear etc

when i say compete i mean compete with the Free range pure birds no addys or meds or stimulants.. and including there treatment in that to..

in short all my goals are a bit far away but that keeps me interested.. and on them

 

[agenstr]

i used to kill them in the ways listed however i did not like the mess and flapping around so the last time i killed 3 roosters by .22 cal long rifle. the way i did it was to walk up behind them, making sure my line of fire was clear, put the barrel about 3" from the back of their head. they all went down instantly with just a few mild kicks. this would probably work with a decent powered air gun as well. i would not shoot from a distance because you may be off a litttle and damage some meat.

 

[PurpleChicken]

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I really hear ya on that one. When I about all the time I've spent just thinking
about my chickens it's kinda scary. They didn't offer Chicken Philosophy 101 at
my school either.

 

[thebifman]

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Hey,

I found a GREAT site here for the processing process! Check it out:

http://www.themodernhomestead.us/article/Butchering-Ready.html

 

[BirdBrain]

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Well, You could always drive a couple of long nails part way into the chopping block so they are about an inch and a half apart or a bit less and are sticking out about 2 inches or so. That way you could lay the neck in between the nails and holding on to the legs, gently stretch out the neck a bit so you don't hit your hand and the head stays put.....just a thought.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

I've always considered chopping the head off to be the most traumatic for the human and the most humane for the chicken. Since we are doing this by choice, unlike the chicken, we go with what we think will be easiest and least painful for the chicken. We do not butcher a chicken in view of the other chickens or pets, as a personal decision. They have had a very good life and we try to make their death as instant and untraumatic as possible.

You also have the option of looking for some one that will process your chickens for you. This can be anything from a larger processor down to an individual that just does it as a part time job. You may be able to find some one who's methods you find appropriate.

It's possible that you may find yourself eating a little less chicken or other meats after all this. That's a fine option, too. It sounds like you just need more time to sort this all out in your own mind. This is such a great place to hear all different view points.

 

[EmsoffLambs]

This is an interesting post. And I hope I'm not ruffling any feathers (pun intended

). I just would like to help put this topic into perspective.

First, I want to clarify that I absolutely am an animal lover. Just come look at my home and you'll see that by all the happy critters of all sorts running around. I went college to get a degree in animal science, not because I wanted to get rich (anyone know a rich farmer/rancher? Not me!) but because I love animals. I have as many pictures of my critters on my walls as I do my son!

So I don't want to sound like a callous, cold-hearted animal killer. But you simply can't assign human emotions and intelligence to animals, particularly chickens. A chicken's instints are very primative. Its survival instincts are very strong. To a chicken, you holding it, affectionately stroking it's back, is just as threatening as you hanging it by its feet holding a knife to its throat.

Raising animals is my passion. Unfortunately, it isn't all happy critters prancing through green grass on a warm spring day. I would love it if it was, but it just isn't. I've had to make some tough decisions about whether to try saving a sick or injured animal, or if it would be better to just put it out of its misery. I've worked so hard to try to save some and then have them die. Those tmes make me question why I'm even doing it at all. I'm saying this to show you that when hard reality hits, "gas chambers" and "stunning" will seem like small frye and even a bit silly. Sometimes when raising livestock, you have to just grit your teeth, and go for it, whether it means pulling your first lamb, castrating your first calf, or killing your first chicken.

We've butchered a grand total of 4 chickens now (but we've done a lot more rabbits, lambs, hogs, goats, and steers over the years). I ABSOLUTELY want the kill to be as quick and painfree as possible. We've found that the quickest way is to hang the bird by it's feet and cut of its head with a sharp knife. When hanging a bird, we hold it and tie its feet with a small cord. Slowly lower the bird to a hanging position while holding its wings against its body so it can't flap around. If done slowly, the bird remains calm and never flaps around at all. Hold the bird's head in one hand and with one quick motion, cut off the bird's head. The bird will flap around wildly, but it's just reflexes. It's dead instantly. Also, I'll warn you that the head can be a little disturbing as it opens and closes its mouth several times after its cut off (again, just reflexes). We just automatically drop the head on the ground after we cut it off and don't look down for a few seconds.

This does require a very sharp knife to severe the head quickly. My husband always tests the knife by shaving a little hair off his arm. If the knife shaves the hair, it's sharp enough. Also, a killing cone I'm sure would make this process less traumatizing for the humans as it will eliminate the flapping after the kill.

I wouldn't trust me or the bird with an ax! Perhaps I've seen too many Looney Toons, but I don't know how you'd keep the bird still long enough to do the deed. A sharp knife though, has worked very well for us.

Also, one more thing, hanging a chicken upside-down isn't as cruel as it might seem. It seems to put the birds in a bit of a trance. Birds are weird like that. One of my husband's friends raised brittney spaniels and would use pigeons to train the dogs. He showed us one time how to trance a pigeon. He'd hold the bird and tuck its head under its wing. Then, holding the bird in his hand, he's swing his arm around rapidly three or four times. Then he's stop, lay the bird down, and it would just stay there until you bumped it with your foot to wake it up, when it would fly off. He said the bird would stay for 1/2 hour or more! Watching this, at first I thought, "how mean!" But after seeing how peaceful the bird were in their trance and how quickly they flew off once aroused, I realized that it wasn't harming or traumatizing the pigeons at all! But was still strange! But hanging a chicken upside down seems to have a similar effect.

 

[pueawjapygrta]

using two nails in the chopping block serves pretty well to make a "good" spot to aim.

the only problem with the chopping block is if the chicken is big, it can dislocate it's wings flapping around.