Tomorrow is supposed to be his last day.....

[CCUK]

I'm so sorry. This has been a truly awful experience for you. Maybe I should have suggested this earlier, I know it doesn't help now but it may help you or someone else in the future. When I was younger we used to keep turkeys for Christmas. They were kept in a barn away from all our other animals. When it came to processing them we hung them by their feet in a hanger, put a piece of wood like a cut off broom handle behind their neck, lifted the head and pushed heavily down. You heard the snap and they'd flap. Job done. Leave them to hang for 12-24 hrs. There was never any blood or mess or anything. It was quick and easy. This was when I was younger and less sentimental about things. I'm older, uglier and alot softer now! I don't think I could do it again. I've heard so many bad things happening with throat cutting, especially in factories. Im sorry this was so harrowing for you.

 

[SueT]

Oh my gosh, I am so sorry that you are in this position. It’s so sad. Your experience sounds traumatic and I would have become a vegetarian too. What do you think you are going to do about your boys?

I want to keep one, and the other I put on craigslist just now. There is a smaller poultry swap tomorrow I could take him to. He's a not so common breed so maybe someone will want him, especially if I offer him cheap. For the first one I got $5 at the big swap.
Another option, temporary, is that he be put out to free range-- I allow my oldest hens to free range and he could be put out with them. And they might even teach him manners.

 

[Jamie Molihan]

I'm so sorry. This has been a truly awful experience for you. Maybe I should have suggested this earlier, I know it doesn't help now but it may help you or someone else in the future. When I was younger we used to keep turkeys for Christmas. They were kept in a barn away from all our other animals. When it came to processing them we hung them by their feet in a hanger, put a piece of wood like a cut off broom handle behind their neck, lifted the head and pushed heavily down. You heard the snap and they'd flap. Job done. Leave them to hang for 12-24 hrs. There was never any blood or mess or anything. It was quick and easy. This was when I was younger and less sentimental about things. I'm older, uglier and alot softer now! I don't think I could do it again. I've heard so many bad things happening with throat cutting, especially in factories. Im sorry this was so harrowing for you.

Thankyou for your response. That does indeed sound like an easier way to do it. I think that I am going to take the advice I got on her earlier, I can’t remember who, and got to a small chicken farm on butchering day and learn the process from someone who has done it for a while. This way I can see what it’s supposed to look like. I will probably go to one of the WWOOF sights. I stayed at one for a couple of days when my husband and I were through hiking. This is where we learned about keeping goats and organic farming. We didn’t learn much because we were only there for two days.

 

[CCUK]

Sounds like a plan! I'm sure you'll see it through and be fine in the end.

 

[chickendreams24]

I just discovered this thread today so I'm a little late to the party but I wanted to share a few things. I'd also like to say that the kindness, maturity, support, and respect shared in this thread has been wonderful. I've seen these threads go sideways very fast in the past but all of you have created a great thread full of not just great information but also understanding. Kudos to all of you.

I started my fowl journey about 2.5 years ago with ducks. Then I added chickens and quail. I kind of fell in love with the idea of homesteading and raising my own food. The quail were meant mostly for meat. At that time I was in the suburbs and was limited on what I could raise. I had no prior experience with butchering. I didn't really get any support from friends and family. Honestly, not one of them thought I could do it. Butchering day came and even though it was extremely difficult I was actually able to do it. I did feel a sense of pride for having completed the process of raising a bird from a chick to having meat on my table. It did take me a while to get over that first butchering before doing another batch but I have continued to raise quail.

My first chicken butchering was last spring, a 22-week cockerel. He was a butt and the choice to butcher him wasn't hard (though I knew the actual act would be hard). I did tons of research and decided on the killing cone/throat slitting method. I thought I was prepared. It didn't go well at all. I messed up. It took longer than it should have and the bird suffered for it. I felt extremely guilty about the whole thing and swore I'd never use that method again. I now use a large pair of tree loppers. Its much easier for me to do a quick, clean cut and with complete decapitation I know the bird doesn't suffer. Since then I have done some CX, extra cockerels, and even a couple ducks.

Earlier this year I had to do an 8 month cockerel I had planned on keeping. He had a name and was meant to stay but as he matured he changed. He was ruining the harmony of the flock and had to go. I didn't like the idea of passing a problem bird onto someone else so he ended up in the crockpot. His was the hardest because he was beautiful and I really did like him. I actually couldn't bring myself to eat him. I feed my dogs a homemade diet so he was their dinner. I was grateful his death had purpose and he lives on in my flock through a couple daughters.

I have gotten better and faster at the process but it's not easier. I don't think it will ever get easier and I don't think I want it to. I am proud of the things I have learned and done, even when they didn't go well. Especially since I know I did it completely by myself. No one really wants to help me (though they have no problem eating the meat). I thought I would need help with the ducks (those eyes!!) so I asked my older brother if he would. He's a hunter. He agreed to help but didn't seem to keen on it and kept dragging his feet. I eventually just did it myself. I learned then that the idea of butchering is hard even for those that have taken a life for food.

