How to humanely kill a rooster

[JacinLarkwell]

I seen a video with a machete bolted between wood to lop heads
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Oh I like that idea. Then you don't risk missing either!

 

[3KillerBs]

I use the broomstick method.

Getting the pull right -- quick and forceful enough to do the job, not so hard that the head pops clear off -- takes a little practice but I take comfort in the idea that when I did an incomplete job my first couple tries the birds were certainly unconscious even if not dead yet.

I find that the quicker and cleaner the kill the stronger the resulting flapping is.

The flapping is alarming and disconcerting for sure, but it's just the natural reaction to the nerves being severed. With a 3-finger space between it's neck vertebrae it's dead just as surely as if I'd taken the head clear off.

Your goal is to be humane and efficient. That means you need to be quick and sure. What you do not want is to flinch or close your eyes at a critical point, you might injure yourself or just injure the rooster instead of being sure. How can you do that? If you can be quick and sure it will be efficient and humane.

KEY POINT!

I used the broomstick method because,

A. It's what I was taught.

B. The blood is confined to that gap in the neck rather than sprayed all over the yard -- which was an important consideration given the fact that I was butchering in a suburban backyard on a corner lot with a clear line of sight into said yard from a moderately-busy street.

 

[Birdgrandma]

So I have this aggressive rooster that I don't want and I'm wanting to eat it but I just don't know how I should kill it? Yes I know about putting it upside down in a cone then cutting the head but some say to cut off the head directly, others say make 2 slits on the side and let it bleed out. Any help would be appreciated!

I saw this disturbing video of a man swinging the rooster by his head really fast and pulling his head off then throwing it down so it flops around

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I saw this disturbing video of a man swinging the rooster by his head really fast and pulling his head off then throwing it down so it flops around

That's close to how my mom's class 30+ years ago was taught to dispatch birds. Pick them up by the head and either swing in a big circle or snap it like a whip.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I saw this disturbing video of a man swinging the rooster by his head really fast and pulling his head off then throwing it down so it flops around

Yeah, that's a way to kill a chicken. Swing it around your head by the neck and snap your wrist. That breaks the neck and the head may come off in your hand. I do not consider that a humane way as the chicken is alive while you are swinging it.

The flopping around is something else. Whether you use a method that removes the head or breaks the neck the chicken doesn't feel anything after that if done properly. That flopping around is a reflex reaction due to the nerves from the brain to the muscles no longer working. It can be hard to watch but it does not mean the chicken is suffering.