Euthanize a Chicken Humanely - step by step

[0die]

interesting methods...T post looks pretty quick...like in a second....

My poor barred rock is about done...was planning to use a hatchet...figure that is swift and painless...

 

[snow5164]

Some people think no blood= humain . That’s not so ... a cone and a knife works for us ...

Fast and painless in 1/2 a second

 

[RHC Farms]

What exactly are you looking for? You can do a google search to see if there is a device that can be purchased.

My "device" is a rake as described in the previous Post

I am looking for a device that can be purchased. I have a very sick chicken. She needs to be put down. I have never done it before and am worried I would do it incorrectly causing more harm and pain to the chicken. I have been reading up on this and am concerned because in my research it appears the broomstick method and manual cervical dislocation have a higher incidence of not being done properly.
The Poultry Industry Council info referenced in this thread shows examples of a device but I haven’t been able to find something similar to purchase.
Thanks!

 

[Haleyrbloom]

I want to request when you state your preferred method to be very different then you DO the right thing and share a detailed description or make a video with details about your method. Make a difference where you disagree, a mentioned study does not contribute in a meaningful way.
I spent the better part of 3 sleepless nights researching this topic and found little to no detail on 'properly done broomstick' and quite a few horror stories about failed jugular cuts and complicated car fume mishaps. We are in an urban situation so guns are not an option.

I am encouraged that I was able to piece this method together from hints that other posts included but without visual or descriptive back up. Simple and direct, while considering safety.

I want to remind readers we had indications that the pullet passed out after about 30 seconds so the convulsuions and any irritation was after she was unconscious. Under 'normal' death most creatures lose their proverbial $hit. It was nearly 100 degrees that day so I'm not surprised that the pullet had excess water/fluid in her system and convulsions pushed it out after passing out. If you don't understand - chickens drink heavily just before dark and roosting in hot weather and we did the euthanasia shortly after dark so her digestive system was pretty full of liquid still.

Again it's a personal choice, but lacking the detail that makes it repeatable by us we felt other options were not good choices.

Thanks everyone for the posts about your preferences, the passive judgement where clearly implied and most importantly the support where it was honest.

Some background, we did take her to a very expensive avian specialist because she was a rare specialty breed given to us by a friend when we noticed her vent was inflamed. They were great and very encouraging. BUT They wanted thousands, literally, to do surgery to remove the egg, give her meds that meant we'd never be able to eat her eggs even if she survived the anesthesia, and surgery, and laid again. We did get calcium and anti inflammatory meds to help her possibly pass the egg naturally and without pain if possible if she could.
Inspection didn't determine what was wrong, we didn't pay for xrays, that would have ultimately said it was an egg. Duh, I too could feel it from exams.
She simply was dying and couldn't do what a chicken is meant to do. We raise productive pets, some of our old girls have stopped laying and they've earned the right to life out their lives with our flock. She earned the right to not die slowly and more painfully than I can imagine. In the necropsy I found some other health issues that make me believe she never had a chance - gory and I won't post details here. She was on bottom of the pecking order for a reason but we treated her short life as a gift.

You seem very defensive. You have to remember that when you post something publicly, everyone is going to have an opinion. They aren’t attacking you.

I also had to put down a chick and it was tough. I used the baking soda/vinegar method. It “seemed” to work fine.

I personally could not do the other methods. But to each is own.

It is never easy making the decision to put down an animal.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I am looking for a device that can be purchased. I have a very sick chicken. She needs to be put down. I have never done it before and am worried I would do it incorrectly causing more harm and pain to the chicken. I have been reading up on this and am concerned because in my research it appears the broomstick method and manual cervical dislocation have a higher incidence of not being done properly.
The Poultry Industry Council info referenced in this thread shows examples of a device but I haven’t been able to find something similar to purchase.
Thanks!

Do you have a vet, friend, family member or neighbor that can put her down for you?
If she is very sick and needs to be put down, then trying to find a device, maybe having to order one is just prolonging her suffering.

No method is perfect, even if you have the "proper device" you still have the potential to mess things up. Not being harsh here, but sometimes you just have to do the best you can. Putting a special hen or rooster down is a hard thing to do - I know, I've been there and didn't like it one bit, but what's important is to end their suffering, not necessarily do what is easiest for us.

 

[RHC Farms]

Do you have a vet, friend, family member or neighbor that can put her down for you?
If she is very sick and needs to be put down, then trying to find a device, maybe having to order one is just prolonging her suffering.

No method is perfect, even if you have the "proper device" you still have the potential to mess things up. Not being harsh here, but sometimes you just have to do the best you can. Putting a special hen or rooster down is a hard thing to do - I know, I've been there and didn't like it one bit, but what's important is to end their suffering, not necessarily do what is easiest for us.

