Manual cervical dislocation, easier than expected

[aart]

Still not sure how bird can bleed out without severing artery/vein.
Might try both next time I slaughter.

 

[3KillerBs]

Still not sure how bird can bleed out without severing artery/vein.
Might try both next time I slaughter.

The arteries and veins of the neck break when the neck is dislocated and it bleeds out into the space created in the neck.

 

[casportpony]

What have y'all's experiences been with manual cervical dislocation? Any good resources that you can share with folks just starting out?

Thanks for sharing your experience. Have you seen this thread?
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/euthanasia-information.1195265/post-18905291

 

[casportpony]

Do they tho?
Have you slaughtered this way?
I slit the throat when slaughtering for good bleed out.

Sometimes they do bleed like this, but not sure they bleed out completely.

 

[Mosey2003]

Still not sure how bird can bleed out without severing artery/vein.
Might try both next time I slaughter.

They rip apart when you dislocate the head from the neck. The neck skin fills up with blood.

Is it 100% as full of a bleed-out as if you sliced? Perhaps, perhaps not. But I have not found a discernable difference in the carcasses, honestly. Even if I felt like they needed to rest in salt water after (which I don't) it would be worth it to me simply because I prefer the broomstick method that much more than slicing and bleeding out To each his own, of course.

 

[lilchickenz]

I don't know how you did it, but I could not do it by hand. I was not strong enough to break his neck and had to go get a shovel. Then I still wasn't sure he was dead, thankfully I had my knife as a back up and took off his head. I sure do feel sorry for these birds that are the subjects of my first attempts at killing. FS

 

[Deedee1969]

I've thought about using the manual method but as I have arthritis in my wrists and the base of my thumbs that is getting progressively worse so I'm concerned that I would not be able to do it physically.

I didn't find the broomstick complicated. I did use a spare ax handle instead of an actual broomstick because the flatter profile makes it easier to keep it firmly under my feet.

That's a good point. Haveing a flat stick instead of a rounded one. I think I'd prefer that as well.

 

[Deedee1969]

I killed my first two chickens this weekend using manual cervical dislocation and found it extremely easy and relatively foolproof. As I was researching, something that I would have loved to read but couldn't find was input from people who are new to this method. The descriptions from folks that have been doing it for years were great, but still left me feeling anxious that this might require a level of skill that I don't yet have and can't really get from just reading/youtube... So, I wanted to share a little about the experience, as well as the resources I used for direction, as a reference for anyone else who is considering this method and feeling a little daunted (like I was a few days ago).

First off, why cervical dislocation? Mostly because it's the method most veterinarians (including my mother) recommend as most humane. Given Mum used to chair the UK government's advisory committee on farm animal welfare, I figure it's a topic I should listen to her on... For another vet's perspective, see this article: https://the-chicken-chick.com/how-to-humanely-euthanize-chicken-by-dr/. It also *feels* more humane to me. Rather than fiddling with a kill cone or broomstick, I can put out a tray of their favorite food for distraction and have them picked up and dead before they realize their beaks aren't buried in fermented grain anymore. I know a lot of people on here like the broomstick method, but it terrifies me as I'm not sure how I'd know that I've applied the right amount of pressure and pull. With my hands, I can feel it. Your mileage may vary, this just feels right to me.

Ok, so what about the method? I found the best description was actually in the article by Mike the chicken vet which I linked to above. The part that most helped me to understand the process is where he clarifies that you are not breaking the neck, you are separating it. Having the head bent back at a 90 degree angle makes the separation easier, but it is the actual pulling which breaks the spinal cord. I used the hold where the chicken's head was between my pointer and middle fingers, leaving the thumb and ring finger free to tilt the head back by pulling up under the beak. This also helped limit my reflex to grasp tightly around the neck as I might have if it was between my thumb and pointer finger (the goal is not to strangle the bird).

In the end, both birds died quickly and calmly without the other chickens even looking up from their dinner. I did have a little issue with not pulling hard enough on the first bird but realised immediately and pulled again after which I felt a very clear pop of separation. Even with that false start, the whole process from catch to kill probably took less that 5 seconds. Afterwards, I immediately felt the neck to confirm separation (there's a clear gap between the head and the spine) and then hung them up by a slip knot around the feet and cut the head off for them to bleed out. As with any method of killing a chicken, they did flap around a fair bit after death, but nothing out of the ordinary.

Overall, I found manual cervical dislocation to be a very humane and simple approach to killing chickens which requires very little skill. My earlier fear about messing it up definitely feels unwarranted. For reference, they were both 3.5 month old cockerels. The separation required surprisingly little force so even if an older bird requires a slightly stronger pull, I don't expect it would be an issue.

What have y'all's experiences been with manual cervical dislocation? Any good resources that you can share with folks just starting out?

Thank you for this great post. I will be culling 4.5 month old Cochin bantam roos for my first time in august . I only want the breast and thighs so processing should be quite simple for my first time doing this by myself. I read somewhere that a guy did this . He didn't pluck or skin the bird he just opened it up and took out the breasts and thighs. He didn't say anything about bleeding out the blood . How would I do that with cervical dislocation ? I wish I could find a video of someone doing this method of not skinning or plucking. Once I'm confident at culling and processing I would like to raise meat birds . But for now I'm starting with bantams. Wish me luck !

 

[Deedee1969]

The arteries and veins of the neck break when the neck is dislocated and it bleeds out into the space created in the neck.

Thank you !!

 

[NatJ]

I only want the breast and thighs so processing should be quite simple for my first time doing this by myself. I read somewhere that a guy did this . He didn't pluck or skin the bird he just opened it up and took out the breasts and thighs. He didn't say anything about bleeding out the blood . How would I do that with cervical dislocation ? I wish I could find a video of someone doing this method of not skinning or plucking.

The killing method will probably not matter much.

No video, but here's a method that works for me:
Kill the chicken.
Wait for the body to stop flapping around.

Cut off the feet, through the joint where the bare skin meets the feathery area.

Pinch up a bit of skin on the belly area, and poke a knife through it.
From that starting point, cut the skin and pull it back until you can see the leg/thigh pieces.

Cut off the leg/thigh pieces, cutting through the joint where they attach to the body.

Pull the skin back as much more as you need, and cut off the breast pieces. I usually cut next to the bones and have boneless breast meat.

All done!


For any "cut through the joint" steps, just wiggle the joint a few times, then cut toward the point that wiggles. Some amount of cutting, wiggling, and pulling will make it come apart. It feels difficult the first time, but pretty easy after a while.

Cutting off the feet, and cutting off the leg/thight pieces, are done pretty much the same way in this method as they would be in any other method of butchering.