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

[Sunny Side Up]

I guess if you had that expensive equipment on hand you could insure that the bird would be quickly & effectively stunned -- therefore treated humanely. I don't think everyone can guarantee the effectiveness of using boards, bats, or golf clubs. With practice, perhaps some can. But I still don't think it amusing to watch or describe.

 

[WalkingWolf]

Quote:
To properly cull using CO2 is a two stage process. If done properly the chicken falls asleep without ever noticing any affects of the CO2. I know this because I got CO2 poisoning from automotive exhaust due to a public vehicle with a exhaust leak. I never smelled tasted or felt anything wrong other than being constantly drowsy at work. After a week I thought I had the flu and went to the doctor, and through blood work the CO2 was discovered. And CO2 is safe in the digestive tract though most of it should come out in the bleeding. The problem with CO2 is it is time consuming to cull for processing unless one wants to build a large chamber for multiple birds.

 

[WalkingWolf]

Quote:
I don't think the posters were intending on being offensive, but you must understand if a person is this sensitive to such things they probably should not be reading about culling to begin with. We went through a similar discussion over members who shoot their chickens to cull them, and members were offended. I shoot mine as I only do a couple at a time, the bullet essentially piths them. They drop like a rock, and it does keep my skills honed as a shooter. Swinging a golf club and hitting the mark I would think would hone one's golfing skills. But I don't golf so I won't swear to that.

 

[Beekissed]

I don't think the posters were intending on being offensive, but you must understand if a person is this sensitive to such things they probably should not be reading about culling to begin with. We went through a similar discussion over members who shoot their chickens to cull them, and members were offended.

I agree. People who are hypersensitive to animal deaths probably shouldn't read these kind of threads....without a doubt, you WILL become offended as folks discuss the whys and hows.

The amusement expressed by myself was more with the thought of what lengths one will go to to make the experience more comfortable for THEM and not necessarily the animal. The thought of putting little socks on the heads of chickens so they will not "see what is coming" was quite amusing to me. Sorry, but I tend to find humor when folks attribute human characteristics to animals.

Death of anything is not real pretty and can be emotionally taxing for folks who are unused to death or killing their own food. This thread is about trying to help someone who realizes that death is a part of life and they want to learn how to do it the best they can. If we have a little grim humor when we discuss it, it doesn't mean we are cruel or insensitive. It just means we have a job to do that is unpleasant...we can either whine and cry about it, or we can approach it with a matter of fact attitude and keep things light.

I agree that slitting a bird's throat is the best method I've found....and I've tried chopping with an axe, wringing necks, hitting on the head (not always accurate or quick and nearly impossible to do when someone is holding the bird lovingly cradled in their arms, BTW) and pithing.

I've been doing this for 33 years now, so when I say that the killing cone(I have one made from a 2 gal. bleach jug mounted on my apple tree) and a sharp knife across the vessels and trachea is the quickest and most humane method I've found....I really mean it. All humor aside.....

 

[Bedste]

I agree people should not read this thread if they are already offended by the subject. I really NEED some answers because I do not fully understand the process. What is the cone for? I have several roosters and I am going to have to look at my options.

 

[Beekissed]

The cone increases your efficiency of kill while insuring the bird is not flopping around, bruising meat and getting filthy. It also allows the bird to hang while it bleeds out.

My jug has the bottom cut out and a hole cut out where the lid and the top of the handle would normally be. This device is mounted upside down on the tree. This allows for the chicken to be placed gently upside down with his wings pinned to his sides and his head sticking out the bottom of the jug(actually the top of the jug, as it is mounted upside down).

In this position, his neck is beautifully presented for the killing slice. I just grasp the bird's head with my left hand, tilt the head slightly back to make the skin taut in the area where I wish to slice. One slice from left to right, deep enough to cut all soft tissue but not to cut the vertebrae or spinal cord, seems to be the most efficient for me.

The bird may tremble a little but this is the quickest, quietest, less traumatic method I have yet to experience. Also the quickest death...by that I mean, the quickest the birds actually stop all movement.

I have found, if you continue the slice into the spinal cord there is more neurological type movement after the slice. More jerking of the neck, legs and wings, even though they are safely pinioned in the jug.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

You can read enough of my posts about butchering chickens for the table to know that I'm not offended by this topic. I read & replied to this thread to help the OP and any others learn how to do the job more effectively & quickly, and therefore, more humanely. I respect people's different levels of sensitivity about this, but also respect & appreciate the birds dying for our dinners. Sometimes folks have to push past their comfort level in order to make the process of dispatching their birds more efficient/humane.

If people want to cover their chickens' heads with little socks before they dispatch them that's fine, as long as it first doesn't add to the animal's misery. If it doesn't, but helps the dispatcher, then go right ahead. Cover their heads with socks, tie tiny blindfolds around their eyes, let the birds smoke a final cigarette.

I too am familiar with some of the dark humor & nervous joking around that occurs during a butchering session. But it still offended me to read posts describing how funny it is to bash birds on the heads with boards, suggesting videotaping the procedure for others to laugh at, recommending other sports equipment to use.

 

[Chicks & Turks]

Wouldn't gassing the bird make it bad to eat? Or am I not understanding it?

 

[WalkingWolf]

Chicks & Turks :

Wouldn't gassing the bird make it bad to eat? Or am I not understanding it?

No, people drink beverages with CO2 all the time, but I would never choose this method, to time consuming.​

 

[TinyBirds]

We just discovered there was no way to catch up with the guinea to hit it with a board (and the board would have likely just hit it on the back if we tried). So since we don't seem to be skilled enough at that method, I caught the guinea with my hands (not easy since they're all free range) and then lovingly held it and talked to it while holding it upside down (they seem more calm when held upside down) as I brought it over to the cone. Once I put it into the cone, I held its head in my hand and cut the throat on both sides while I was covering its eyes with my hand. I think the guinea seemed less scared this way than when I cut off the head of the earlier 2. I let it bleed out for a couple seconds and then went ahead and cut off the whole head, just to be sure it wasn't suffering any more. It was still breathing after slicing the neck, so that's why I went ahead and cut off the head (my knife is very sharp otherwise that wouldn't be possible to do in a cone position).
I guess the whole experience is awful any way I think about it for the guinea, but compared to a life in those awful factory farms, I think my guineas had a great life. They free range and I don't even coup them up at night.
And sorry earlier if I said I would video-tape it. I was just trying to be light-hearted in joking with the previous person that wanted to watch me do it. I think the part they thought would be funny would be the extent that I was trying to go to with the socks and everything to try and make it easier for the guinea. If it had been a humane thing to do, the video would have served as instruction for others that are like me and want the most humane method possible. That's the only reason I would've really taped it, just to help other people like me that find the whole thing difficult to do. I wouldn't even eat meat if it was up to me, but my family loves meat so I prefer the animals live the best life possible.

The more factory-farming videos you watch, the easier it is to kill an animal at your own farm that is humanely and lovingly raised free-range. If it gives an animal a better life, I'm willing to go through the agony of killing it myself. I don't enjoy it or find it funny, but sometimes joking is the easiest way to deal with something so difficult.