Thank you for the feedback. I agree. I did put her down with a .22 rifle

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you for the feedback. I agree. I did put her down with a .22 rifle

I'm sorry for your loss. A rifle works too.

 

[Im4Eggcellence]

A sealed 5 gallon bucket full of vaporized ether? I hate to rain on your parade... but what you essentially have there is a BOMB. And given plastic's ability to store a static charge, you might even have an unstable bomb. No thanks... I'll stick with the hatchet... at least I know there's not a chance the chicken might get even with me.

 

[Grace11]

Because i have crippled hands, its really hard to wring/or slice their necks. Fastest way for me is a piece of twine from straw bales. loop it around the birds neck like youre about to tie a knot. if u have bad hands, loop the ends around your hands a couple times. Pull hard and keep it up till death has occured. Never eat a bird you do this to, it says not to eat any strangled thing in the bible. No skwawking, they go unconcious immediately- air and brain blood shut off immediately, they do the nerve floppings which can be unnerving, but hold it tight until they are completely dead. they are my birds and its my job to take care of them to the end. I can spend a half hour, petting and talking to a chicken thats sick or something the matter with her i cant fix.
If im going to eat them, i use the broomstick method, i hood them, have a place prepared for the deed, hold their feet and lay them down, then get the broomstick, laying lightly across their neck, one foot on one side on the stick and when youre ready, step on the other side of the broomstick hard and pull up at same time and their neck separates, you can feel the separation. Occasionally, i have pulled the head clean off which is really disconcerting, but it does the job just as well. This all sounds barbaric, but if you are gonna eat or have to put down a sick bird, you have to do it some way.

For very young chicks, just cut their head off with a large scissors. Fast and quick, they never know what happened.

 

[Kimmyh51]

Again, my post was not meant as a judgment in any way; I felt my post was in the spirit of all of us garnering better knowledge on this topic. As I said, and as this vet says, going about this decision is a very personal and sensitive one and we will all have varying thoughts regarding what is morally, ethically and emotionally the best course of action for us to take given the very unique circumstances of each case. You acted with your hen's welfare in mind and you clearly loved her and did your best for her.

The following is from a veterinarian, regarding humane and inhumane methods for euthanizing backyard birds. I hope it proves helpful. I think the greatest take-home lesson on this topic is the following: Euthanasia is NOT about making the bird dead; it is about rendering them unconscious as quickly and painlessly as possible. After they are unconscious, the method of killing the body is much less important. He outlines, in very specific detail, a couple of methods.
https://mikethechickenvet.wordpress.com/2017/02/16/euthanasia-for-backyard-birds/

The following is the study I mentioned, in which ether was found to be an unsatisfactory anesthetic due to a too-long time to unconsciousness and due to its irritant nature on the mucus membranes, eliciting distress behaviors, etc.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3127635

Euthanasia by decapitation has been found by a number of studies (one attached) to not be humane...

https://www.researchgate.net/public..._issues_surrounding_decapitation_reconsidered

I’m guessing cervical dislocation is similar, and Mike the Vet says up to 40 seconds... that to me feels like it would be a long time for an animal which is suddenly finding itself in severe pain, unable to move.
I remember the first time I had a general anaesthetic and I was afraid and told the dr I wanted to know when they gave me the anaesthetic so I wouldn’t fight it and would be prepared. The dr obviously thought it would be better not to tell me, gave me a shot, I said is this it, he said no, then blackness came over me and I felt like I was being crushed and couldn’t breathe.
That only lasted 2-3 seconds and it was scary, I cannot even imagine finding myself in severe pain unable to move my body for up to half a minute or more.

I did rI ad that diethyl ether, was used by people recreationally in parties many years ago and people at these parties would become excitable, trashy about and often injure themselves but did not seem to feel the pain or be affected by it at the time, and didn’t remember after so possibly it’s a human way to anaesthetise prior to whatever method of death is used.... however those party guests took it intentionally and knew what to expect and why it happened when it did, which obviously a bird does not...

It would be great if there were an effective drug available to give a bird an anxiety free, loss of consciousness as if going to sleep, that could be given and they would drift off to sleep, and then possibly a second drug or second dose which the owner could inject I’m or something, which would continue to deepen the loss of consciousness until totally out then stop breathing, heat beat etc. so that the bird just gets a pill or shot, is replaced in its own or a familiar location, and feels tired, so goes to sleep. And that is all the bird knows...
I understand the reasons vets are not allowed to dispense this sort of drug to owners, but it definitely means euthanasia is less human...even if a vet does it the bird still has to suffer the stress and fear of being caught and taken to the vet to be euthanised... where I live a call out fee for euthanasia is at least $300-$400...
Which means for anyone with a large flock it’s prohibitive cost wise to have birds euthanised at home by a vet.