Whats the most humane way to kill a chicken?

[triplepurpose]

I could not kill my chickens. Just wasn't raised that way. I understand the need, but I just can't. I'll give them to a hungry family if they get aggressive. I actually don't eat them either. It just bothers me. To each his own.

I wasnt raised eating our birds either. i taught myself to do it later on as an adult. i wanted the experience of a close connection, as well as to be able to take more personal responsibility in shepherding the full life-cycle of my familys birds. Theres also the simple practical matter of what to do with a coop full of hens no longer laying--the only responsible alternatives are to feed them for their entire natural lives (which for us is not economically viable), to give them away to someone else to eat (which isnt alwsys an option, but when it was alwsys made me feel like an fool when i thought about giving away so much good food and then BUYING expensive frozen organic chicken), or slaughtering and eating them yourself (which just seemed the only viable option left).

Now my wife helps me slaughter, and she wasn't "raised that way" either. but she is a practacal, frugal person who sees the sense of it and also enjoys participating in the full cycle of raising the animals, from cooing over the babies, to daily care of the birds, to culling the flock.

To each their own, of course, but its worth examining why we do or feel the things we do and encouraging ourselves to adapt to circumstances and rise to the occassion sometimes when its appropriate, even if it means getting outside one's comfort zone. This stuff isnt hardwired.

 

[Old Philosopher]

I guess it comes down to whether you raise chickens as food (meat & eggs), or as pets.
My favorite line from The Mountain Men: "Never name something you might have to eat."

 

[BBQJOE]

As long as you're not torturing it, I think just about any method is effective.

I use the jugular method. Have you ever passed out? There's a very warm comfy feeling just before you hit the floor. I imagine they get that little buzz as they fade out.

 

[triplepurpose]

I guess it comes down to whether you raise chickens as food (meat & eggs), or as pets.
My favorite line from The Mountain Men: "Never name something you might have to eat."

Fair enough, but its also worth mentioning that the two dont have to be fully mutually exclusive--and personally, i would reject that easy notion. Speaking for my family, we love our animals in many ways more than a lot of people seem to care for their pets (pets are often poorly tended, neglected, abused, or dumped on the side of the road too). i try NOT to cultivate the sort of detachment to my farm animals destined for food (which is every single one of them eventually, barring incidents of disease that would render them unfit for that) that seems so popular a pop notion. and after all, a key reason many people choose to raise their own animals for food these days (in a country of cheap and accessible commodity meats where we arent forced to do it to survive) is precisely because they care very much about animals' welfare and seek to live in a closer relationship with the beings that feed them--those who DONT care about such concerns just by their food from Foodmart all cleaned and packaged. Not that i feel exactly the same way about my hens as i do our housecat, but its a definitely a lot more nuanced and meaningful than just one being "pet" and the other being "dinner," or whether or not they have names (some birds do and some don't, by the way, in case you wondered).

 

[Old Philosopher]

There's a lot of territory between, "Oh, I could never kill one of my chickens.", and running a backyard slaughterhouse.
We have a close relationship with "Our Girls" who give us bountiful eggs, and who we usually let live out their lives after 'retiring' from their years of such service. Our oldest hen, nicknamed "Grandma", was an Americana who lived to the ripe old age of 9.
However, we don't get quite so attached to the 2-3 dozen Cornish-Xs we raise annually to the age of 6 weeks and usher into the freezer in an efficient and humane manner.

 

[triplepurpose]

Also, we should remember that for a lot of people i think it just comes down to economic and management decisions that dont necessarily have to do with how they feel towards the chickens themselves at all--some people have more limited space and/or resources or just need to allocate them differently.

i know other people who let their hens live out their full natural lives, and there isnt anything wrong with that AT ALL if it works for them! but, you see, it just doesnt work for us, or for a lot of other people--frankly, we need too much the several thousand extra dollars in the bank (the feed we buy can be as much as $45), the chicken in the freezer, a less crowded coop, and consistent eggs in order to justify the endeavor.

however we do have one ancient brahma hen who weve kept around for while. my mother especially is particularly attached to her...

 

[Old Philosopher]

Also, we should remember that for a lot of people i think it just comes down to economic and management decisions that dont necessarily have to do with how they feel towards the chickens themselves at all--some people have more limited space and/or resources or just need to allocate them differently.

i know other people who let their hens live out their full natural lives, and there isnt anything wrong with that AT ALL if it works for them! but, you see, it just doesnt work for us, or for a lot of other people--frankly, we need too much the several thousand extra dollars in the bank (the feed we buy can be as much as $45), the chicken in the freezer, a less crowded coop, and consistent eggs in order to justify the endeavor.

I love crunching numbers, and was prompted by your post.
Taking garden and kitchen scraps into account, I can feed 1 hen for a year on about $30 of feed and scratch. My hens will produce approximately 1120 eggs over a 4 year laying career. 93 dozen farm fresh eggs have a retail value (in my area) of about $373.00. So at that rate, I could feed that "retired" hen for 12 more years before I realized a negative investment. But I have yet to have a hen live 16 years. Just sayin'....

 

[FlyWheel]

While it's not particularly neat, the absolute fastest and most painless way would be a heavy mallet to the head, completely crushing it. The brain is totally destroyed before it can even receive any pain signals. Even with decapitation the brain is still alive for a while (however short) and therefore still conscious of pain before it finally dies.

 

[BBQJOE]

C-4 or DET cord. They won't feel a thing.

 

[Old Philosopher]

C-4 or DET cord. They won't feel a thing.

Thanks...I'll never be able to un-see that DET cord image in my mind.