I don't want to disrespect or offend anyone's opinion on this subject but after reading some of the posts i feel the need to put my two cents in . The debate should be more in regards to how can i kill my pet chicken without feeling guilty or have blood on my hands. We as a society have migrated so far away from the land and the natural environment that we are actually having discussions about how much discomfort a chicken feels when an axe removes his head.
We protect our children from the horrific process of killing by not allowing them to see a very natural process of life. While we are out back with the axe, killing cone, broom stick , water barrel, our kids are sitting in front of the computer playing grand theft auto. Not sure if thats the way to go.
What we should be striving for is the quickest way to kill the chicken and bleed it out. Any thing that is killed is not a pleasant site but respect for the animal that has given its life to provide us with food should be the biggest concern.
Everyone is focused on the few seconds of the "act" of kiling than worrying about the meat quality or bleeding the animal out properly. My opinion: I like to use a heavy SHARP axe. Let the axe do the work, you don't need to lift it way over your head and use the force of a major league ball player going for a grand slam. Using two nails on a chopping block place the chickens head between the nails, hold the feet and stretch the neck out. You should be able to drop the axe within the 4 inches of neck provided. One quick blow , and its over.