Pithing vs. jugular slice for dry pluck...?

[leamallett]

Quote:
Interesting! How long does one have to wait until they go into this "hypnotic immobility"?

 

[rhoda_bruce]

Well just bleeding out......I'd say about 3 minutes. Maybe a little longer, but there about. I cut my first bird and check out my supplies and get whatever I may have forgotten.....like a big pot with cold water or my glass of lemonaid or whatever and the next kill I take a few sips of my drink and wash my hands or take a little sitdown.

 

[Beekissed]

If you are doing CX meat birds, plucking is a breeze, dry or wet. I have used all methods of killing chickens and pithing, to me, was the least successful, most traumatic and more gross than I've ever seen.

I carefully impaled the chickens at the correct location and sort of scrambled the knife tip around in the skull cavity...trust me, there is no way I could have missed the brain and all its myriad parts~I practically cored the darn things. The birds stayed alive, raised their heads to watch me and were actually tracking me with their eyes....all the while their brains and blood were oozing out of their mouths.

I'm a nurse and I've seen some very nasty and gross things, but I have to tell you that the pithing was the most horrible I ever felt when killing an animal. It was just gory and useless...I tried it on several birds and it never worked the way people describe.

I have found that using a killing cone and slicing the throat to be quite quick, less traumatic and did not affect the feathers at all.

I also slice the trachea...if you do not, I have found that the blood runs down and into the nasal passages and mouth of the bird and the resulting bubbles tell me that this obstructs the airway. If you slice the trachea this opens another airway with which to breath....and they do not "suck blood down the trachea" which is virtually impossible while hanging upside down. I've cleaned enough birds to note that there is no blood in the trachea or bronchial trees except some residue where you initially cut.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out!

 

[booker81]

I saw your question on the "hypnotic immobility" thing - I also used that to calm and dispatch my roo. Meat classes taught me that a stressed animal equals poorer quality meat, and I've found that true with deer hunting (a quick dispatch vs a injury and needing to have a second shot dispatch means some quality differences in the flavor and texture of meat). ANYWAY, grab the chicken by the feet, and if moving, I've found it helps to somewhat support their head. They go limp in a second or so. Calmly and quietly hang them feet up, and they will just hang there without moving, and often will shut their eyes.

He is quite alive in this picture.

I prefer to use a scalpel to cut the jugular - I know its super, super sharp, and will not mean me hacking away at the throat with a dull knife. Also, have you ever cut yourself with a very sharp knife, only to find out after you've bled all over the vegetables? No pain with a clean cut.

When I dispatched this guy, I held his head for about 15 seconds, and he never flinched. After a minute or so, he flopped a bit, but I believe that was more excess nerve energy twitching muscles than him actually being alive.

I didn't notice much smell when wet plucking, but then, I keep their area pretty clean, and there isn't exactly a ton of chicken poo on them to scald. I also add dishsoap to the scald water, and honestly, he kinda smelled like Dawn.

 

[goldnchocolate]

This older post has good descriptions on how to pith.... https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=83181

Also, there are some excellent pictures showing the inside of the roof of a chickens mouth in post #65. It shows the notch to aim for when pushing the knife in. I hope this helps. I'm going to do some extras roos, soon, and have been trying to decide which method to use.

 

[goldnchocolate]

Quote:
Where can you buy a scalpel?

 

[cassie]

You can buy a scalpel at any mail order livestock supply like Nasco or Jeffers. I just use razor blades or a box cutter. Same difference.

 

[annageckos]

Quote:
Some medical supply stores will order them for you. You can also find them on EBay cheap.

 

[goldnchocolate]

cassie and annageckos: Thanks, I'll have to look into it. I have a Cutco serrated knife that's pretty sharp that I might try. On the videos that I've watched showing how to cut the jugular vein it looks like they are pressing pretty hard when they slice. Maybe it's because they are cutting through the feathers too.