Killing your meat birds - how do YOU do it?

[Joy Cluck]

I went up to "Killing, plucking...etc and the first post shows how to use the cone. I will try a cone next time.

Thank you BYC peeps

 

[jaku]

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The cone definitely helps with the struggling. If there's any problems, it's putting them into the cone- obviously going headfirst into a cone is not a natural thing for a chicken! But, after the cut, there usually isn't much flapping at all. Honestly, the BEST way I've found is to give them a fairly solid tap to the head with a small piece of wood. They're instantly unconscious- then they quickly go into the cone, the neck is cut on both sides, and either they don't wake up, or they wake up somewhat "peacefully," look around, and die within seconds. Now, there's never going to be NO movement from them- not only is butchering unavoidably stressful to some level, but there's just some things that happen at death, and that includes a small amount of jerking around.

Again, if you're uncomfortable with killing the birds, I wouldn't go with the slitting method, because it's very personal- slitting the bird's throat was unsettling for me the first few times, and I'm a hunter and a cop who's seen a fair amount of blood.

Anyway, I put the birds in the cone first- otherwise, I don't see much point to using the cone. If it's designed right, the head and neck usually stick out the bottom, giving you a good target. That was part of the problem I was having with using a traffic cone- they would just hold their head back, and I'd have to reach in and keep pulling them down.

The shape holds them tight, and gravity doesn't allow them to move around or flap. I've even used the cones when chopping the heads off. It holds them in place, and after the chop you can just hold the cone upright and they'll drain well. Just don't hit the cone with your hatchet!

 

[jossanne]

We butchered 12 today. We didn't have a killing cone, so I held them while DH slit their carotid and they bled to death. It wasn't bad. I thought it would be terrible. I plan to do it that way in a couple months when we butcher again.

 

[patandchickens]

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Silkiechicken, could you elaborate on this a bit? Like, how the chicken is positioned? I would like to try this I think but am having trouble visualizing the mechanics.

Thanks very much,

Pat

 

[dsmoosecountry]

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The Blood should go back to ground..... Sorry that is just unclean!

 

[Jamie_Dog_Trainer]

The Blood should go back to ground..... Sorry that is just unclean!

different culture, different customs. many other countries consider some of our ways of slaughter and what we eat to be very unclean. its all in whom you ask and where you are from.​

 

[jossanne]

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Yes, we recently had a man from Kenya in our home, and he told me that since he's been in America, he's really had to watch what he eats. The food here makes him nervous, because he said, "You never know what's going to be in it." He's not been sure what to buy in the grocery store, because it's very different than what he's used to.

 

[AppleHen]

I recently slaughtered my first rooster... I used a traffic cone & I did have to reach up in there and pull the head out. I had to hold his head while I slit his throat. It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. He did jerk around some, but since he was in the cone, he couldn't move much. It was over fast. The hard part was taking all the skin off and getting the organs out. It took me a long time!

 

[jaku]

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Yeah, because the grocery stores in Kenya probably have ACTUAL food in them! As opposed to the combination of plastic based unpronouncable chemicals which are flavored and "edible," that we have.

 

[jossanne]

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Yeah, because the grocery stores in Kenya probably have ACTUAL food in them! As opposed to the combination of plastic based unpronouncable chemicals which are flavored and "edible," that we have.

That's pretty much what he said. He was so confused by all the varieties of milk we had, and said he just didn't buy any here. He just wanted plain ol' milk!