How to put a chicken down..

[chickbird]

Quote:
I AGREE THAT GASING IS AN AWFUL WAY FOR A CHICKEN TO DIE AND ALSO THE FREEZER WOULD BE BAD...IT IS PAINFUL TO SLOWLY FREEZE TO DEATH. PLEASE. THE MOST HUMANE WAY IS ONE QUICK CHOP OF THE NECK WITH AN AX. I ALWAYS CRY, BUT IF YOU LOVE YOUR CHICK THIS IS THE BEST WAY. WITH THE GASING, THEY WILL GASP FOR AIR AND THRASH ABOUT. YOU SHOULD NOT GET YOUR GARAGE FULL OF CARBON MONOXIDE, THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS.

 

[whillo]

I'm so sorry for what you had to go through with your chick. I've not had to experience that and I hope I never do. I did have my 2 day old Silkie die in my hands and that was horrible enough and don't want to go through that again.

Re the poopy butts though, have you tried the apple cider vinegar with the mother yet? That seemed to work really well for my little barred rock. I've continued to use it and the chicks are 6 weeks now. It cleared up almost immediately.


A question re the drugs that might sedate the bird like Ace? or Benadryl.... if you needed to cull the bird couldn't you use the drug to put them to sleep and then put them in a plastic bag to cut off the air after they're knocked out? Would they wake up and then suffer gasping for air or would they just not wake up? I know I couldn't take an axe to a neck or break it, as humane as that may be. Heck, I had to drop out of biology in high school because I couldn't dissect that already dead frog! Just wondering if there was another way.

 

[Kedreeva]

Sorry for your loss

 

[ellend]

This SOUNDS gruesome, but the hardest part is getting YOURSELF ready.

It's an INSTANT kill.

You will see reflexive movement, but that is reflex only. The brain is rendered incapable of sending or receiving pain impulses.

Put newspaper about 6 inches behind your back tire. Lay dying animal on paper so that only head (and neck, depending on the size of the animal) is behind the tire. Put paper towels or something similar over head. While you watch for movement (until you give the signal) have assistant quickly drive the car in reverse, then throw it into drive and go over it again.

We have used this method on numerous animals, including a mortally wounded, dying cat. Never any disasters.

No euthanasia method is fun. The vet will probably do a "heart stick" on a bird or small animal--large gauge needle directly into the heart, injecting medication, and that's not instant. I've assisted on those. They suck.

The car tire is over in a fraction of a second. Unless you have a punch-press at home, it's the most instant pain relief I've found.

Obviously this is ONLY for DYING animals, who are mostly non-mobile.

 

[whillo]

Oh Lordy! No, couldn't do that.

 

[GlitterBug]

I'm so sorry about your chicken.

I personally use the "Two-Nail" method that my Uncle taught me. I found it is very quick for the animal. I hammer two nails into a stump just wide enough for the neck but so the head does not pull through. Place the neck in between the two nails. Then I hold its feet out to extend the neck some, feel for the neck and use a small ax. Sometimes I will practice my "aim." beforehand just so I don't miss and have to try again on the poor thing. My uncle taught me this way, but no way of putting down an animal is pleasant IMHO. I think any way is hard~~I just like to do it Fast so they don't feel any pain...hopefully....

 

[chuckschick]

so sorry for your loss and desperate feeling you had to go through to find help..

it seems as if some people don't understand that a person going through that simply cannot put them down in some of the methods they talk about so freely (axing, shooting etc) ..

sometimes they are pets-- first and foremost...

--take them to the vet and get it done right is what i say....most vets will ( eventually) agree to do it for you and you know it's done right with a proper goodbye...

 

[pkw]

I am so sorry for your loss.


I put one of my 11 week old cockerels down this morning. He has been attacking me every chance he got plus he was terrorizing the other chickens in with him. There was always chicken fights going on and he always started them. His name was Peanut and he was a gorgeous boy but getting more and more aggressive all the time. So last night when he went to attack me and my favorite rooster stepped in between me and Peanut and Peanut had my favorite roos neck in his beak. That did it. This morning he met a quick death.

 

[Cetawin]

For future knowledge, I am with Glitterbug, I prefer a sharp axe...over quick done HOWEVER a method that I have learned from speckledhen and her DH when they must put down a sick or dying girl is...a rag with starter fluid on it....just hold the bird in a football hold or in your lap and place the rag over the beak and nares (nostrils) and hold it there and when the bird appears to have expired, keep holding it there for a few minutes. They simply go to sleep. If the bird still has a lot of strnegth, the will fight having a rag over their beak but the sick ones usually do not fight much.

PM her she can tell you all about it as she has had to help a few of her dying girls this way. Taking the life of a beloved pet is never never easy.

I am so sorry about your girl.

 

[NaomiSarah]

I just want to give my two cents here, though I know it's not really an active topic today.

I didn't used to axe them, but then I started one day, and realized that the "guiltish" feeling that comes with taking any life is extremely reduced if I do it quickly, ESPECIALLY if it's unpleasant for me, because then I don't sit around feeling like I was too worried about my own "feelings" on the matter than on taking the life swiftly. We hatch them, keep them captive, and if we're going to play "god" with them we owe it to them to do it quickly and humanely no matter how unpleasant it is for us.

ETA: I dont mean this to be rude, just my brutally honest opinion on an unfortunate topic.