"Humane" way of culling chicken?

[shellirae]

OMG ,
Any other ways in which I don’t have to be so brave ?
Lethal injection maybe ?

 

[Maiahr]

I have been experimenting with human sleeping pills and then cull. Most contain melatonin which is harmless to human, but they don't work at all with chicken.. So I am experimenting with others now....

 

[Maiahr]

People with a sick chicken in pain that want to end the life without further pain are probably not interested in eating the chicken.

In the other topic about euthanising a chicken someone mentioned gassing in an airtight box.

If @Maiahr wants to eat the chicken I think its fine to kill the chicken with nitrogen/CO2 gas. CO2 is not poisonous in food you eat. But Im not sure if you can use it to sedate the chicken because if you get the chicken out before it’s dead it regains consciousness fast.

I read about a research on ‘humain’ killing for chickens and turkeys (its in Dutch)
https://ilvo.vlaanderen.be/nl/onder...thode-voor-het-doden-van-individueel-pluimvee

The conclusion translated with Google:

The tested alternative methods with the captive bolt method and the nitrogen method appear to be good methods in terms of speed, certainty and duration of loss of consciousness. In contrast, there is doubt about the rate of loss of consciousness in mechanical cervical dislocation using a neck breaker. If this technique is used, we recommend stunning the animal first (for example by hitting it on the head). On the other hand, the stress associated with these methods comes from having to move the animals to a separate area.

Gassing methods for an individual chicken are described in this article: https://www.pluimveeloket.be/Dierenwelzijn/Individueel-doden/Artikel-individueel-doden
I/google translated two parts of the article. The first is about The obligation for so-called humane killing in EU.

Spoiler: ethical obligation to kill productive animals that suffer significant pain

This article attempts to provide a summary of the currently applicable legal framework.

Ethical obligation

European Regulation (EC) No 1099/2009 (of 24 September 2009 on the protection of animals at the time of killing) states that it is an ethical obligation to kill productive animals that suffer significant pain if there is no economic feasible way to relieve that pain.
The regulation also states that many methods of killing animals are painful and that it is necessary to stun the animals to eliminate their consciousness or sensitivity before or at the time of killing.

Intoxication mandatory

The regulation defines stunning as “any deliberately used method which painlessly induces an animal to become unconscious or insensible, including methods which result in immediate death”. Some stunning methods can lead directly to the death of animals in such a way that they cause no pain and as little tension and suffering as possible to the animals. Other stunning methods do not directly lead to death, which means that the animals can become sensitive or conscious again. These methods must therefore always be supplemented with another technique that will certainly lead to death before the animals recover.

The second part I/google translated is where the nitrogen method is explained.
It says you can opt for direct exposure of animals to a mixture with more than 40% CO2 in an airtight sac or box.

Spoiler: Poultry gas method with nitrogen

The poultry farmer must always comply with the instructions when using (hazardous) gases in order not to endanger his own safety. The storage and storage of hazardous gases must also comply with, among other things, environmental legislation.

According to the European Regulation, various gases can be used for gas stunning of poultry, namely CO2, CO and inert gases such as nitrogen or argon. The use of gas is a 'clean' method in terms of biosafety, in the sense that if the gas mixture is fatal, no blood is released with the possible further risk of spreading diseases, etc. CO2 Carbon dioxide can be used in its pure form or can be mixed with inert gases.

When pure CO2 is used, you can opt for direct exposure of animals to a mixture with more than 40% CO2. This can be used in containers, tunnels, pits or previously airtight buildings and can be applied to all poultry.

You can also choose to administer the CO2 in 2 phases, namely an initial exposure of animals to a gas mixture with a CO2 concentration lower than 40%, followed by exposure to a gas mixture with a higher concentration once the animals have have lost consciousness. CO2 can also be mixed with inert gases (such as nitrogen or argon). The animals are exposed directly or gradually to a gas mixture containing up to 40% CO2 mixed with inert gases. This results in an oxygen deficiency.

The method can be used in pits, pockets, tunnels, containers or buildings that have been sealed airtight in advance. It provides simple stunning for poultry if exposure to at least 30% CO2 is less than 3 minutes. Afterwards, the animals must be bled. However, the method can also lead directly to death if exposure is long enough (longer than 3 minutes).

How do you administer nitrogen to 1 chicken? And do you think they sell it somewhere?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I have been experimenting with human sleeping pills and then cull. Most contain melatonin which is harmless to human, but they don't work at all with chicken.. So I am experimenting with others now....

It didn't work because of the way a chicken's digestive system works. The tablet you gave your chicken went to the crop where it sat for a time, undigested. The crop is a holding place. From there food goes to the gizzard to be broken down and digested much later, perhaps overnight. You've probably noticed your chickens walking around or going to roost with a distended (full) crop, to be digested overnight. It's hard to know when the melatonin actually affects the chicken and makes her sleepy.

 

[Maiahr]

That all makes sense... So maybe I should try dissolving the melatonin in water and giving them to drink it.

 

[BDutch]

How do you administer nitrogen to 1 chicken? And do you think they sell it somewhere?

Sorry, I have no answer to this. I only did some online literature research bc Im interested in this subject too. Just sharing what I found.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

That all makes sense... So maybe I should try dissolving the melatonin in water and giving them to drink it.

I don't think this is practical either. How would you know how much to give? And if you dissolve the dose in water, you have to be sure the bird drinks the entire amount of water in order to get the whole dose. Perhaps you could administer it by tubing it into the bird but this also does not seem practical. We have euthanized using the broomstick method and highly recommend it. The last bird we did, she did not even flap, it was so peaceful I was not even certain she had passed - but she had. It takes about two seconds and it's over and done.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

But ... you have to find a way that you are comfortable with. I wish you all the best.

 

[DancesWithRoosters]

Hammer to the head, one tap and its done.

*Edit,
the broom method is second-best. or you can take newnew borns and put them in the freezer. they get cold an fall asleep. they then die quickly.
drugging chickens aint easy and it could cause em more pain and distress.

Part of owning an animal not commonly vetted is havin to put em down yerself.

best a luck.

 

[shellirae]

If you have any friends that hunt can you ask them to dispatch her?

All my birds that have needed euthanasia have been shot point blank in the back of the head with a .22 long gun after dark. By the time a hen needs euthanasia, they are typically very weak and don't struggle or try to wander off.

She is taken to the site (usually up the road in the woods well away from the coop/run/pen) and gently laid on the ground on her keel. Then I walk away and my friend puts the gun to her head and it's over in a split second.

My personal preference is to leave her where she lay. I'd rather some animal come along and find her for a meal and survive that night because she died than bury her. I think it is more natural and for me, it is just her body. The essence of her is no longer there.

I have struggled every time I have to put down one my hens. I just can’t come up with the ability to break the neck or chop her head off. I can’t kill something I love even though I know they are in pain I had to find a person who is a little more unattached. Someone who grew up on a farm.

On a farm you see animals who you can love and care for and at the same time know those same animals are going to feed you and your family