quick/less handling way to dispatch

[sueandthe6]

posting here since the topic seems to come up more here than with layers. need a quick way to dispatch. have a friends chicken- was discovered to be an egg eater. came from an auction and is very very skittish. catching her will be trauma enough- I usually sit with them wrapped in a towel and comfort a bit before slitting throat but I think getting her into the towel and any additional handling will just be worse for her. I do not yet have a cone-is there any process that I can implement as I pick her up? I broomstick rabbits and am wondering if something similar would work with a chicken but in my hands versus on the floor?

 

[cppeace]

I've never done this but seen someone pick up a bird swing them in a circle 3 or 4 times and that basically knocked them out; he then proceeded to put the chicken under his arm and simply pull the head off. But seeing as the chicken would be still as it's semi knocked out you could dispatch of it with the knife.

 

[LBKS]

For catching skittish birds just pick them up on the roost while sleeping and put them in a cage to deal with in the morning. Even skittish birds tend to calm down once you have them firmly in grip, so the chasing is really the most stressful part, IMO.

 

[slingshotandLAR]

Once you catch her hold her upside down by the feet...

She may struggle for a sec but that's it.

You have many options after that, because you don't have a cone you can stun her with a quick wrap. I have done this with roosters before.

You can also pin her head down with your foot and make your cut with a sharp knife. If none of that works you can always use the old hatchet method.

If you don't want to chase her use a pellet gun, that's easy enough.

You have options

 

[nhrocks]

Yes, you can break her neck with your hands. That's how I do my hens and young cockerels. Any older roos or ducks, and I use the broomstick.

I hold the chickens feet in my right hand, hold the chickens head with my left with my index finger and thumb right under the jaw. Brace my right hand against my hip, and pull down with my left. You will feel the neck break, then the head will detach (internally) and the neck will stretch out. And the flapping begins.

If your fingers are in the right place under the jaw, it doesn't take much force. But if you pull on the neck instead, it is a lot harder. Im a smallish woman and have no trouble pulling heads off of hens, while my wrestler husband has trouble getting the grip correct and prefers the broomstick.

Hope this helps

 

[sueandthe6]

thanks nhrocks. that's kind of what I was looking for.