Processing Day Support Group ~ HELP us through the Emotions PLEASE!

[Kassaundra]

Dutch, I did the same thing on my first hatch, lockdown was "sacrad" and could not be violated no matter what. I lost almost all of them. Now I watch the eggs carefully and if any are rocking or chirping for "to long" ( a gut feeling no set rule) I help them out. I have learned a couple of tricks through trial and error, I have lost a couple but have saved many more then I lost. My incubator shrink wraps a lot! so I get lots of practice. I use warm water, q tips and heat the bathroom before I start (even in summer) If the chick has not external pipped GENTLY crack the egg at the big end, if it has externally pipped use the hole it has made. When you break away a little shell you will see there are two membranes covering the chick the tougher outer membrane and the thinner inner membrane. The blood vessels are in the inner thinner membrane, this is the one you need to be most careful with. Peel away the tougher outer membrane, if it is dry moisten it w/ warm water and q-tip. as you expose the inner membrane it needs to be moist, make a small hole, usually the bird already will have even if it didn't externally pip, use the warm moist q-tip to gently get between the chick and membrane, your goal is to gently ease the membrane over the chick, the more you tear it the more likely you will cause a bleed in the membrane. If the membrane does bleed all is not lost I have had several to bleed more then I thought they could survive and yet they did. allow the membrane to stay attatched until that cord dries some to keep from bleeding (the cord connecting the chick to the membrane.

These chicks didn't die in vain if you learned something to help future chicks.

 

[ronott1]

So this has nothing to do with processing chickens, but I'm super upset about it and you guys are really supportive....

I was doing a hatch and they started coming out Wednesday night through Thursday. By last night they were all in the brooder because they were being wild, but there were still some eggs left that looked good in candling so I left them.

This morning they were rocking around and chirping but none had pipped at all. I kept checking all day and nothing. It's day 22 so asked for some advice if I should open them because they seemed like something was wrong. I was told to let them take its course, not to mess with them on lockdown.

Finally around dinner time the rocking and chirping comes to a stop. I wait awhile and nothing. I finally take the eggs out and open them and there are 5 fully developed chicks in an awkward position where they couldn't get their beak to the egg to start pipping. All day long they were crying for my help and I just left them in there to die. Such a waste of life.

Helping is a tough one. and yes, you can open the incubator during hatch, just not too much opening.

Sally has a guide to assisted hatching that has a lot of pictures and guidelines. Generally, it is ok to help if it is 24 hours from the pip in the egg. Start slow and if you see blood and active veins then use a qtip to wet where the chick may be stuck and put it back. Go very slowly with the process. It might take a couple of hours to get the chick out.

Survival of the fittest likely does not factor into this hatch. It is now time to trouble shoot the hatch to see if you need to raise temps(22 days is a bit long) or adjust humidity. The next hatch is better and practice with your incubator always helps. It is a constant learning experience.

Join the New Years Day hatch too! There is always great help on the Hatch a long threads.

 

[dutchbunny83]

Thanks guys!!!
You are the best!
This makes me feel a little better

 

[jajeanpierre]

I gave myself a deadline of this morning to process the three Silkie cockerels who had to go. They must have been driving my neighbors crazy with their crowing--they were in a pen on the side of the house closest to the neighbor. My others are on the far side, and don't make nearly the racket those three did, which started as soon as the Alpha cockerel died last week. My husband would be home this morning and I really needed someone there. Yesterday I let them run out the back yard for the whole day. They would come running up to me if I was in the yard and it really tore at my heart strings. I had to keep reminding myself that all three of those little birds were like snakes trying to bite me whenever I had to deal with them. If a fox or hawk got them, so what, they were doomed anyway. I gave them the best last day I could.

I ran into some unforeseen problems--just where would I slaughter them? The tree I had used in the emergency slaughter last week was in full view of my parrot cages. I sure wasn't going to subject them to that! I hadn't noticed it before because the first bird was slaughtered in the dark.

I still didn't get it right. I'm doing something wrong. They didn't die like in the videos. They were bleeding out quite rapidly but not hanging calmly. I wonder if it was because I didn't let them hang and be calm before I cut them. I was so worried that they would see all the blood and be stressed, so I held their heads in my hands, covering their eyes. Some weren't hanging calmly when I cut.

I'm pretty upset at the moment and probably won't be able to remember details so that you can help me get it right.

