Need hatchet help, please don't judge.

[cassie]

Today I had to kill a full grown Pekin duck unexpectedly. I have killed tons of chickens and small ducks using the broomstick method and I am quick and efficient at it but thought a full grown drake would be too much to handle this way. So I decided to use a hatchet to get the job done. Had watched some Yourtube videos and it seemed simple enough.
It wasn't. It was absolutely horrible. I didn't hesitate and finished the job as quickly as I could but it was barbaric and awful. Can someone please walk me through how to do this efficiently? I know it's a common method and like I said, Youtube makes it looks like a one chop and done kind of thing.
Advice from people who have been there?

Personally, I wouldn't dream of using a hatchet. I lack the upper body strength to even try. One day it was up to me to kill a very large Cornish X roaster. I knew the hatchet was out of the question, so I got a pair of very large pruning shears. Regular limb loppers. They were new and the blade was sharp. I hung the chicken up by the legs, took a deep breath, and lopped off the head before either the chicken or I knew what happened. Later, I started using a box cutter to cut the jugular veins. The blades are very sharp and it was the easiest and most efficient means for me to kill poultry. They bleed out well, too. I put in a new blade at the very first sign the old one was starting to dull.

 

[Ridgerunner]

You can try it on an old hose or even a rope. Practically any hatchet or cleaver will work, though I'd like to see a scaled photo of the cleaver just to eliminate some guesswork on that. I don't like to assume. A heavy cleaver is good.

The issue is going to be you. Can you hit the target with enough force. The rope or hose is more about hitting the target than generating enough force. If you hit it cleanly you don't have to be a body builder or weight-lifter to generate enough force. Rope comes in different materials and may be harder to cut than a chicken's neck, not sure. An old garden hose may be closer but probably takes more force than a chicken's neck. Remember, you do not need to totally take off the chicken's head. You need to cut the spinal cord to kill it. And you need to keep your eyes open so you hit the target. If you flinch or close your eyes at the wrong time you can injure the chicken or yourself.

In my earlier post in this thread I mentioned the grain of the wood. You want the hatchet or cleaver to cut into the grain of wood, not across it. If you cut into the grain, like a stump, the hatchet or cleaver will sink in, giving a cleaner cut. If you cut across the grain, like the side of a plank, the hatchet or cleaver may bounce back and not get a clean cut.

 

[aesch]

Great ideas, thank you. Tried it out on an old garden hose and it worked. The cleaver is a heavy duty 8 inch old-style that I've used for ages. Now I just have to get up the inner fortitude and do it. Thanks.

 

[aesch]

A quick update. The hatchet wasn't nearly sharp enough. The cleaver was useless - didn't even bother with it. Tried the broomstick method and broke the stick. Finally used a swift knife to the jugular and that did the work. Btw, didn't do all that on one bird so there wasn't undue suffering. Down two roosters, only one more to go.

 

[Molpet]

A quick update. The hatchet wasn't nearly sharp enough. The cleaver was useless - didn't even bother with it. Tried the broomstick method and broke the stick. Finally used a swift knife to the jugular and that did the work. Btw, didn't do all that on one bird so there wasn't undue suffering. Down two roosters, only one more to go.

I use a pipe cutter

 

[Mtnboomer]

I used a hatchet to dispatch our ducks. My wife placed her hand overthe birds eyes and stretched out the neck. I held the body with one hand and chopped with the other. Very easy.
When i had to do it solo, I covered the eyes with a wash cloth and looped a string around the neck that was tied to a nail on the chopping block. The cloth kept the bird calm. I gently pulled back to stretch the neck and.....well you know the rest.

Most important thing is to keep the bird cslm and your edge sharp. Also, be sure to have a hatchet with enough mass to deliver the necessary force.