Just killed my first 2 chickens Ever...(graphic)

[Mia]

I had to dispatch 2 roosters of our 4 because they were overmating the hens (we only have 14) and also the biggest one attacked my 3yo daughter yesterday. I did it from advice gleaned from the net and books, but I am wondering if I did it "right" - I hung them up by their feet, and sliced their necks. It took longer than I thought it would to bleed them out, at least 3-4 minutes - how do I know if I sliced the artery or the vein? Or both? And also they flapped a lot, more than I thought they would- I was covered in spatters. Next time I'll use a cone, I think.
Does that sound right, though? I hate to think that they suffered more than they should have because of my inexperience.
Thanks everyone here for their help -

Mia

 

[andy]

hi.... im affraid i cant give you any advice ,,but i was hoping you could give me some,,,im due to kill my buff orp rooster this weekend,,hes about 19 weeks old,,and starting to crow and mate alot,,hes got to go,,prefrebly in the oven,,,it will be my first time to,,arghhhh !!! what would you say is the cleanist quickest way with out a cone??? and also have you pluked and gutted it yet?? how was that experience??all advice welcome thanks

 

[cadman68]

I have never hung them up, but instead do the old hatchet on a wood block method. They do flop around for proabably about 30 seconds to a minute, and you would think they are still alive, but i don't see how that is possible without a head. I think the most humane way is to chop off the head which in turn leaves them without any feeling since the brain is no longer recieving any nerve signals. Since cutting thier throats does not actually cut the spinal cord i would say yes they do suffer to a certain degree. Just my opinion......

 

[andy]

does the blood squirt every were with an axe?? thats the method i would like to use,,why i ask is because i plan on doin the duty in my mothers garage,,and dont want to make to much of a mess in there.... cheers

 

[silkiechicken]

I hold them to the ground and cut their heads off. You can also wrap them in a blanket so they do not flap. Without a head, you can be sure you got the artery. If the blood squirted, it was from an artery. If you keep them held steady during the process, you can aim the blood into a bowel or trash can. If you let them flop, you will be polka dotted.

 

[andy]

good idea,, quick, clean and tidy..,,any advice on what to do afterwards,,? like i say ive never done this duty,, should i string him up ,,upside down for 24hrs to let the blood drain,,then pluck and gut him?????

 

[cadman68]

Unfortunatley there's not much way to do this without getting some blood on things, it's not really something you would want to do inside a garage unless you don't mind cleaning blood up. Like Silkie said you can stop them from flopping around but there will still be blood to deal with.

If you gotta do it in the garage then lay some trash bags down or something similar to keep the floor clean and hold them down with something like a blanket or a small dip net, just so they don't flop around. If it were me though i would take care of it outside.

I don't really let them bleed out, but you can. It won't take near that long, i would think maybe 30 minutes. I just chop head off then i pluck all the fluffy type feathers on the belly and legs, then i boil some water in a large pot and dip them in it just long enough to get the remaining feathers good and wet (this makes them much easier to plck). Once all feathers are off I gut them, last thing i do is cut off the feet right below the knee. Then they are ready for cutting up into individual pieces of meat, legs, wings, breast, thighs, or leave them whole. Just an ole country boy so i am sure this is not the best way to do it, it's just the way i do it.......

 

[andy]

Quote:
would like to ,,but i dont think my neighbours would be very happy,,

 

[cadman68]

Andy i edited my last post to answer some of your questions, and i understand why you want to keep the neighbors happy.

 

[andy]

no problem,,