Slaughter: ladies, what's your favourite method/tool? I'm still figuring mine out, looking for ideas

[Phoenixxx]

I started out with a meat cleaver, but have since changed to a method I feel is more humane.  I do the broomstick method, then put them in the cone and bleed them out.

What's the broomstick method?

 

[Phoenixxx]

I killed my first chicken yesterday. I actually did 2 of them. I watched a YouTube video called "respectful chicken harvest." The lady holds the chicken, but you could easily use a cone. I did mine the same way she did in the video because I don't have a cone. It was pretty quick and non-violent. You just have to have a razor-sharp knife. I actually used a new single edge razor because my knife wasn't sharp enough.

Thanks, I'll check it out!

 

[donrae]

I don't decapitate, I slit the throat. I use a sharp Buck knife and it does just fine. Some folks swear by Exacto or other utility/box knives with the pop out blades. I just use one of these...

that I get from Bi-Mart, etc. I've used my plain ol kitchen knives too, but like the heft of the Buck knife.

I wrap a dishtowel around the bird's head, to help hold and cover the eyes. I don't like them looking at me while they die

. Having one hand hold the head helps me get a good, thorough cut on the neck vessels. I then just bend the head back a touch and wait for it to bleed out. Holding the head, I can feel when the bird is gone, so there's no guess work of "Is it dead yet?". Then in the cooler to scald, pluck, gut, etc.

 

[AllynTal]

I don't decapitate, I slit the throat. I use a sharp Buck knife and it does just fine. Some folks swear by Exacto or other utility/box knives with the pop out blades. I just use one of these...
....
I wrap a dishtowel around the bird's head, to help hold and cover the eyes. I don't like them looking at me while they die

. Having one hand hold the head helps me get a good, thorough cut on the neck vessels. I then just bend the head back a touch and wait for it to bleed out. Holding the head, I can feel when the bird is gone, so there's no guess work of "Is it dead yet?". Then in the cooler to scald, pluck, gut, etc.

That's pretty much what I do. I don't decapitate. Letting their heart pump out the blood until it quits pumping is . . . .what? cleaner? more efficient as far as bleeding them? I don't know if it is or not, but I feel like it is. I know a single chop is quick and thorough, but it's just too violent for me, and I have some arthritis in my hands so gripping an ax or machete that tight just won't work for me. I like the quiet, let-them-go-to-sleep end. I put them in a cone and then use a sharp razor-knife to slit the neck veins. And I talk to them while they go. I think it distracts them from what's happening.

 

[Luanne Hott]

You lay the bird on the floor and place the broomstick over the neck area. Then put your feet on the broomstick, and pull the legs straight up. This causes dislocation and death. Works best for me.

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

I have tried three methods and can share some pros and cons with each:

After doing a lot of research on line, I decided first to use the "pithing" method. I place the chicken in the killing cone, place a noose around its legs and tie the rope above the cone to secure it. I then open the chicken's beak and stab a sharp knife up through the top of the mouth into the chickens brain. I usually wiggle the knife around a little to be 100% sure I've killed it. The idea is that this instantly kills the bird and ends its suffering. I then slit its jugular vein and let it bleed out. The pros to this method is that the bird bleeds out very thoroughly in the cone and even though it may thrash around near the end it is contained. I can even walk away and set up my plucking station or something and come back in a few minutes to take it out and lop off its head with a hatchet. The only con I think is that psychologically, I always wonder if I'm doing it right, whether I truly killed the brain with the first stab.

When I started raising turkeys my cone wasn't big enough to hold them, so I worked with a friend and used a hatchet and a chopping block. The real downside to this in my mind is that the second that hatchet comes down the bird starts flapping. Even if the head is miraculously completely severed on the first chop, the body is thrashing and splashing blood all over the place. I've had turkeys and ducks with broken wings due to the power of that thrashing. Half the time it takes me more than one chop to sever the head, and even though I'm pretty sure I usually sever the spinal column on the first chop, trying to finish the job on a thrashing bird is, to me, horrifying. My goal is to be as humane as possible and I have to admit that sometimes I've botched it. The pros to this method is that when the head is laying over there and the thrashing body is several feet away, I can be assured that there is no actual suffering taking place. An aquaintance told me that when he butchers geese he has to keep a firm hold on the feet because once the head is chopped off, the geese will actually fly halfway across the lawn. So strange and disturbing!

When I added ducks to the mix I decided to use the broomstick/neck breaking method (something about the shape of the ducks head made me nervous about "pithing"). I discovered that if I was decisive in the neck breaking action I could feel very confident that I had done it correctly and there was no prolonged suffering. That is the "pro" to this method in my mind. Quick end to suffering. However, once again the second that neck is broken the bird starts thrashing and I've had broken or dislocated wings because the bird has thrashed so hard. Plus, once you can wrestle them into the cone to bleed them out, they don't bleed out as thoroughly as the pithed chickens do, I think because the heart stops beating once the neck is broken, so butchering is a bloodier, messier job.

