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

[Double Kindness]

My bf did the deed with me watching on that old mean roo in the fridge, I don't want my Jeanette to have a long drawn out death, I thanked the roo we processed on Saturday when it was bleeding out. I cried a bit and I didn't even know or like that roo much, so the thought of processing my very first hen that laid me eggs makes me very anxious.

I'd like more practice on unfamiliar chickens before attempting on one I love,, have given epson salt baths to etc. I'm too soft hearted I guess, but my bf does the bleeding out, I helped with plucking etc. But not one I love yet.

 

[TaraBellaBirds]

I do appreciate the replies in my case, and I am thankful I found this forum however long ago. The people here are great. That being said I am very unsure of my meat bird plan so for now I have cancelled my order from MurrayMcMurray which was set to hatch on the 27th, and delivered that week (15 Pioneers specifically for freezer camp). I figured I did this 15 years ago, should be doable now but I was dead wrong. I will get a few hens locally just for eggs I think.

Broom handle sounds equally difficult, not sure how that bodes with bleeding out well either. I will give it some time, maybe make or come up with a cone and try the jugular slice. Slamming down the cleaver just seems so violent.

I have used the cleaver and also the cone. I won't go back to the block ever again, far to violent and there seemed no reason for it to be that way. We use a cone and slit one side of the throat. The most violent part is the death throwes, even the intiial cut seems barely noticed by an upside down barely concious bird.

 

[TaraBellaBirds]

I personally prefer the chop. But this woman does the most beautiful job of dispatching a bird via slicing the throat. If I could do it any way this is perfection and is done with a love and connection that all animals deserve... IMO

(.... I don't do it this way because my DH does the deed... One day I want to be like this women.)

Thank you for sharing. I felt this way when I dispatched my CX pullet, and this is about how it went. I cradled her and waited for her, as well as myself to be ready. I also found this kind of surreal feeling while holding a live bird versus all of a sudden holding my families meal!

 

[Happy Chooks]

Quote: x2

 

[jajeanpierre]

I have used the cleaver and also the cone. I won't go back to the block ever again, far to violent and there seemed no reason for it to be that way. We use a cone and slit one side of the throat. The most violent part is the death throwes, even the intiial cut seems barely noticed by an upside down barely concious bird.

I strongly recommend you cut BOTH sides of the neck, right down to the carotid artery. You have to go deep enough to get the carotid arteries, not just the jugular vein. The carotid arteries lie deeper than the jugular. Carotid arteries run up each side of the neck feeding the brain with oxygenated blood under pressure. If you cut only one, certainly the chicken will bleed out, but not as quickly. As it bleeds out one side, the other side is supplying the brain with fresh blood so it stays conscious a lot longer. If you cut both sides well, there should be an almost immediate massive drop in blood pressure in the head and the bird should lose consciousness almost immediately. You know you've cut the carotid artery because it spurts under pressure. A jugular will just drip.

I agree that the chicken barely seems to notice cutting the neck. I think the trick is to have the skin pulled really tight so you get a deep clean cut. I read an article written by a man who was stabbed in the neck and came very close to bleeding to death. He wrote about the experience and that he was surprised that he didn't feel the actual cut at all. He knew he was in big trouble because he saw all the blood, not because he felt himself being stabbed.

All the above said, I don't think they suffer much with the longer time of just cutting one carotid artery or even missing that and just getting the jugular. I don't think it is particularly painful, but I do think the chicken is somewhat aware and somewhat stressed. I want to shorten that time between initial cut and loss of consciousness.

I've never witnessed the chop method other than a YouTube video. While it looks violent, I can't believe it is for the chicken. I imagine that there is immediate loss of blood pressure to the brain and almost instant loss of consciousness. I think there is a fairly high risk that there will be mistakes made that cause tremendous pain and suffering to the bird by the inexperienced among us.

I'm going to have to read up on the broomstick method. I think that to do it right, you also need to cut the carotid arteries and bleed them out.. There are arteries that run up the spine that I am sure will be ruptured by cervical dislocation. I'm not sure that is enough of a bleed out. I once processed a Silkie who drowned in my pool, and the carcass didn't seem any different to the ones that I had bled out.

