Well I DID IT!! Pithing vs. Hatchet.... Graphic pics****

[Majestic Lane Poultry]

Quote:
Wow...Big for a chicken! Well Thank you! Now I can stop wondering..

Does not surprise me tho... out of all of the organs lying on the table my son had to play with those!! Figures...

LOL

Water leaking out of my eyes!

From a household of all men and boys, I completely understand!

 

[Germaine_11.20]

Saving this post for future reference Thanks!

 

[dancingbear]

Edited because I replied to this way back when it first posted. Didn't notice the original date until now.

 

[Leah and peeps]

what breeds were they? Good Job!

 

[bibliophile birds]

Quote:
it's not ridiculous at all. i would say most humane is pithing, then hatchet,
and last slicing the jugular.

i haven't processed any myself yet, but i used to watch my grandmother all the time. she always chopped the heads off with a hatchet. it's a quick death, really humane. but the body does suffer a major shock, which could lead to bruising of the meat (from the flailing around).

pithing should be completely painless for the bird (other than maybe the initial discomfort of having something stuck it it's throat) since it instantly severs the spinal cord. because the birds suffer almost no stress, they bleed out better and their muscles don't contract unduly, allowing the feathers to come out neatly. (this is the reason that the poultry industry electrocutes the birds. it's faster for them than pithing, but it's not practical for home slaughter. and something about it just feels wrong to me.)

slicing the jugular only is probably the most traumatizing for the animal. while the other methods sever the spinal cord, causing instant death, if you just slice the neck, the animal doesn't actually die until it looses enough blood or it suffocates. it's aware of the pain and panics, which leads to more bruising of the meat and the possibility of blood being aspirated.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

I use the slice method. If you do it right, getting a good deep cut, the bird dies right away due to the rapid loss of blood. And because the birds are held secure in a cone, there is no thrashing around to bruise the meat. I've tried all the other methods and this is the method I prefer. I haven't asked the chickens what their opinion is, but it seems to make them go more quickly, therefore more gently, into that good night...

 

[dancingbear]

Depending on which blood vessels get cut, there can also be an air embolism to the brain, which pretty much means instant death. If the carotids are cut, the blood supply to the brain is cut off, again, instant death, or very nearly so. If you get good, deep cuts, it's probably pretty darn quick. I want to do a quick whacking off of the head next time, because I'm not good at getting the deep cuts, I don't have a lot of hand strength. My DH is pretty good at it, though.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

I didn't seem to have the arm strength to get an effective chop with just one neat blow. But with practice I've gotten efficient with dispatching the birds by slicing in just the right spot with a good sharp knife. I use a fishing filet knife I found in the sporting goods section of WalMart. Utility knife blades work well too. You have to find the spot just below their jaw bone, a spot free of feathers so you're not sawing through quills, just slicing through skin. Stretch their necks down & bend the head to the side so the skin is taut. You know you got it right when there is a strong stream coming out. Then do the other side to make it go even faster.

 

[bibliophile birds]

i didn't mean to imply there was something wrong with the neck slice, just that most people probably aren't going to get it right (ie, quick and painless) the first go round. the neck slice technique is actually required if you ever want to market your meat as halal or kosher, so it's definitely something to think about.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

But you said
Quote:
Yes, you didn't say it was wrong, but your opinion is that it is the least humane. I replied to say that in my opinion, from my experience, that the slice method IS a humane method that causes the birds to die almost instantly, and they don't feel pain or panic. It really isn't difficult to learn how to do it correctly, which is why I added the details about the technique I use.

Certainly everyone has their own preferences, but I didn't want anyone to avoid trying this technique because they were led to believe it wasn't humane.