First off, Silkies seem really difficult to do. They have a tremendous amount of feathering around their face, and of course, these cockerels were full of pin feathers. And, they are quite small.

I managed to cut my self when I cut the first one. It was a very tiny cut, but it reminded me to be very careful and very deliberate.

When I am calmer, I want help to find out what I did wrong. I have two or three Ameraucana cockerels to do shortly and the Silkie and bantam Cochin that were injured in the dog attack.

Again, I skinned them. It all seemed a lot harder than the first time.

I killed them all and then started to process them. By the time I got to the second one, a bit of rigor has started to set in and the skinning was a lot easier. The third had more rigor and he was the easiest to skin. It seemed as if I took a long time, but probably from start to finish it was only two hours. It felt as if getting them killed took almost as long as processing them, but I'm sure that wasn't accurate.

I had left the free-range Ameraucanas and the injured bantams locked up until everything was cleaned up. When I went to get them out, they were very quiet. Do they know?

When I calm down, I'll take pictures of their little carcasses so you can see the really weird color of flesh.

I didn't faint, I didn't throw up and I didn't cry. It wasn't perfect, but it was a kazillion times more humane and stress free than any store-bought chicken's end.

 

[ronott1]

I gave myself a deadline of this morning to process the three Silkie cockerels who had to go. They must have been driving my neighbors crazy with their crowing--they were in a pen on the side of the house closest to the neighbor. My others are on the far side, and don't make nearly the racket those three did, which started as soon as the Alpha cockerel died last week. My husband would be home this morning and I really needed someone there. Yesterday I let them run out the back yard for the whole day. They would come running up to me if I was in the yard and it really tore at my heart strings. I had to keep reminding myself that all three of those little birds were like snakes trying to bite me whenever I had to deal with them. If a fox or hawk got them, so what, they were doomed anyway. I gave them the best last day I could.

I ran into some unforeseen problems--just where would I slaughter them? The tree I had used in the emergency slaughter last week was in full view of my parrot cages. I sure wasn't going to subject them to that! I hadn't noticed it before because the first bird was slaughtered in the dark.

I still didn't get it right. I'm doing something wrong. They didn't die like in the videos. They were bleeding out quite rapidly but not hanging calmly. I wonder if it was because I didn't let them hang and be calm before I cut them. I was so worried that they would see all the blood and be stressed, so I held their heads in my hands, covering their eyes. Some weren't hanging calmly when I cut.

I'm pretty upset at the moment and probably won't be able to remember details so that you can help me get it right.

First off, Silkies seem really difficult to do. They have a tremendous amount of feathering around their face, and of course, these cockerels were full of pin feathers. And, they are quite small.

I managed to cut my self when I cut the first one. It was a very tiny cut, but it reminded me to be very careful and very deliberate.

When I am calmer, I want help to find out what I did wrong. I have two or three Ameraucana cockerels to do shortly and the Silkie and bantam Cochin that were injured in the dog attack.

Again, I skinned them. It all seemed a lot harder than the first time.

I killed them all and then started to process them. By the time I got to the second one, a bit of rigor has started to set in and the skinning was a lot easier. The third had more rigor and he was the easiest to skin. It seemed as if I took a long time, but probably from start to finish it was only two hours. It felt as if getting them killed took almost as long as processing them, but I'm sure that wasn't accurate.

I had left the free-range Ameraucanas and the injured bantams locked up until everything was cleaned up. When I went to get them out, they were very quiet. Do they know?

When I calm down, I'll take pictures of their little carcasses so you can see the really weird color of flesh.

I didn't faint, I didn't throw up and I didn't cry. It wasn't perfect, but it was a kazillion times more humane and stress free than any store-bought chicken's end.

That is great! You did a good job and a little cut happens often when handling sharp knives.

Let us know when you are ready to figure stuff out.

 

[Beekissed]

Quote:
I love this statement! THIS..this should be put as a sticky note one liner on this whole forum section and should be the title to this thread. It says it all, really. It's hard to kill the birds you've raised but you showed fortitude and love in the fact that you realize what other chicken's lives are that eventually get killed and consumed for food~yours didn't suffer every day leading up to their death and that matters so very much. As with humans, it matters not how bad your last day is, but rather how good were all the days leading up to that last day.

I'm so very, very proud of you!

Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear. -- Ambrose Redmoon

 

[jajeanpierre]

That is great! You did a good job and a little cut happens often when handling sharp knives.

Let us know when you are ready to figure stuff out.

I'm ready to think about it. I just know my memory of the whole thing is faulty. Killing is a BIG deal for me. I honestly believe that animals lives are just as important as human lives. Well, sort of. I guess I would never ever think it is okay to slaughter people.

 

[Chambertin]

There's no perfect way to get ready for a session with the poultry that needs to be culled. Honestly we are not executioners by trade and our aversion to death and killing is very handy and quite respectable. Society has come a long way by removing death from our lives, however when it comes to natural death its time to get back into the reality of what we eat. Denying reality never does anyone any good, just look at what our food has become by placing every aspect of it into the hands of corporations.
You did **** good, now lets get better.

My first piece of advice is to start watching Caesar Milan (The Dog Whisperer)
I think you stress yourself out so much that you give off a really crazy vibe to everything around you. Look at the difference a calm and authoritative presence gives to the animals around that presence. I bet he could put down an elderly sick dog with no anesthesia and the dog would accept its fate, not happily, but realistically.
Honestly every animal but humans (and only modern humans in North America) are very accustomed to death as a natural part of life. We create the "OMG they cant see THAT!" attitude and make it strange and foreign the the living things around us.

So get yourself in a presence of mind that this must, will, and is going to happen smoothly. Any little ckickups will be dealt with calmly and quickly.
Most importantly there is no perfect answer, there is only you and the best you can do will happen.

Two options for getting into a good state of mind
#1 The Hype up: Get something that pumps you up for actoin. A movie, some great music, crazy Kung-Fu classics, anything (even Juila Childs if she just excites the chef hiding in you). Stand up tall, hold and look at the knife and use that energy of action and make some kind of call, Hoo-AH! I can Do this! Make some noise! Any noise you can make is ok. This seriously changes your physical and mental state. Everything around you will acknowledge your leadership.

#2 Meditate into a state of complete calm and separation. Your body and your mind are two separate things but you have mastery of not just your body but everything near you, anything within 5 feet of you in a perfect sphere is under your attitude, calm, and influence. Your aura literally radiate calm and submission which will help anything pass into a better state.

These may be a little serious for most and even sound silly to some but that's what I do before I get ready to kill my birds.
They know whats coming and everything in the house does too. I pick them up and know they are going to die by my hand, they know this too. We come to terms with it and we do it as peaceful as possible. I hang them up and they calm down as I put a hand on their keel. Then I get in position and open the wound, I place the calming hand back on the keel and usually there's little movement. Maybe a couple wing flaps at the end but always a couple "omg this is real" instinctual body convulsions.
EDIT: I think most convulsions are out of fear instead of shock and nature. Eliminate the fear and most thrashing goes away.

Dont doubt yourself and keep clam and real.
Purposeful movements and dont get nervous. If you are nervous go back to one of the two options to get ready and when you are calm come back to it. There is no time limit to this, you are ready when you are ready. Most importantly you will get better each and every time and although scary its a good thing for everyone.
This isnt random killing it is taking a part of your life and getting closer to what feeds you and your family.

Crazy long winded, but maybe it helps a little.

 

[Chambertin]

I'm ready to think about it.  I just know my memory of the whole thing is faulty.  Killing is a BIG deal for me.  I honestly believe that animals lives are just as important as human lives.  Well, sort of.  I guess I would never ever think it is okay to slaughter people.

They are just as important, but they serve a very different purpose.

Accept that and your troubles are 90% over

 

[jajeanpierre]

Crazy long winded, but maybe it helps a little.

Thanks you so much for your thoughts. It really does help. I shared a bottle of wine with my husband, haven't eaten all day, so am not really all that lucid. I'm not happy with how I killed these birds, although it was still so much better than a slaughterhouse death--so very much better, but still not right. I do philosophically believe in this, but gosh it is hard. Our society is really skewed when death is so avoided.

Did I mention that this is really hard for me?

Maybe tomorrow I can be a little less emotional and learn to do it better.

Chamertin, I wanted to say that I have lived overseas for many, many years and I understand some of what you are going through--some time in Libya, eleven years in Saudi Arabia and almost eight years in the Caribbean. I now live in Texas, but that is still a pretty foreign place for me.