My fear is that I'll not use enough force and just dislocate the neck and not severe the spine. I have a bird or two, maybe three, that I need to dispatch. One is a 9-month-old really cockerel who is just too rude to the hens and is terrorizing some of them. He's a really big bird. The other is a 19-month-old aggressive rooster. He'll have really strong ligaments so I am a bit afraid to use a new method--the broomstick--with him although he is so nasty to me (not the hens, which is why he still lives--I need to replace him and so far all my cockerels have been jerks to the hens) that I might not feel too bad if I made a mistake. The third is a darling little Cochin hen that I just can't make healthy. She was a very expensive show bird bought from a breeder. I'm having trouble dispatching the hens I've developed relationships with. Ya, I'm a weenie.

 

[jajeanpierre]

Questions on broomstick method....

I've tried to find a video and only found one. I only watched it once because I just can't stomach snuff films with my coffee this early in the morning.

I have some issues with this video and wondered if the people who are experienced with this method can comment and, better yet, post a link to videos showing the broomstick method.

I've researched a lot on slaughter and read a lot of Temple Grandin's work. One of the points she makes about slaughter--and I believe she is discussing death of cattle using a captive bolt--is that you look at the head to determine if the animal has in fact been killed. A struggling animal that vocalizes or lifts its head has not been killed with a captive bolt. A properly killed animal never lifts its head or vocalizes although it will struggle.

The chicken in this video most certainly lifted her head. How, if the spine was severed is this possible?

I've read Temple Grandin's articles on Mexican horse slaughter. In Mexico they stab the base of the neck. Temple Grandin contends that those horses are quite conscious, just paralyzed as they are disemboweled. How is this different from the broomstick method?

 

[hennible]

No matter what method is chosen its best if you can be shown in person by someone who is experienced... I only know people who do the chop, and will not be experimenting despite my interest in the other methods, until someone can show me in person. Best of luck to everyone in delivering swift human deaths.

 

[Bazy]

I just wanted to report back in on how our first chicken dinner went after all the help I got here. I brined it and roasted it. It was very delicious, but a little wilder than what I expected, and it's legs were a lot longer which made eating it a little strange. My younger son who wanted to help with the processing, but wanted to let the chicken run around decapitated (the whole story is available in this thread) thought it was delicious, and ate a lot. My older son was horrified and could not believe I would kill something I raised from a baby and then eat it. He refused to even eat the potatoes that were cooked with it and had bread and green beans for dinner. My husband was a trooper but I could tell he was a little creeped out.

I left the leftover in the fridge for about a day and a half, and then deboned it. Tossed the bones and vacuum sealed the meat to make chicken and dumplings later...but after the bones were out of site, I stole a bite, and it was fantastic! I think the lesson in this is that the chicken tastes better when the shape of it is gone so you are not trying to remember what it looked like...or to wait a while to eat the first one.

We had fast food bought fried chicken a couple of nights ago, and it was just nasty to me. films of fat everywhere and meat that seemed over processed and unnatural and sticky. That poor restaurant bird gave it's life for me to say that about it. Now, THAT's the real guilt people should have.

I am dreading the next processing day. Who wouldn't? But the key word is 'next'.

 

[hennible]

The bones make great soup stock. Try it out next time.

 

[ronott1]

I just wanted to report back in on how our first chicken dinner went after all the help I got here. I brined it and roasted it. It was very delicious, but a little wilder than what I expected, and it's legs were a lot longer which made eating it a little strange. My younger son who wanted to help with the processing, but wanted to let the chicken run around decapitated (the whole story is available in this thread) thought it was delicious, and ate a lot. My older son was horrified and could not believe I would kill something I raised from a baby and then eat it. He refused to even eat the potatoes that were cooked with it and had bread and green beans for dinner. My husband was a trooper but I could tell he was a little creeped out.

I left the leftover in the fridge for about a day and a half, and then deboned it. Tossed the bones and vacuum sealed the meat to make chicken and dumplings later...but after the bones were out of site, I stole a bite, and it was fantastic! I think the lesson in this is that the chicken tastes better when the shape of it is gone so you are not trying to remember what it looked like...or to wait a while to eat the first one.

We had fast food bought fried chicken a couple of nights ago, and it was just nasty to me. films of fat everywhere and meat that seemed over processed and unnatural and sticky. That poor restaurant bird gave it's life for me to say that about it. Now, THAT's the real guilt people should have.

I am dreading the next processing day. Who wouldn't? But the key word is 'next'.

Thanks for the report!

Your older Son will likely come around.