Loppers or meat cleaver

[yinepu]

I switched to the two-nail approach this past summer. It's one of those things that is "WOW! Why didn't I try this years before?" That neck does not move.
Yinepu, how do you use the loppers? I'd think you'd need two hands for the loppers and an additional hand to hold the chicken.

My husband would normally shoot the birds first.. however I have had to do my fair share solo when he was in Iraq...

So first I would go pick out the birds who were to be butchered and use some zip ties on their legs so they wouldn't wander off while I was working on other birds..
I let them sit on the ground so they stay calm
Once I picked out the birds I would take the first one and tether its feet to the fence.. let it calm down while I check the temperature on the scalding pot
as soon as they are calm I fit their neck into the loppers
One quick closing of the handles and it's all over

the loppers crush the spinal column and the blade severs the throat

If the loppers are good and sharp the head falls off.. if it's in need of sharpening it still does the job however the head would still be attached by some skin (the spinal column and vein would still be severed).. so at that point I use heavy kitchen shears to finish cutting through the skin

for bigger birds like turkeys or big roosters I use a bit of vet wrap to hold the wings down so they don't flap


the nice thing about loppers is that you don't need good aim.. I think if i used an axe I may do more damage to me than I would to the bird. lol

 

[yinepu]

Hey! Old German women taught me most of what I know about chickens. Your mom was hard core, making you hold those heads, though, I gotta say that.

Old german women taught me 99% of what I know.. lol.. we come from a long line of crazy women who butchered their own birds!
Funny thing is .. out of 7 kids I am the only one who has the "crazy chicken lady" blood in my veins.. all my siblings prefer to get their poultry from the grocery store... (and I'm the only one who had to hold down the heads... go figure!)

 

[Azriel]

My husband would normally shoot the birds first.. however I have had to do my fair share solo when he was in Iraq...

So first I would go pick out the birds who were to be butchered and use some zip ties on their legs so they wouldn't wander off while I was working on other birds..
I let them sit on the ground so they stay calm
Once I picked out the birds I would take the first one and tether its feet to the fence.. let it calm down while I check the temperature on the scalding pot
as soon as they are calm I fit their neck into the loppers
One quick closing of the handles and it's all over

the loppers crush the spinal column and the blade severs the throat

If the loppers are good and sharp the head falls off.. if it's in need of sharpening it still does the job however the head would still be attached by some skin (the spinal column and vein would still be severed).. so at that point I use heavy kitchen shears to finish cutting through the skin

for bigger birds like turkeys or big roosters I use a bit of vet wrap to hold the wings down so they don't flap


the nice thing about loppers is that you don't need good aim.. I think if i used an axe I may do more damage to me than I would to the bird. lol

What type of lopper do you use? Do you have 2 sharp blades, I have one that only has 1 sharp side, and the other is dull that the sharp blade slides over. Your way sure seems like it would be better and less messy than cutting the throat like I have been doing.

 

[yinepu]

What type of lopper do you use? Do you have 2 sharp blades, I have one that only has 1 sharp side, and the other is dull that the sharp blade slides over. Your way sure seems like it would be better and less messy than cutting the throat like I have been doing.

I have Fiskars.. also use their little hand pruners for dispatching bantams and quail..

My husband sharpens them for me when they need it (which isn't often.. they hold an edge really well).
All of mine are bypass cutters.. I've never tried the anvil type...

 

[Gscott]

I preferred the machete over the hatchet, but a cleaver would be clever.

 

[big medicine]

Have used the two nails in a stump (or good sized round of unsplit firewood) and a hatchet for many years. The only draw back I have found to this method was, while instantly severing the neck, it often left enough skin attached on larger birds that it required a second hit to drop the head in the bucket. A few years ago I picked up a large meat cleaver at a garage sale. It has a sharp 8 inch cutting edge and is easily as heavy as any hatchet. Works beautifully, clean, complete removal, first time, every time.

 

[zazouse]

I always use loppers and they do not need to be sharpend, i processed over 200 birds with my loppersin 6 weeks this summer and i still cut limbs with them .
I find it a fast way to do many birds.

 

[Montana-Hens]

I use a cleaver, but saying that you need a heavy commercial one. It needs to have the weight/heftiness of an axe. You want this to be quick, so whatever allows that is right.

 

[bj taylor]

question about the nails on the stump method. "a space between them" - how much space? this may be a remarkably stupid question but i've never had chickens (coming in a few days) & don't know how much space that they wouldn't slip through. i darn sure don't want to mangle my kill & a bird suffer because of my inneptness.

 

[Ridgerunner]

It varies for different sized chickens and I've even got a space that worked for a turkey. I just did it by trial and error to find what worked for me. I have four nails to make three different sized spaces.

I just measured. The nails stick up about 2". You do need some height. The space that I use for most chickens has 1-1/4" clear space. I used that for some 17 week old dual purpose roosters a few days ago.