For those who have done it both ways: Hatchet vs. Knife

[ninjapoodles]

Now that butchering day is in sight for most of our roosters, the hubs and I are of slightly differing opinions on how best to do the deed.

I'm kind of leaning toward a quick beheading, my main reason being that it's fast and humane. My husband would prefer to cut their throats (and possibly do the brain-poking thing), his main reason being accomplishing a clean and rapid bleed-out.

To be fair, he's the only one with any experience at this, being a hunter. I've never killed anything. But my concern is that the birds' end be calm, quiet, and as brief and painless as possible. My husband says, "Why have you been raising these roosters--to eat, right?" And I answer, "Well, yeah, but I didn't raise them kindly all this time just to give them a bad end."

I told him that I would check here, and get opinions from people who have butchered their chickens by BOTH these methods, and could tell us the pros/cons. In the end, I know he'll do it the way I want, even if I'm dead wrong, so I'm trying to collect as much real-life experience as possible.

 

[menageriemama]

We had an awful time with the beheading. It was so traumatic!!!! I will never do it again. We do the hang them upsidedown and slit the throat thing. Just isnt so barbaric, imho.

 

[SandraMort]

I don't know if this matters to anyone but to me, but in Judaism, the approved method of butchering is quick throat slitting & bleeding out. It is considered, provided the knife is sharp, to be the most humane method. Now... I may not keep kosher currently (and I'm writing this on Saturday, so obviously I'm not shomer shabbos/sabbath observant) but I figure that a few millenium of studying these things will make those rabbis a better authority than I could hope to be. I plan to learn to behead in case of an emergency culling, but would prpefer to go the throat cutting in a cone route.

LOL -- big words for someone who doesn't even have the birds yet

 

[Salt and Light]

OK, I'm going back on what I earlier typed.

I butchered the last nine of my x-rocks. I chopped the head off the 1st bird and he jumped out of the wash tub. Of course, he then jumped all over the place. When done, he was covered in blood and dirt.

The remaining 8 birds were hung upside down by their feet and then their necks were slit with a sharp knife. A couple birds flapped quite a bit and came lose from their leg grip, but overall I was more pleased with the neck slicing.

At least I was today!

 

[Fredster]

I've done both the hatchet chop and the throat cutting method.

I vastly prefer the throat-slit, because the chop is so much more traumatic (for me than the bird, I think

). With the throat cut, they're already sleepy because they're upside down -- I use orange safety cones -- and a quick slice with the knife leads to a calm, quiet bird that simply fades away. No squawking, no flailing, no apparent pain or discomfort.

 

[ninjapoodles]

I really appreciate all your responses here. Every single opinion IS helping us make up our minds as to what seems the best route for us to take. Keep 'em coming!

 

[sosanista]

I don't know about using the bucket and or the cones but to me introducing these objects to the bird and the time it takes prolongs the process making the bird afraid. If you haven't tried just yanking off the head with your hand you'd be surprised by how fast and easy it comes off. Just one quick hard pull = done. The faster and more comfortable the bird is killed = the most humane IMHO.

 

[RiverdaleFarms]

I tend to still dispatch chickens the way my grandma taught and explained to us kids.

Grandma was.. well a New Testament Christian and she had very strict rules about not eating blood and this meant, to her, completely bleeding out. (Acts 15:20 http://kjavb.com )

An axe, a stump, small hangman noose with a short stick tied on end, empty paint buckets with bottom cut out and a chicken.

She had a small pen area behind the barn and 10 empty paint cans hung on the barn wall. She placed the chicken under her arm and slipped the noose over the bird"s head, she'd even thank the bird by it's name something about feeding the family.

She would lay the bird on the stump and with her right foot placed on the stick at end of noose pull bird back till neck was straight, with left hand holding bird down in center of body she would whack it's head off and with both hands toss bird off to the side. Yes, chicken ran around with no head and eventually flopped over motionless. She'd pick bird up and place upside down in the empty paint can.

She explained that the bird flapping around on the ground with no head, just a muscle reflex, caused more blood to come out and hanging it upside down was just to finish the job and hold bird till next step.. For what it's worth that's how I still do it. Note: the pen where the bird was tossed was small around 6 by 6, at the end of the day, after blood had dried, we turned dirt over.

Being kids back then, we did once hypnotize a chicken before whacking it's head off. Placed chicken on stump, ran one finger from top of bird's head down the beak and a few inches in a straight line... bird become motionless, no need to hold it and then whack it's head off... bird was still motionless after that. First time I remember my Grandma really being angry at us.

 

[Little Jerry Seinfeld]

I tend to still dispatch chickens the way my grandma taught and explained to us kids.

Grandma was.. well a New Testament Christian and she had very strict rules about not eating blood and this meant, to her, completely bleeding out. (Acts 15:20 http://kjavb.com )

An axe, a stump, small hangman noose with a short stick tied on end, empty paint buckets with bottom cut out and a chicken.

She had a small pen area behind the barn and 10 empty paint cans hung on the barn wall. She placed the chicken under her arm and slipped the noose over the bird"s head, she'd even thank the bird by it's name something about feeding the family.

She would lay the bird on the stump and with her right foot placed on the stick at end of noose pull bird back till neck was straight, with left hand holding bird down in center of body she would whack it's head off and with both hands toss bird off to the side. Yes, chicken ran around with no head and eventually flopped over motionless. She'd pick bird up and place upside down in the empty paint can.

She explained that the bird flapping around on the ground with no head, just a muscle reflex, caused more blood to come out and hanging it upside down was just to finish the job and hold bird till next step.. For what it's worth that's how I still do it. Note: the pen where the bird was tossed was small around 6 by 6, at the end of the day, after blood had dried, we turned dirt over.

Being kids back then, we did once hypnotize a chicken before whacking it's head off. Placed chicken on stump, ran one finger from top of bird's head down the beak and a few inches in a straight line... bird become motionless, no need to hold it and then whack it's head off... bird was still motionless after that. First time I remember my Grandma really being angry at us.

I too am a strict no blood eater for religious reasons, and i want to do it as fast as possible for the poor birds, here's how I do it, I get the bird from the pen and tuck him into my arm mostly upside down, by the time I get to where I process them he's calm, I hold the bird under my left arm, legs towards my back, stomach under my armpit, with my left hand I hold its head, pulling it's neck straight I cut its jugular, one than the other and hold it tight until it stops its spasms, (yes I talk calming words to the birds even tho I know it doesn't help), then hang it up by its feet with baling wire for 5 or more minutes while I do the next one. It's the fastest way for me while keeping the bird calm and bleeding it completely. I also brine my birds before freezing so if there is any lingering blood it would come out then, they are always bled completely though.

 

[ninjapoodles]

And now, an additional question, from my husband: Is there a way to stun the birds first before killing? If so, that could satisfy both our requirements. He was reading a British poultry magazine that mentioned some sort of electrical stunner. (We do have stun-guns, but I'm thinking that they'd "stun" a chicken completely dead!)

Would the brain-pithing method, done before cutting the jugular, render the birds unaware?