Other ways to cull?

[Little Jerry Seinfeld]

Yeah, pithing is probably the MOST humane if you can instantly destroy the brainstem the first try every single time.

I'm not that talented, so I'd rather have it be very humane every time as opposed to extremely humane when I get it right and not at all when I don't.

Its actually alot easier than you would think and you can practice by dispatching then your preferred mehod first and then try the pithing. I tried it on a quail the other day and wow it dry plucked amazing!! they are already pretty easy to pluck of course...

 

[Kris5902]

Pithing: insert the tip of a sharp knife up through the open mouth into the brain. And you are trying for a quick death so could jiggle the knife around the be sure... i have done this with chickens before, not as the main killing but immediately after cutting their jugulars when butchering because I read that it can help loosen their feathers, they definitely died faster than when I just cut their throats... it didnt seem to affect whether the feather pulled out faster or not, but i was probably hiting the wrong spot in the brain, and it was older roosters, so i only did it a few times. (Most of the time i dont pluck anyway, I skin.)

Doing it like this would give you a fully intact bird though. I know theres better instructions either on this site or just googling it on how to kill birds this way.

Edit to add found this:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/butchering-using-a-knife-to-the-brain.1273368/
And a quick search brings up lots of good stuff theres even videos on youtube

Beautiful lizard by the way

@Little Jerry Seinfeld ... yea.. just cutting the dang head off seemed easier .. lol
But thank you for the “other option”... I will have to go google that just to see how it’s done.
And thank you ... my little dinosaur makes me smile

That is essentially how our cows and sheep are slaughtered, in function, not execution. It’s done with a captive bolt gun that basically punches straight through the skull and several inches into the brain. It renders the animal insensible immediately then the jugular is slit and the animal bleeds out, the heart continues beating for a bit after the bolt, helping to bleed them out faster. I didn’t think that would be easily doable on such a small animal like chickens or quail though...

 

[Fishkeeper]

With very small animals, there's no need to bleed them out. It's entirely possible to pith them in such a way that brain function is destroyed entirely. The reason they don't just do that with cattle is because it would require a very large bolt gun.

 

[Maiahr]

What do you do AFTER you cull them in order to make it easy to pluck the feathers? I've heard quail a lot of fat and it is impossible to pluck the feathers??

 

[CoturnixComplex]

What do you do AFTER you cull them in order to make it easy to pluck the feathers? I've heard quail a lot of fat and it is impossible to pluck the feathers??

Lies! I always pluck. The skin is too delicious. No scalding necessary, you just have to do it real quick before they cool down. And I give them a quick go-over with a torch lighter afterwards for those gross little hair-like feathers.