Electric chicken stunner

[chooks4life]

Breaking their neck works well, so does a custom made restraint you use when bringing them to the cull site. I don't know of anyone offhand who's struggled to make the cull humane via hatchet who has then persisted with that method without getting more efficient, but some people aren't too kind, that's for sure.

Best wishes.

 

[jaelbird]

I've been struggling with this issue myself. I've lost chickens to predators and illness, and know that culling can be much more humane than letting "nature take its course." I've read the pdf of the Animal Welfare Approved website. As a physician, I see the erroneous assumption that "unconsciousness" equates to the inability to experience pain. In humans unconsciousness may inhibit the "conscious" experience of pain - but an unconscious patient can still experience pain and react to it by withdrawal from the source of pain. I love my chickens but I'm far from presuming what their conscious of experience of their world or their experience might be...
Having seen far too many human deaths, I can only hope that my death and theirs is limited to the 30 seconds of experience that the Animal Welfare Approved organization hypothesizes would happen without stunning the animal. To my mind, what happens in the minutes, hours, days or years leading up to their demise is far more important to their humane treatment than the brief seconds that encompass their death.

 

[MeepBeep]

For those that can't stomach 'cutting' to cull, you can build a small gas chamber out of a Rubbermaid container and gas them...

The suffocation reflex is triggered when there is a build up of CO2, it's NOT triggered by a shortage of oxygen, so as long as you use a gas that doesn't burn or cause pain they just go to sleep as the brain is deprived of oxygen... Helium works well and is easy to obtain, as is nitrogen or argon all available reasonably (less tank deposit or purchase) at a welding shop, and they cause no pain or sense of suffocation...

Note that using CO2 (even though commonly used) generally causes a stress period before death unless it's concentration is very closely regulated...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inert_gas_asphyxiation

 

[chooks4life]

I've been struggling with this issue myself. I've lost chickens to predators and illness, and know that culling can be much more humane than letting "nature take its course." I've read the pdf of the Animal Welfare Approved website. As a physician, I see the erroneous assumption that "unconsciousness" equates to the inability to experience pain. In humans unconsciousness may inhibit the "conscious" experience of pain - but an unconscious patient can still experience pain and react to it by withdrawal from the source of pain. I love my chickens but I'm far from presuming what their conscious of experience of their world or their experience might be...
Having seen far too many human deaths, I can only hope that my death and theirs is limited to the 30 seconds of experience that the Animal Welfare Approved organization hypothesizes would happen without stunning the animal. To my mind, what happens in the minutes, hours, days or years leading up to their demise is far more important to their humane treatment than the brief seconds that encompass their death.

X2, very much agree.

I had quite the conversation on another thread about culling methods where the person I was talking with didn't realize (or refused to recognize) there's a difference between being stunned and actual unconsciousness.

And then, even in true unconsciousness, pain can still be experienced as you say, basically we only hope it's humane. He was going by the industry definition not the medical one, stating that unconsciousness and being stunned are the same thing. Industry definitions in that case are clearly a matter of legal convenience not actually supported by anything particularly solid in terms of research, as I found when I began looking into it.

It's for these reasons I'm not pro-pithing or stunning using electric shock; perhaps it's humane, perhaps it's not. Even if it's not, it prevents them showing it in most cases, which concerns me. Decapitation removes some of the doubt for me at least.

Best wishes, and also, greetings.

 

[ChickenLegs13]

As far as homemade gas chambers go, if one can not stomach "cutting to cull" can they stomach cutting the dead chicken open and pulling his stinking guts out?

Stunning a chicken increases handling stress on the bird and adds more labor to butchering. It might make the human feel better but does nothing to comfort the bird.

Killing a chicken with a hatchet does not resemble swashbuckle pirates trying to chop each other to bits during a sword duel.
Placing the chicken's head between 2 nails in the chopping block immobilizes the chicken and he can't duck, dodge or move a muscle and provides a perfect target.
You don't actually "swing" the hatchet. You hover the hatchet over the chicken's neck and slightly flex your wrist up and down and the deed is done. No way to botch that.
Death can't be any more humane, quick or uneventful.

If the sight of a headless chicken doing backflips in the yard disturbs you then simply toss the carcass into a covered bucket or box until movement ceases.

 

[MeepBeep]

As far as homemade gas chambers go, if one can not stomach "cutting to cull" can they stomach cutting the dead chicken open and pulling his stinking guts out?

I'll bet you will find that many that were reluctant to perform the kill will be able to butcher an already dead bird...

I know for me personally I have been around many people that won't (or are are reluctant to) participate in the actual killing but are more than willing to jump right in after that point... And I'm not only talking about chickens, I know a bunch of my friends wives that would never go out in the woods and hunt an animal but many of them have no problem gutting and dressing what is brought home...

 

[ChickenLegs13]

Yeah you probably right. I guess causing the death, rather than the butchering is what bothers that kind of people.

 

[jaelbird]

It's for these reasons I'm not pro-pithing or stunning using electric shock; perhaps it's humane, perhaps it's not. Even if it's not, it prevents them showing it in most cases, which concerns me. Decapitation removes some of the doubt for me at least.

I agree, to the extent that the quickest, least stressful death is the most humane. As a research neuroscientist, I regard decapitation and pithing as equivalent in regards the possibility of the experience of being killed is realized by the animal - perhaps pithing is better at obliterating the experience but slower (involves more steps). For myself, I'm less confident of effecting a quick decapitation, so I think the killing method is best left up to the individual to decide what is the quickest way that they are confident of providing. I think for myself, a killing cone, a bleed immediately followed by pithing, might work best for me at first. I watched a video of a woman who slaughtered her chicken by placing the hen on her back in her lap, calming her and then quickly decapitated her by pulling off the head. It looked quite humane, but I think it would require more confidence and experience than I possess.

 

[CrazyTalk]

I'll bet you will find that many that were reluctant to perform the kill will be able to butcher an already dead bird...

Very true.


When I'm slaughtering a bird - its still a pet. When I'm butchering a bird - it's just meat. There's tension in the initial act - past that, it's just drudge work.

 

[KittieChick]

If the sight of a headless chicken doing backflips in the yard disturbs you then simply toss the carcass into a covered bucket or box until movement ceases.

I'm sorry, this made me laugh pretty loud and scare the sleeping dogs.

Thank you for the giggle!