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

[Cluckysnap123]

I'm glad you were able to help out your neighbor... sometimes what people think of as small actions mean a great deal to another!

I don't eat meat, but since I am a fair person and an honest person and a caring person, I figured I could help, just because of the fact that I'm doing something kind. No matter what the job, I try to find ways to help, even when I disagree with the task, such as on processing day for the neighbors, I, being an herbivore, dreaded the day, I had to be in that area during the day. But I realized that what better to do than help by cheering everyone up, and also comforting the chickens. I felt bad that the neighbor killed them at all, but, kindness is kindness.

 

[kacklinkelly]

Thanks everyone for your support and your feedback. The emotional support helps a lot! It's helpful to hear about others having similar experiences (the emotional ambivalence, messing up the first time, that it gets easier but is never easy).

It is so hard to reconcile my deep empathy for animals with my understanding that I need to eat meat to sustain good health. Having had this experience, while I can't say I'm at all eager to do it again, I have a much deeper sense of respect and gratitude for the animals I eat. I've been responsible for the deaths of thousands of animals over the course of my life, but never thought twice about the implications of what was on my plate. Now I know!

And yes – my cuts were definitely too shallow and while bad first cuts were hesitation, even when I tried going much deeper it was impossible – my knife was just crap. Any tips on ensuring a knife is super sharp? Maybe a test cut on a piece of meat in the fridge? I think I did get the jugular on the first bird with the second cut, which is why it was easier. But you're right, I don't think I hit it with the second bird, and it was awful.

I remember having a similar experience. I hated to think that my lack of experience contributed to a slower death. I chose to to slice both sides of the neck, so they bled out pretty quickly regardless.

 

[chicken junky]

Well last week my two butthead roosters became coq Au Vin for my family in town just like nothing. All right it was a little unnerving and I got butterflies but once I started I was fine. I went to zoo school and had to kill small animals to feed to animals so this was similar. Loved feeding my family something well cared for and not full of whatever they do to chickens we buy. So I am happy with my choice to raise meat birds. Thank you everyone for advice and videos and an awesome recipe. =)

 

[LindaB220]

I don't eat meat, but since I am a fair person and an honest person and a caring person, I figured I could help, just because of the fact that I'm doing something kind. No matter what the job, I try to find ways to help, even when I disagree with the task, such as on processing day for the neighbors, I, being an herbivore, dreaded the day, I had to be in that area during the day. But I realized that what better to do than help by cheering everyone up, and also comforting the chickens. I felt bad that the neighbor killed them at all, but, kindness is kindness.

Hey Cluchysnap, I noticed that you joined in Feb. so

. Another thing I've noticed is that on several, several threads you mentioned that you are Vegan and couldn't kill your chickens. And always ask if it's a rooster "What are you going to do?" "Don't kill it". Cluchysnap, this is the Meatbird ETC. thread. We cull, kill, process and eviscerate our roosters. That's what this thread is about. I don't want to hurt your feelings but your post shows that you are on the wrong thread. I'm not sorry that your neighbor killed his birds. I'm proud that he was able to do the deed and now has provided for his family.

 

[BCMaraniac]

I think sometimes the problem is that we inexperienced people don't cut deep enough to reach the carotid artery, only getting the jugular vein. The jugluar vein is closer to the surface and leads away from the brain to the heart, so the heart continues to pump a lot of blood to the brain as it bleeds out. I really think if you get both carotid arteries, the animal dies, or at least loses consciousness very quickly since it is not getting any oxygenated blood to its brain and must experience a significant drop in blood pressure in its head.. If you only cut one side (and that's all I've ever done), the artery on the other side is still pumping blood to the brain. Those are some of my thoughts, after not being particularly happy with how I've managed to process my birds. I won't say they suffered, but I think it took longer than it should even when I cut one carotid artery.

Does everyone else do one cut or two?

I make every attempt to cut both vessels, because death is very swift when you're successful.

 

[jajeanpierre]

Thanks everyone for your support and your feedback. The emotional support helps a lot! It's helpful to hear about others having similar experiences (the emotional ambivalence, messing up the first time, that it gets easier but is never easy).

It is so hard to reconcile my deep empathy for animals with my understanding that I need to eat meat to sustain good health. Having had this experience, while I can't say I'm at all eager to do it again, I have a much deeper sense of respect and gratitude for the animals I eat. I've been responsible for the deaths of thousands of animals over the course of my life, but never thought twice about the implications of what was on my plate. Now I know!

And yes – my cuts were definitely too shallow and while bad first cuts were hesitation, even when I tried going much deeper it was impossible – my knife was just crap. Any tips on ensuring a knife is super sharp? Maybe a test cut on a piece of meat in the fridge? I think I did get the jugular on the first bird with the second cut, which is why it was easier. But you're right, I don't think I hit it with the second bird, and it was awful.

You test your knife on a piece paper. You see if it will easily slice through the side of a piece of paper like a razor. If it catches, it needs to be sharpened. Most knives need to be sharpened.

