What does it physically feel like to cut a chickens head off?

[Mimi13]

really informative videos. I liked the woman in the first one, she was very gentle yet practical.

Can anyone tell me why she cut the neck first and then broke its neck? Wouldn't it be a quicker death to do it the other way round?

I have no experience so am curious

I am not certain why she does it other than to go ahead and remove the head. That is strange and I didn’t remember her doing that.

Also, I do not take that long before cutting.

One thing I forgot to mention is when I ordered my second big bunch of chicks (22 of them from Meyers) I also bought 4 Naked Necks from TSC. They are so ugly they’re cute! The reason for the NN’s was so I could really study their neck and see exactly where the jugular was. I knew at that point I would be dispatching birds at some point and I had to make sure exactly where I was supposed to cut. Yeah, I’m weird like that. And, just so everyone knows, a NN’s skin is practically see through. It helped me to see where to cut.

 

[Mimi13]

Pithing?

That’s what I was wondering.

 

[DallasChickyMomma]

Pithing?

I don't know if it is exactly pithing as I understand it. If you look up a duck hunting tool called "The Finisher" you will find a video on it being done to a duck. The way he explained it to me is that he goes in with this sharp skinny tool and wiggles it around in the brain from behind the head and they don't even feel a thing. It seems to be fairly gentle on the birds, they do some flapping but not the extreme flapping and jumping out of the cones that I have experienced by just cutting the neck. But I am by no means extremely experienced, we only just did our 2nd butcher day of 100 birds this past weekend.

 

[Tonyroo]

Butchering is such a tedious task, but I get how some people prefer it that way. I've done my share in the past, 50 cornish crosses, 5 chickens, 2 ducks, and a goose all in one day. It was my first time killing the horde, but after it was all processed, I told myself never again. It was emotionally daunting and rattled my nerves a little. That experience had me stop eating meat or eggs for 5 years.

 

[DallasChickyMomma]

Butchering is such a tedious task, but I get how some people prefer it that way. I've done my share in the past, 50 cornish crosses, 5 chickens, 2 ducks, and a goose all in one day. It was my first time killing the horde, but after it was all processed, I told myself never again. It was emotionally daunting and rattled my nerves a little. That experience had me stop eating meat or eggs for 5 years.

That's sad, but understandable IMO. There's a ton of reasons why we do it, but the biggest reason is food security. When the pandemic started and things got crazy in the grocery stores, I promised myself we would not get caught out there wondering if we would have enough food to last the three days it takes to restock a grocery store. There were so many stories of people not having, people buying too much, greed and what not. I want to make sure I can feed my kids, and even have some for anyone I may come across that might need just a little bit to get through the next day or two. My entire family comes out to help on processing day, and they take home a percentage of their animals.I raise the animals, they all raise the gardens on their properties, we make it work.

 

[nao57]

Butchering is such a tedious task, but I get how some people prefer it that way. I've done my share in the past, 50 cornish crosses, 5 chickens, 2 ducks, and a goose all in one day. It was my first time killing the horde, but after it was all processed, I told myself never again. It was emotionally daunting and rattled my nerves a little. That experience had me stop eating meat or eggs for 5 years.

It is harder on the body to never have any meat though.

And it is hard to do this unfortunately.

One thing...I haven't really seen people talk about if using an electric knife would make butchering easier?

 

[DallasChickyMomma]

It is harder on the body to never have any meat though.

And it is hard to do this unfortunately.

One thing...I haven't really seen people talk about if using an electric knife would make butchering easier?

If you are talking about for piecing out the chickens, it's not necessary, and more work,but if you have a good sharp knife, it's hardly work at all. Most of the cuts are through joints anyways, don't want a bunch of bone flakes in your meat. Definitely not good eats.

 

[Tonyroo]

It is harder on the body to never have any meat though.

And it is hard to do this unfortunately.

One thing...I haven't really seen people talk about if using an electric knife would make butchering easier?

That would definitely be inhumane, considering a sharp knife will do it much quicker. The faster the better.

 

[nao57]

That would definitely be inhumane, considering a sharp knife will do it much quicker. The faster the better.

Actually that's exactly what I mean.

Its hard for people when butchering, and if you get stuck or your knives aren't that great you don't want the animal to suffer.

That's why I brought up the electric knife idea; because of 'the faster the better'.

 

[WaspSlayer]

This summer I have had a couple run ins with injuries where I thought I may have to kill a hen. I did not end up having to, though I am still dealing with a hen and killing her is still not off the table. I have never had to kill one of my chickens, or any animal, before. I've watched videos on how to cut their heads off, which I feel is the most humane and most full proof way for me. I am wondering what it feels like? Like, how much pressure to use, how the knife glides through, etc?

I know this is a weird question (and maybe a bit disturbing question), but I'm super afraid of messing up and causing a chicken to die in pain.

Any information on this subject is welcome!

I am glad you asked this question. I have never killed a chicken, or other animal, either; but will be doing so in a month or so. I hadn't given it much thought what it would physically feel like , but since you've presented the issue, I will certainly give it more thought, and heed the advice given in this forum. Thanks again!!