I think this whole thing has taught me a much greater respect for animals that end up on the dinner table. I actually eat less meat now because I have a greater knowledge of what it took. And the meat I have raised taste way better than any of the meat I buy.

@Jamie Molihan I hope that you can take comfort in knowing you did what was best and I think you should be proud of yourself for completing the task.. I don't blame you for not being able to eat the meat yourself and as long as it doesn't go to waste I think it's totally fine. I also hope that you don't completely swear off raising and butchering your own meat until you have had time to really work through all your emotions. I almost didn't do it again after the first time but eventually did and I'm glad I did. If this is something that is really important to you I encourage you to stay open to the idea of trying it again. Maybe just try doing it differently.

View attachment 1382818 View attachment 1382820 View attachment 1382821 This is Henrietta and Blanche
Thank you so much for your kindness and your input. I know that I may feel differently about it once I get over the shock of the whole thing, but right now I feel like a villain. I thought I had prepared everything just right, I didn’t. I decided on the cone method also. I had the girls locked up so they could t see it, and now I wish I had been sitting in the coop with them. I didn’t cut right, it wasn’t quick, and then he got out of the cone and ran to his hiding spot...bleeding the whole way. I started crying and shaking. My husband picked him up and cut off his head. I threw up. While dressing him I was shaking so bad that when I mad the vent cut I stabbed into him and nicked the intestines. I then had to stick a garden hose on him while I continued to dress him. Like I said...it was awful.i am glad it over. I now only have the two girls, one Isa Brown who thinks she is a full on raptor and one teeny D’Uccle who thinks she is Godzilla.

OMG!!
Wants to ask practical questions but is going to be sensitive and wait.
That is going to take some time to get over.
I'm so sorry you had to go thru that.

That is rough I'm sorry. My first experience with a chicken was bad. I thought I had my knife sharp enough and I thought I cut deep enough. I thought I had done it right so I went inside the barn to occupy my hands while he bleed out. I heard the cone hitting the side of the barn and thought it was from the normal convulsions they have. When it was done I went back out. Turned out all I did was cut his skin. He was hanging there upside down bleeding but still very alive and alert. The sounds were him trying to free himself. I cut again, deeper this time, and awaited again. I still got it wrong. I then ran around my house, barn, and shed trying to find something to use to decapitate him. The whole time I was sick to my stomach knowing he was suffering. I found my big tree loppers and finally finished him. All in all that poor bird probably spent 15 or 20 minutes in that cone. I felt awful for putting him through all that.

I'm still not great at the breaking down part but I'm getting better. I find it easier to just cut along the spine and split the carcass open to the get the insides cleaned out. I cut up and separate the parts anyway so there's no point in trying to keep it whole. I have cut intestines too and it does smell bad.

If you never butcher another chicken again that's okay too. It's certainly not something everyone can do and there's nothing wrong with that. At least you tried.

I understand why it traumatized you. That would be hard. Don't beat yourself up. Everything about this chicken keeping thing has a learning curve. Some lessons are harder than others. It does get a little better with practice. I had a head start, having a step-dad that taught me how to hunt and clean ducks and pheasants. My DH was raised processing chickens every year, so it's second nature to him. You took a big step, and that is something to be proud of even if it didn't go as you would have liked.

Okay wow I didn't get any notifications about this thread all day and now look at all I missed.

Can I just say I love this thread! Its a hard topic and I think everyone has done a really great job of coming at it from a place of kindness and support.

There's nothing easy about taking a life. There shouldn't be. No matter what kind of meat a person eats and animal somewhere died for it. I respect those that are vegan and vegetarian and I hope they respect me. That being said nearly every product in the world has some sort of animal product in it. Yes some thingshave vegan alternatives but many don't even say they contail animal byproducts.

You made the right choice and we're all proud of you. I'm also glad little Henrietta is okay. She's lucky you found her when you did.

 

[Jamie Molihan]

Okay wow I didn't get any notifications about this thread all day and now look at all I missed.

Can I just say I love this thread! Its a hard topic and I think everyone has done a really great job of coming at it from a place of kindness and support.

There's nothing easy about taking a life. There shouldn't be. No matter what kind of meat a person eats and animal somewhere died for it. I respect those that are vegan and vegetarian and I hope they respect me. That being said nearly every product in the world has some sort of animal product in it. Yes some thingshave vegan alternatives but many don't even say they contail animal byproducts.

You made the right choice and we're all proud of you. I'm also glad little Henrietta is okay. She's lucky you found her when you did.

Tank you.

 

[Zinjifrah]

I know it's a bit late... this thread reminded me that I need to know how I'll euthanize one of my birds if I have to. Found this site, which I found very informative:

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/how-to-humanely-euthanize-chicken-by-dr/

Cervical dislocation is a method I've used for rats and mice, since I do not feed my snakes live rodents, if it can be avoided. Now I use a Co2 method for them, because it's way, way too easy for things to go very bad during cervical dislocation, if you don't get it just right.