Slit Throats or Decapitation? What should I do??

[Buster52]

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Yeah, I've heard this one before, and there is some sense to it when you first look at it. But my thinking is the blood flow is cut off immediately, so it isn't really an argument against decapitation as the loss of blood would be at least as quick with decapitation as with slitting. So, it might not be instant, but it might be (probably is, in my opinion). It is at least equal to the slit since the same principles apply... loss of blood supply to the brain equals death.

So, yes, chopping is easier for me. It is easier for me because it is my belief it is quicker and thus more humane.

That said, this is all an argument in favor of stunning regardless of the system used.

 

[bja105]

I remembered something from last year, when I was tying the legs. A couple slipped off the wire, and fell into the bucket of blood. Not so humane! I'm making cones, and I'm sure they are faster, too.

 

[bucketgirl]

Killing cones on a stand (comes with the plucker rental). We put them upside down and they seem to get all woozy and silly. I always tell the story as, "Look at all the pretty colors!". The butcher in our family group holds their heads firmly and gently slits, with a very sharp knife, on either side of the neck (no windpipe). They just slowly bleed out and then relax through the bottom of the cone. Any kind of flopping drama comes after they have passed.

It's pretty easy to upset a chicken and make it squawk, so I assume if this was painful or stressful they would react, but they sure don't. I'm a weenie and I rest easy with this method and have no desire to consider another.

 

[Chicken411]

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Not sure what you mean here? I wish I could get ahold of or afford one of those poultry stunners they use in the UK. That would seem to be the ultimate in humane processing.

 

[Dust Bunny]

nobody has mentioned pithing, it's supposed to be instantaneous because of the sudden massive trauma to the brain (kinda like being shot in the head) and it also makes plucking easier

 

[KatieH]

A few people have mentioned letting the chicken's body run or flap around after decapitation. Well, if that's what you're doing, I can see why you're not getting a good bleed out! When we decapitate, I hold the body down while my husband cuts off the head, then I immediately hold the body upside down over the ick bucket. It isn't pleasant to hold while it's twitching and flailing, but I get a good amount of blood out and haven't had any trouble at all with bloody birds.

A couple slipped off the wire, and fell into the bucket of blood. Not so humane!

Oh, don't worry, we learned this weekend that chickens like to eat the blood of their fallen comrades!

When I tried slitting the artery I just wound up severing the windpipe. I'd be happy to do it that way, but not until I've had someone who knows how to do it teach me.​

 

[fratermus]

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I don't know how much pain, but my uninformed take is that slitting may cause more anxiety in the bird particularly if my slits were inaccurate or inadequate. I think my own approach would be homemade cone and decapitation.

I've slaughtered many animals over the years (up to pig-sized) but no chickens so far.

 

[sandiklaws]

I remember reading about using a sharp pick to "debrain" turkeys by pushing it quickly through the roof of the mouth back into the brain. Supposedly the bird is brain dead and cannot feel a thing, and you would simply make cuts to the jugular to bleed 'em... no first hand knowhow of this, how 'bout anyone else?

 

[Chicken411]

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This is a video of the method you are talking about. I have heard horror stories of people trying this method and not having it work. You have to know right where the brain is, especially if you don't have a poultry stunner like Jamie Oliver.

 

[bakerjw]

When I was 4 we had a pair of roosters. I couldn't go out too far away from the house or else they would attack me and scratch my back. I think that my mom finally had enough and dad had to do something about them. I knew that he was going to kill them but I figured that he'd stab them with a knife. I didn't realize that he wasn't going to do it that way even though he had an axe with him when we went out into the orchard. He chopped the first ones head off and I went running away in sheer terror. Since then I've always had an extreme fear of chopping the head off of any living thing. Once they're dead it is ok but not while alive. I think that I will certainly go with the hypnotize and slit method. That I think that I can handle.

It's amazing how wussy we get when we get older. When I was younger I used to hunt all the time and kill things but now it is something that I find hard to do.