Whats the most humane way to kill a chicken?

[AllynTal]

you could try getting a traffic cone.You put the chicken upside down in a traffic cone and cut the head off on the other end.I feel that this is the human way to kill a chicken

The cone is just the holder. It's the method of removing the head that is the stickler.

 

[AllynTal]

... Now I decapitate using a pair of Husky flexible tube cutters, on the advice of another BYCer. It works SO quickly, and is very easy to control (versus loppers with long arms, I imagined - at least for me).

Oh, those look very interesting. I'm going to look at those before I process again.

 

[xcalibor67]

It seems the consensus is to behead, which i personally felt was THE most humane way to euthanize your birds. @Fire Ant Farm: the tubing cutters work great, im sure. The only thing that would concern me is the fact most have a thin razor blade type single cutting edge, which "Might" get chipped due to bone. Not only do the large wire cutters have more rigid cutting jaws for a long service life, the added length of the handles should keep you further from the blood, and might even help some overcome some psychological issues. Your just not as up close and personal. Has anyone ever tried using something like a piece of burlap/heavy washable cloth with an elastic band that would slip over the head and sorta droop down like a skirt while the bird is hanging upside down? Simply raise the skirt with the cutters to get around the base of the head, where it would fall keeping possible spray down as you snipped? Great read guys/gals.

 

[xcalibor67]

Just to clarify, the cutters in the pic are not "Pruning" shears for branches, they are wire cutters. The handles are about 16" long, but not to heavy so that they feel cumbersome, but yet give the fulcrum to swiftly cut without allot of effort. This is where the point about not being so close and personal comes in. With smaller knife like devices your more apt to feel the (graphic) tendons and bones separating where these dull the feel to a point to where its like a dull clap. Please do not feel i am belittling anyone's techniques or tools, i just want to convey any help for those who might experience issues in decapitating the birds...

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

Just to clarify, the cutters in the pic are not "Pruning" shears for branches, they are wire cutters. The handles are about 16" long, but not to heavy so that they feel cumbersome, but yet give the fulcrum to swiftly cut without allot of effort. This is where the point about not being so close and personal comes in. With smaller knife like devices your more apt to feel the (graphic) tendons and bones separating where these dull the feel to a point to where its like a dull clap. Please do not feel i am belittling anyone's techniques or tools, i just want to convey any help for those who might experience issues in decapitating the birds...

Ooooohhhhh.... I was thinking pruning loppers, and really couldn't get my head around how the curved blade would work. I'll look into that. I've only used this Husky thing on 27 chickens so far, we'll see how it holds up...

- Ant Farm

 

[AllynTal]

... The only thing that would concern me is the fact most have a thin razor blade type single cutting edge, which "Might" get chipped due to bone. Not only do the large wire cutters have more rigid cutting jaws for a long service life, the added length of the handles should keep you further from the blood, and might even help some overcome some psychological issues. ....

I do follow your logic on using the wire cutters, but one thing that I like about the tube cutters that Fire posted was that the blade has two cutting edges and it's a replaceable blade. Having something sharp that can either be sharpened or the blade replaced is a definite plus for me. I expect to get blood on me, if not during the deed itself, then during the convulsions that follow and during plucking (I hand pluck and blood dripping from the neck always ends up getting flung a bit during plucking). Distance -- or the lack of distance -- doesn't bother me, and in fact, I feel like I have more control if I am in close. I have a hard time if the death isn't swift. I am still haunted by the first bird I did trying to cut the jugular. It wasn't a decisive cut and during the frantic hacking in the seconds that followed, the bird tilted his head and looked at me. I can't have that happen again.

I do have a question, though. I understand that the tool you are describing are wire cutters, but how would that be better than pruners? Lowes has pruners with 16" handles that were already on my wish list for cleaning up brush in the woods behind us. I wanted the short handles because they're lighter and easier to manipulate than the long-handled ones. Is the shape of the cutters an advantage one over the other?

 

[xcalibor67]

but one thing that I like about the tube cutters that Fire posted was that the blade has two cutting edges

I am only seeing one cutting blade, which cuts through from 1 side, the curved part merely holds the pipe/neck in place some what. The difference in the wire cutters and pruners are that most pruners ive seen, again, only have 1 cutting edge, and they normally have a convex, not concave blade which sorta pushes the material being cut away from the pocket, out toward the end of the cutters, The wire cutters use a scissor affect, cutting/shearing from both sides. Also the wire cutters have concave jaws which actually keeps the wire/neck fully enclosed with no pushing affect. They are pricey, but a good set of kleins should last your lifetime.

 

[AllynTal]

I am only seeing one cutting blade, which cuts through from 1 side, the curved part merely holds the pipe/neck in place some what. ...

There is one blade with two cutting edges. If the cutting edge in use gets dull or chipped, you take it out and flip it around to start using the second cutting edge, similar, I imagine, to the box cutters that use the trapezoid-shaped razor blades. If the blade gets dull or damaged, you open the case, flip the blade around and have a fresh cutting edge.

I see your point on the differences in cutting profile. I'll probably explore them all before I process again.

 

[BantyChooks]

I explored a few different ways to kill a chicken. I wanted death to be swift and as painless as possible and to be the least traumatic for me as possible. I found what I feel is the best advice from a poultry vet and if it's allowed, I'm posting a link to the article because a picture is worth a thousand words.
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2017/02/how-to-humanely-euthanize-chicken-by-dr.html



I have been doing the cervical dislocation described in the article I linked before I cut the head off (I hold the legs to scald them), but I have been pondering the notion of decapitating the bird with large loppers similar to what you posted. According to the vet, a clean decapitation takes about 15-20 seconds to kill the bird versus about 40 seconds using cervical dislocation. Forty seconds is, IMO, way too long, but if the bird is unconscious, does the difference between 15 and 40 seconds matter? I'm exploring the lopper method because it seems more controllable than winding up a grand swing with a machete and possibly missing the mark in that last fraction of a second.

40 seconds? When I do cervical dislocation, they're pretty much stiff by 40 seconds. Thrashing is done by about 10, I think. Haven't counted exactly.
I haven't done birds for consumption yet, but I plan to try the pipe cutters or loppers. Seems quick and easy.

 

[xcalibor67]

Im just glad that most feel the same as i do, that cutting off is the most humane way to harvest, no matter what style of tool you use..