Shoot the bird?

[Whitehouse Quail]

Hey all,
I have a quick question; I know pithing is the best method for plucking, with the hatchet method close behind, but I was wondering about a third option; shooting them in the head with a .22 pistol. I know this would be quick and easy for all parties involved, but how would it bleed out and pluck?

SOOOOO,

What should I do? Shooting them appeals to me the most, because slitting the throat is a little gruesome, at least to me, and the hatchet, I would probably miss and hack off one of my own limbs. Pithing is out too, on the sheer reasoning of that I am 100% sure that I would miss, and poke my own eye out.

Any comments?

 

[comp6512]

I am no guru, but what if you miss the bird's head and end up shooting your own foot? I've read quite a few posts here that shooting is a bad idea due to misses, ricocheting or other safety hazards. I for one leaning towards sheering the neck, which would be like hatcheting it, except it's done in a cone. Dont take my word as any worthy advise as I have not processed even one yet.

 

[dancingbear]

Here, watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63S3gLIeQCA&feature=related

It helped me a lot.

 

[redhen]

Wonder if it could be done with a pellet gun? Would a pellet gun be strong enough to ensure a quick death..?

 

[Tala]

Or this option:

Lay chicken down, put a broomstick over his neck right below the chin, stand your feet on the broomstick each side of his head, yank chicken's feet up in a swift motion - ideally you dislocate his neck bones from his skull (ie "wring his neck") and chicken is instantly dead.
There's no mess and in my experience it's easier than trying to cut the neck quickly, plus it's pretty hard to hurt yourself this way!

 

[jaku]

Quote:
I've shot some, but unfortunately, to get a good bleed out, you still should cut the throat after it's shot. We did a bunch of turkeys yesterday, and we shot them first so they were easier to deal with, but a simple bullet wound doesn't fully bleed them out.

 

[twentynine]

No shooting in the head with a .22 is not a good option, no matter how you look at it. Doing multible birds the gunshot noise will excite the other birds, causing them distress. When it becomes their turn they will be harder to handle. Expense .22 shorts may not be expensive but a good sharp knife after purchase is cheap to use. Safety, wow where do I start, some one that self proclaims their inability to use a knife safely, is going to use a gun.
Learn to kill cleanly, calm, and quietly.

My method: I suspend the chicken upside down using loops over feet. Grab the head, with my left hand the beek sticking out between my fore finger and middle finger. The comb is back against the palm of my hand. Using a large sharp knife, I lay the flat of the blade on my thumb nuckle, with the edge against the bird's neck. Pull down on the bird's head stretching the neck out. Then slice with the entire length of the blade across the neck. The bird's head should come off in you hand. Step back, let the bird bleed out for a minute.

 

[Whitehouse Quail]

Quote:
Wow, I just read my own post; I came across as an idiot!

Oh well. It put's me in my place.

 

[willheveland]

You'll shoot your eye out. Find a processer in your area if it's something you can't or don't want to do. Will

 

[Ibicella]

I agree with the others, I wouldn't try to shoot a chicken because of how clumsy that would be.

Personally I'm a big fan of pithing. If you are not doing too many chickens at once, I prefer to flip them over and hold them on their backs for a few minutes and let them "hypnotize". Pithing then with minimal risk to yourself is as easy as chicken noodle soup, and plucking is hardly any chore at all.