How do I humanly kill my sick hen

[MeepBeep]

One could argue all day about what is humane and what isn't...

This isn't exactly cheap but it's an humane as any method...

Get a 5 gallon bucket and lid as well as a length flexible 3/8" hose at the hardware store and get one of those balloon helium tanks at Walmart...

Drill two holes in the lid a small 1/8" hole and a larger hole that the tube will fit through... Put chicken in bucket and put lid on, turn the bucket over so the holes are on the bottom attach hose to helium and poke in bigger hole under bucket, now slowly turn the helium on... Give it a bit to fill the bucket (no need to exhaust the entire tank) with helium (helium rises, so with the holes on the bottom it will be the mostly the breathable air being pushed out the holes on the bottom and the bucket will fill with helium... After a bit, plug both holes with some duct tape and the hen should go quietly to sleep as she exhaust the breathable air...

Basically a low cost gas chamber...

 

[seminolewind]

One of my buff orps cannot walk and is having trouble breathing.I want to put her out of her suffering but I cannot chop off her head
Just thinking about it make me want to bawl

I cannot do this to my beloved pet and I cant afford a vet, What do I do about her?

If you cover her face and use an ax, that's quick and humane. The vet and euthanizing is humane. Cutting off a supply of oxygen in any way shape or form that takes longer than using an ax-is cruel. Some I take to the vet because he only charges me a visit. IMO.
It's awful when they need to go. I cry for every one. It's very sad. But I do what's best for my pet, even if it's hard on me.

 

[MeepBeep]

Cutting off a supply of oxygen in any way shape or form that takes longer than using an ax-is cruel.

Define cruel? Helium does not invoke the suffocation reflex or reaction, thus so there is no realization they are being deprived of oxygen, the brain simply goes to sleep and shuts down... There is no gasping for air, no struggle, no suffocation panic, nothing, the brain thinks they are breathing normal as their bodies don't know the difference between the helium and the breathable air and when it runs out of oxygen it simply shuts down... I could go into greater details but there is plenty of information and medical facts to be found in a Google search for "hypoxic death" and then Google up "helium suicide" as it's fast becoming the preferred method of assisted suicide as it's painless...

 

[seminolewind]

In this situation, cruel , to me means inflicting more pain/suffering than is necessary. Over the past 6 years, I've heard a lot of people recommend gassing or even putting them in the freezer to painlessly freezing to death! But I only recall One of them say they actually watched their beloved chicken die, and she said it was awful and the bird did panic. The rest is heresay. And sometimes I wonder if that info is being passed on because the owner doesn't want to suffer, or if they don't want their chicken to suffer?

It's a hard thing to do. Sometimes I can use the ax, especially if they're in pain. Others I take to the vet. My flock has Marek's and I have had more deaths than I can count.

 

[MeepBeep]

In this situation, cruel , to me means inflicting more pain/suffering than is necessary.

Then my recommend approach is not cruel... There is no pain nor suffering, they simply go to sleep peacefully and never wake up, they never have any indication they are being euthanized and there is no suffocation reflex or signs since they are breathing normal, they simply pass out once the oxygen level in their blood declines, this is backed by medical science and factual data, it's not hearsay...

 

[mightymax]

Although it went against every fiber of my being, I had to suck it up for the love and wellbeing of my pet chicken, Snowy. I had to make the decision to euthanize her late one night just two days ago. She went downhill so fast and it was so late that the only Vet. who would even come to his office to see me and my dying chicken was going to charge me a hideous amount of money that I can only refer to as extortion. So I went only and found a 'how to ' artical on how to humanely put your chicken 'to sleep'. It had easy to follow step by step instrutions and didn't require me to go out to the store that late at night nor did it really require any specialized tools or gadgets. It also told you exactly how far down to initally put the tubing into the chamber so that the bird's eyes and esophagus wouldn't even be remotely close enough to the incoming fumes that some say burn the bird's eyes and throat. Not to to mention also the fact that you only start out by ever sooo slowly pouring just half the amount of vinegar into the baking soda to start forming the gas. In this instance, the gas formed is heavier than the air in the chamber and so the initially small amount of gas you pipe in will sink directly to the bottom of the container where the bird is and that gas will NOT be strong enough to cause caustic burns or painful breaths. It can't because the mixture is too weak and the tube too far away from her face to cause any suffering. The heavier gas just slowly replaces the lighter air that used to fill the chamber. It's kind of like when you go in for surgery and the Dr. puts a mask over your mouth and nose and then asks you to count backwards from 100. I don't know of many people that get past 97 maybe 96 if they're really nervous. My point is this: your pet will fall into a deep sleep at first but will not be clinically dead until you finish up by now inserting the tubing all the way to the bottom of the chamber. Right next to her head if at all possible. Then you finish pouring the other half of the vinegar into the same baking soda bag, pouring quickly this time around so that the heavier gas will quickly fill up and flood out the remaining amount of air in the chamber. At this point it's VERY important to remember that she didn't feel a thing when you pumped in all that gas because she was ALREADY ASLEEP. Just like you were when that Dr. had you counting down backwards and you barely made it to 97. You simply fell asleep. You can't recall a thing after those 3 little numbers much less FEEL anything remotely resembaling pain. That only occurs AFTER they wake back up. Yeah, then you're probably feeling some pain. But that's the funny thing about euthanasia. We don't ever try to wake them up again. That's the whole premise of it. To rid the painful of their suffering. And having used this exact same method myself on one of my most beloved birds, I truly do beleive that when done correctly and exactly as described, it really does wind up being one of, if not the best of, all the other so called humane ways to euthanize a dearly loved pet. IMO that is.

 

[troy4]

Thank you,she has been my favorite for a long long time. should I kill her know or wait ?

If you want to kill her you can maybe try getting a vet and helping her breath better on the wait

 

[andreanar]

There is also a way to use dry ice in a bucket. I did this many years ago with a pet rat. I watched the whole time. There was no panic, she just fell asleep then died. You can Google it if interested.

 

[seminolewind]

Quote:
Do you know of any people that have done away with themselves with helium or C02 buildup? Carbon Monoxide is even better than that because the body sees CM as oxygen so you do fall asleep.

I don't ever come out and call someone cruel or tell them they're wrong. But I do state my opinion as my opinion and nothing more. I respect other's opinions. So I'm really happy that we can discuss these things without getting into an argument.

 

[mebuff daisy]

Thanks for all off the advice,if she does not die soon I will take action,When ever I look at her I burst into tears,I hate to see her suffer like this . Ann