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

[Austradork1819]

Seriously impressed! Awesome job following through on a plan!
I had doubts following this thread, but well done.

 

[BantyChooks]

It’s done, it was awful, I am never doing that again.

I'm amazed that you did it. Kudos to you, and I'm so sorry it didn't go well. Well being a relative term, of course.

 

[SueT]

Thank you for sharing your story.....

 

[Zinjifrah]

It’s done, it was awful, I am never doing that again.

It should be awful. It's ending a life. But you did the best thing for him, and he died with a full crop (of cat food!) which is probably the happiest place he could possibly be, considering his breed. As awful as it was, your pain allowed him to die with the least amount of suffering that you could give him.

 

[aart]

You have to prepare your mind, as well as your equipment, for slaughtering.
How you do that can have a big effect on how it goes.

 

[microchick]

I'm sorry. Even when it is a blessing for the animal, it can be traumatic on the human involved.

The last Marek's hen I had to put down did not die quickly. Did it the same as I have done others so I don't know what happened. When she finally passed I was an emotional mess and told DH the same thing.

You have faced this ordeal with courage and yes, a touch of humor. Enchilada had a great life with you but his days on this earth were numbered at best no matter whether or not you processed him.

I just gave 9 plump cockerels to the neighbor to process for meat. My husband asked me if that bothered me and I told him no not really. Chickens were put on this earth to give us eggs and meat.....and in some cases, be pets. As long as their lives go for one of the three, they fulfilled their purpose on this earth.

I sure hope your hen survives. I've seen my Welsummers run down mice and swallow them whole. Quite a sight....and free protein!

 

[chickendreams24]

It’s done, it was awful, I am never doing that again.

I'm very sorry it was a bad experience for you. I'm proud of you though we all are. Enchilada sure had a good last morning and what you did was a kindness for him. I hope you can eventually be proud of yourself. You are strong and did something that few people nowadays can do. It's not an enjoyable task and I'd be worried if you found it so.

I’m sorry it didn’t go well for you. Something to consider - if you ever want to try raising more meat birds, check around to see if there is a meat processor in your area that does chickens. Or find someone experienced in doing so and hire them.

Yes I've been thinking of mentioning this as well. About 2 miles down the road from our house is a poultry processing plant. They aren't cheap but they are liscensed and they do it humanely (at least for ours I know they do). They're usually booked a few months in advance so you really have to book ahead and plan when your birds will be processed. There is of course a fee associated with it but if you have the money and can't bring yourself to do the processing it's an option.

You have to prepare your mind, as well as your equipment, for slaughtering.
How you do that can have a big effect on how it goes.

This is so true! I really go out remembering that our birds have had a good long life(heritage breeds) and that I'm protecting the flock and the peace in the flock by processing. There is a lot of mental and emotional preparation.

 

[techbsmith]

I had him in a dog crate all day yesterday with just water. I brought him and the dog crate in the house last night and when I got up this morning he was out of the crate and running around my house...he ate all the cat food.

I'm sorry...I couldn't help but laugh at this post and the "fat asshole" post .. I know it's hard, but try to find the humor in this to help your stress levels. Personally, I'd wait another day to process.

 

[techbsmith]

It’s done, it was awful, I am never doing that again.

Big hugs .. I should have read through the end before posting my prior message. I'm sorry it didn't go well for you.

 

[Jamie Molihan]

Big hugs .. I should have read through the end before posting my prior message. I'm sorry it didn't go well for you.

Thankyou for the hugs and no need to be sorry. He was a funny bird and him and my cat Eddie were always helping each other get into trouble. Thankyou for the hugs. I am the biggest wimp of all time, I didn’t even fall asleep until after three or so. And then ran outside to check on my girls. Aside from being pissy about having a flash light put on them(they looked like they go caught with their trousers down) they were both just fine. I was scared to death yesterday, I really thought that I was going to lose Henrietta over her trying to shove a mouse down her greedy maw. Well, she is fine and so is Blanche, though I think they are wondering what happened to Enchilada.