When Butchering - will my hens know what's going on?

[silkiechicken]

My hens don't care if I am butchering birds. As long as all the kills are clean, meaning no screaming or squaking, nobody is any wiser and will just eat anything left over.

 

[NevadaRon]

Quote:
What's the "treat song"?

 

[ChicksterJo]

We don't butcher in front of our other chickens but I think they look a little "down" the rest of the day.

 

[homesteadapps]

Quote:
What's the "treat song"?

I thinkthey are talking about the "Cluck, Cluck, Cluck, Cluck, Baaawk, Cluck, Cluck, Cluck, Cluck, Baaawk" as they pick up the food and drop it for the hen to see.

 

[Sundown_Farmer]

All of our birds are in transport boxes before we begin. I try to wash the blood off of my hands between birds. They seem to know that the smell of blood isn't something they want to be near.

Otherwise, as has been said before, they are so bird brained that they quickly forget and would be gobbling up parts that land on the ground if they could just get to them.

 

[andrew6d9]

I would not do it infront of them because how would you like to see someone else get killed.

 

[caspernc]

Its a chicken! They think a strawberry is a bomb! THEN they get over it.

 

[WizChick]

My layers tend to leave the area while the butchering is taking place. I don't think they like the capture ruckus or flapping after head removal. Towards the end of gutting and during clean up they appear again and help out. No one seems any different the next day.

 

[WriterofWords]

I wouldn't kill in front of them, in my own opinion it's inhumane. Of course they know what's going on, wouldn't you if someone was killing people in front of you? Stress? Yes!

 

[Buster52]

I used to worry about this, but no more. Chickens could care less.

I think some here are reading a lot of human emotions into all of this. These are chickens, not people.