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

[SandraMort]

We always just duct taped the wings firmly down at their sides

Glad to hear!!! I wondered about that, why nobody does it. I also wondered about sewing a spandex tube, too.

Does duct tape work on other birds?​

 

[Ugly Cowboy]

Quote:
Glad to hear!!! I wondered about that, why nobody does it. I also wondered about sewing a spandex tube, too.

Does duct tape work on other birds?

I'd think it would...

 

[ChilcootChicks]

Our method goes like this. My husband goes into the pen and grabs a chicken. He brings it over to the stump and I put its head between the two nails. He pulls gently on the body to lengthen the neck and I yield a quick whack with the machete. He then (quickly) puts the headless chicken into the cone to bleed out into a bucket. I put the head into another bucket. As bears are abundant where we live, we minimize the amount of blood spilled on the ground. The chickens thrash a bit in the cone, but I believe this is just reflexes. By the time one bird is bled out, another is ready to go. Hope this helps.

 

[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.

 

[Mosey2003]

I started out slicing the jugular. It works fine, but I wasn't fond of the idea of them being aware for that long before they slipped out of consciousness. I tried a hatchet and I will never do that again, my hand-eye coordination is abysmal and I still feed bad for that poor rooster to this day. If you have great aim and a sharp hatchet, I think it's perfectly humane. I've also considered using some super sharp, heavy duty tree loppers, but not really wanting to spend that kind of money.

What I do now is cervical dislocation via "the broomstick method." It's calm, it's quiet, I know their brain is cut off in an instant, and once the head is popped, I can keep pulling and pull it right off, saving me having to cut the head off by hand. I just did 8 cockerels over the last week and they all went fine, and bled out well too. Pop the head - grab the wings at the base with one hand - swing the bird over the gut can until bled out and done flapping - done.

 

[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.