I've gone back to the first techique now when doing meat chickens. I am most confident that I can do it right and also think I get the best quality meat from this process. Lately I used the broomstick/neck break method for some spent hens, because that is hard for me emotionally and I wanted it as quick as possible. I also knew that the meat would go in the crock pot so it wouldn't matter if it got a bit banged up after the neck was broken.

I hope this was helpful and not to gruesome. I can't say that there is one perfect way to dispatch a chicken, but having tried several, I like the cone and pithing method best.

 

[phalenbeck]

I have been using a cone for a couple years. No flopping around, no mess on me no problem. I have taken to a kitchen sissors, or a knife to cut the neck viens depending on my mood. I have used chicken in a burlap bag, to prevent flopping with a axe in the olden days, and hung them by there feet to sissors there heads. I am not going back to the non cone days, as there is so little to go wrong. I do about 50 birds a year in batches of 5-10 at a time, as they mature.

 

[Phoenixxx]

You lay the bird on the floor and place the broomstick over the neck area.  Then put your feet on the broomstick, and pull the legs straight up.  This causes dislocation and death.  Works best for me.

Thanks I may try that.

 

[Phoenixxx]

I have tried three methods and can share some pros and cons with each:

After doing a lot of research on line, I decided first to use the "pithing" method.  I place the chicken in the killing cone, place a noose around its legs and tie the rope above the cone to secure it.  I then open the chicken's beak and stab a sharp knife up through the top of the mouth into the chickens brain.  I usually wiggle the knife around a little to be 100% sure I've killed it.  The idea is that this instantly kills the bird and ends its suffering.  I then slit its jugular vein and let it bleed out.  The pros to this method is that the bird bleeds out very thoroughly in the cone and even though it may thrash around near the end it is contained.  I can even walk away and set up my plucking station or something and come back in a few minutes to take it out and lop off its head with a hatchet.  The only con I think is that psychologically, I always wonder if I'm doing it right, whether I truly killed the brain with the first stab.  

When I started raising turkeys my cone wasn't big enough to hold them, so I worked with a friend and used a hatchet and a chopping block.  The real downside to this in my mind is that the second that hatchet comes down the bird starts flapping.  Even if the head is miraculously completely severed on the first chop, the body is thrashing and splashing blood all over the place.  I've had turkeys and ducks with broken wings due to the power of that thrashing.  Half the time it takes me more than one chop to sever the head, and even though I'm pretty sure I usually sever the spinal column on the first chop, trying to finish the job on a thrashing bird is, to me, horrifying.  My goal is to be as humane as possible and I have to admit that sometimes I've botched it.  The pros to this method is that when the head is laying over there and the thrashing body is several feet away, I can be assured that there is no actual suffering taking place.  An aquaintance told me that when he butchers geese he has to keep a firm hold on the feet because once the head is chopped off, the geese will actually fly halfway across the lawn.  So strange and disturbing!

When I added ducks to the mix I decided to use the broomstick/neck breaking method (something about the shape of the ducks head made me nervous about "pithing").  I discovered that if I was decisive in the neck breaking action I could feel very confident that I had done it correctly and there was no prolonged suffering.  That is the "pro" to this method in my mind.  Quick end to suffering.  However, once again the second that neck is broken the bird starts thrashing and I've had broken or dislocated wings because the bird has thrashed so hard.  Plus, once you can wrestle them into the cone to bleed them out, they don't bleed out as thoroughly as the pithed chickens do, I think because the heart stops beating once the neck is broken, so butchering is a bloodier, messier job.

I've gone back to the first techique now when doing meat chickens.  I am most confident that I can do it right and also think I get the best quality meat from this process.  Lately I used the broomstick/neck break method for some spent hens, because that is hard for me emotionally and I wanted it as quick as possible.  I also knew that the meat would go in the crock pot so it wouldn't matter if it got a bit banged up after the neck was broken.

I hope this was helpful and not to gruesome.  I can't say that there is one perfect way to dispatch a chicken, but having tried several, I like the cone and pithing method best.

Not too gruesome at all. I'm used to the "kicking out" and the resulting bloody mess. For a while we had some extra 16" truck rims laying around and we'd throw one over the decapitated bird right away - it worked really well for keeping the mess in one spot, not to mention not having to go rooting through brambles because the headless chicken flopped it's way deep into brush!

I know exactly where the brains are, I dissected a chicken head once. I'm not sure how I feel about just letting them bleed out like others do; maybe it's a peaceful way to go, maybe not. I think combining the pithing with the way that lady in the video held her hens might be the way to go.

 

[bubra007]

I am also one that does the broomstick method and then slit the throat after they are done flapping around. I've had a few break wings with all the flapping, so right after I'm sure the spine is snapped, I grab hold of both wings and just hold them down to the ground for a minute or so. I also learned to not be TOO enthusiastic pulling the feet stepping on the stick as their heads are likely to pop off. Not very pleasant when that happens!