Whats the most humane way to kill a chicken?

[nerfherder]

I use the broomstick method for our rabbits. My housemates' 7 year old daughter likes to help, she wants to say goodbye and pet the rabbits before and after, and sometimes she even says thanks to them after.

In poultry, I have noticed that the girls put up more of a fight (including the near death seizures) than the boys. It seems like due to their genetic heritage, roosters, cockerels and drakes are programmed to know they may die, while the girls won't give up.

And yes, the hens love fall/winter butchering season. I often have to shoo them off the table or keep them penned up when breaking down a goat. My first gross chicken lesson? Always wear bandages on your scrapes when in the pen.

 

[rc4u]

i use two methods..to start i try not feed them for a day as crops are empty.......i cut and bleed on the chickens like cornish x at 8 weeks that i can actually catch without running them around...and the dual purpose birds at 14-16 weeks that i cannot catch as i am old...i use my 22 rifle and 2 power scope and shoot the right at rear of the center of eye... they are not all full of adreniline and tough from running around....and one thing that many people forget is to let the chicken rest in the fridge for 2-3 days for the rigor.{you just cant eat the bird the same day as it does not get tender like resting}....and after i pluck and cut feet off i dont gut until i put it on ice and do the rest of the birds the same then 1st bird i gut and its much easier to do this way...at least it is when i do it... oh one more imprtatnt thing if you want to follow the advise of pople that only feed chick starter then grower ect feed then fine....but my birds get MUCH bigger if you never feed them the low protein stuff ..not less that 24% min.... the food all has the added nutrients so feed them like you want them to get big fast not long and agonizing....then after butchering feed the layer to your hens for tha added calcium or just give them free choice calcium...my birds are always bigger than any neighbors. jeff

 

[rutu]

Thanks to everyone who's contributed to this important discussion. I can't kill anything, and I think it's a serious failing. I've had a several ex-battery hens and though it is wonderful to see them recover there inevitably comes a time when they go downhill. I've had a couple die when it probably would have been kinder to put them down sooner, I've asked the vet to do it for me (at unwelcome expense), and I got a friend to kill one for me. I don't like any of these solutions. I should be able to do it myself.

In the end I found this article and video which has helped me come closest to the idea of actually doing it myself.
http://peterdickinson.hubpages.com/hub/How-To-Kill-A-Chicken

I guess it's pretty similar to the broomstick method. I'm sure people who've suggested doing it at night are on to something. They're so much more dopey then.

I still haven't done it myself but I'm getting closer. I dread being able to feel the sensation in my body for days afterwards. But it is part of our food system, unless you're completely vegan. Better to know it's been done humanely, however unpleasant, than to outsource it to who knows who or how.

 

[CAjerseychick]

First time ever. Not so bad, well not easy or pleasant but not hard- caught bird, held it so it could nt flap its wings tilted it upside down and fit it into a empty bag of feed with one corner cut out (like a killing cone), squeezed its neck so it kinda passed out, quit cut to the throat with my hoof trimming shears (very sharp and strong bladesi- done! leave dead chicken in its bag to bleed out over garage sink, and move onto next one.
Not sure I will be doing this anytime soon, but now its in my knowledge base (that was one mean and aggressive roo, honestly it was relief to have him gone, and one of his 4 sons , so we would have enough for a meal)...

 

[CrazyTalk]

Definitely decapitation is most humane. The bird does not know what is coming, and death is instantaneous. Bleeding out by slitting jugular takes longer, so bird would suffer the pain of the cut before it passes out.

I don't know that this is true.


Death occurs when brain death occurs, and that happens when the brain is starved of oxygen. IE, a chicken with it's head cut off actually is alive or a second or two until it's brain runs out of oxygen.

My guess is that a chicken with it's neck slit and its head cut off basically run out of oxygen at the same time. The fastest way is probably pithing, as that destroys the brain itself, but its more difficult to do.

 

[LindaB220]

Thanks to everyone who's contributed to this important discussion. I can't kill anything, and I think it's a serious failing. I've had a several ex-battery hens and though it is wonderful to see them recover there inevitably comes a time when they go downhill. I've had a couple die when it probably would have been kinder to put them down sooner, I've asked the vet to do it for me (at unwelcome expense), and I got a friend to kill one for me. I don't like any of these solutions. I should be able to do it myself.

In the end I found this article and video which has helped me come closest to the idea of actually doing it myself.
http://peterdickinson.hubpages.com/hub/How-To-Kill-A-Chicken

I guess it's pretty similar to the broomstick method. I'm sure people who've suggested doing it at night are on to something. They're so much more dopey then.

I still haven't done it myself but I'm getting closer. I dread being able to feel the sensation in my body for days afterwards. But it is part of our food system, unless you're completely vegan. Better to know it's been done humanely, however unpleasant, than to outsource it to who knows who or how.

Hey rutu,

it's tough to learn to do this. I loved the video by the way. I think that's the way to go. I botched my first run with a very dull knife and will not make that mistake again. Visit different threads and talk to us. Check out the fermented feeds threads.

 

[Olive Oil]

We've tried several methods, none fun. Last time I held the roos on their backs to keep them calm while my husband beheaded them with his axe. I got a little bloody sometimes, but the idea of holding them down or tying them down while they struggle bothered me. I didn't want them to see it coming. As for whether or not this "kills" them instantly, I guess none of us know for sure and that all depends on ones definition of dead. But I can't imagine one could feel anything with a completely severed spine. I don't see how that would not paralyze you.

Also, we always make sure to do the killing away from the other birds. When you kill more than one at a time, and they see it, they definitely seem more upset when you come for the next one!

I have also heard that the less fear the birds experience the better, as far as the meat goes. That there is a chemical that is released into our bodies when we are stressed which gets into the meat and is unhealthy to consume. More reasons than we know to be humane!

 

[CrazyTalk]

Paralysis is not the same as not feeling anything - people feel phantom pain with severed limbs. Nerves fire all sorts of weird signals when they're severed. If you're really worried about it, pith the bird - that's definitely the quickest route to brain death.


If you're worried about tainted meat because of the hormones produced by the fear response, then put them in a kill cone and let them hang for a couple of minutes. They go into tonic shock (the same thing that happens when you hold one upside down for a while), and relax. Tonic shock is the evolutionary response to predators practice hunting - the animal goes limp and hopes the predator gets bored.

 

[krose2001]

I have two roosters I am considering culling, rather than selling, but I too am afraid for that first kill. I grew up visiting my grandparents farm, and they killed off the excess roosters. They used the axe/stump method, and I wasn't scarred by the random rooster that flopped out of my grandfather's hands and took off running. My son has said he would help me, and he is a teenager, but it would be his first experience killing something, so I want him to have that understanding that this is serious, and to be done properly and with consideration for the animal. I think I may read up on the "broomstick" method, but the one post that mentioned using a VERY sharp razor (like boxcutter) and cutting the jugular, and letting the roo bleed out, could be another option.

Good to read others experience this same feeling of hesitation and yet, they come through it ok.

 

[blklangshandude]

That would be magical. Nobody wants a rooster unless they have a desire to breed chickens. Even then they only want a rooster for about 30 days. Go ahead. Try to give away a rooster. It's like trying to give away an ill behaved dog who is a mutt. You can find a rooster another home but you are just passing your problems off to someone else. Personally I find it rude. It's your rooster and/or ill behaved mutt. You should deal with it. Don't pass your responsibilities off on someone else. The new owner will be killing the rooster that you give to the person. Save some time and heartache for that person and kill the rooster yourself. Grow up and learn to think. You aren't doing anybody any favors by being an irresponsible child that lives in la la land.