The other thing that makes a big difference is pulling the skin tight so the knife can slice and won't drag on the skin. I think BeeKissed has some pictures and a description of it. You can have the sharpest knife, but if you allow the skin to be loose, the blade will not slice, especially if you are going over feathers.

I had to cull a bird I was particularly fond of and I was devastated killing her. She had laying issues and started to go downhill. I made darn sure I did it right and it was the best cut I had ever made. I was so determined to not let her suffer.

 

[Tomtommom]

And yes – my cuts were definitely too shallow and while bad first cuts were hesitation, even when I tried going much deeper it was impossible – my knife was just crap. Any tips on ensuring a knife is super sharp? Maybe a test cut on a piece of meat in the fridge? I think I did get the jugular on the first bird with the second cut, which is why it was easier. But you're right, I don't think I hit it with the second bird, and it was awful.

We had the same issue with our first kill.... We tested the knife on some paper after sharpening and it was sharp... still couldn't get through the skin >_<

Second kill we went with the 'broom handle approach', I really recommend that one...

You lay a stick, piece of rebar, broom handle or a wrench or something over the neck of the bird. You step on both sides of the rod and pull on the legs at the same time. It severs the spine and causes instant brain death. No blood everywhere.... fast, clean and a lot less stressful in my opinion. I do it with my husband. He steps on the rod with one foot (no pressure on the neck), then when he says "go" he steps on the other side and I pull on the bird. I hold the bird as it does it's death flap thing.

The blood collects inside the head and neck.. so you do have to drain it... but that's a lot easier on a dead bird.

 

[jajeanpierre]

We had the same issue with our first kill.... We tested the knife on some paper after sharpening and it was sharp... still couldn't get through the skin >_<

Second kill we went with the 'broom handle approach', I really recommend that one...

You lay a stick, piece of rebar, broom handle or a wrench or something over the neck of the bird. You step on both sides of the rod and pull on the legs at the same time. It severs the spine and causes instant brain death. No blood everywhere.... fast, clean and a lot less stressful in my opinion. I do it with my husband. He steps on the rod with one foot (no pressure on the neck), then when he says "go" he steps on the other side and I pull on the bird. I hold the bird as it does it's death flap thing.

The blood collects inside the head and neck.. so you do have to drain it... but that's a lot easier on a dead bird.

I did some research on decapitation and it isn't instant death. Decapitation is the preferred method for killing small lab animals. Experimenters hooked up electrodes to the rats, I think it was rats, and checked the brain activity after decapitation. There was brain activity for a full three seconds. With humans, they did some experiments when France was busy cutting off an awful lot of heads by guillotine. They would ask the decapitated heads to blink. There is enough reports by doctors at the time to not think this is anything but true. Twenty-seven seconds of consciousness after decapitation. I think the time difference between rats and humans is simply the blood volume in a human head--it is oxygen that will allow the brain to continue to function.

So, I hate to say it but I don't think it is an instant death to dislocate the head from the neck. Instant paralysis, certainly, but not instant death.

I've come to the conclusion that the only really instant death is a bullet to the brain or a heavy object crushing the brain. Everything else takes time. That said, I don't think bleeding an animal out is particularly painful. I'm not sure of the stress, but my chickens have not been very stressed except right at the end. Next time, I want to do two cuts to the carotid artery so there is no new oxygenated blood going to the brain as the animal bleeds out.

 

[Beekissed]

Now..ya have to ask yourself this...if someone just cut off your head and then told you to blink, are you really going to acquiesce to that request? Seriously? If you had conscious thought enough to weigh the question and give an appropriate response, wouldn't you also surmise that they can't kill you if you don't comply with their requests? Isn't it more likely the blinking was happening anyway as a result of neurons firing haphazardly due to the decapitation?

Are we going to believe the documentation of people who are crazy enough to decapitate people in the first place? The scientists, I can believe as they are recording data and have the equipment to do so, but a blink at an executioner's doctor is not what I call hard evidence.

 

[BCMaraniac]

Now..ya have to ask yourself this...if someone just cut off your head and then told you to blink, are you really going to acquiesce to that request? Seriously? If you had conscious thought enough to weigh the question and give an appropriate response, wouldn't you also surmise that they can't kill you if you don't comply with their requests? Isn't it more likely the blinking was happening anyway as a result of neurons firing haphazardly due to the decapitation?

Are we going to believe the documentation of people who are crazy enough to decapitate people in the first place? The scientists, I can believe as they are recording data and have the equipment to do so, but a blink at an executioner's doctor is not what I call hard evidence.

One thing I can tell you that when my husband had a heart valve replaced nearly 3 years ago, he was sitting in a chair beside his bed the day after surgery, and went into complete heart block with a 13-second ventricular pause. What that means is that for 13 seconds the chamber of the heart that pumps blood to his brain stopped, so the blood going to his brain stopped. This was recorded on the telemetry monitor. I was at his bedside when this happened, and he didn't lose consciousness for 13 seconds.....but he did lose consciousness....probably about 5-6 seconds. Then that chamber started pumping and he regained consciousness. That is the closest comparison I can make regarding an abrupt cessation of blood flow to the brain.