OT proper way to kill a chicken

One of my hens startted eating eggs, and I finally caught one (and marked her), now I would like to know the proper way to kill a chicken. Any ideas? Sorry for the OT post.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus7121
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Put it in a pen by itself, fatten it up good. When the bird has reached the proper weight, chop off the head with an axe, let the carcass flop around the yard for a few minutes, pluck off the feathers, and gut the bird. (at least that is how my mom did it years ago!) Baking or frying decisions I will leave up to you! Greg

Reply to
Greg O

Reply to
JR North

There are several...

Method #1 Capture chicken in whatever way suits your fancy. Pass neck of chicken between left arm and left ribs (yours, not the chicken's), with head forward, in sort of a "headlock" type position. Grasp head of chicken firmly with right hand, brace left arm to prevent passage of entire chicken, and pull hard and quick with right hand to break the neck. A twist is often applied, but is generally considered optional. (reverse sides if you're a southpaw) Warning: Best done outside, since, until you've done the deed a few times, it's easy to apply too much force and decapitate the chicken in the process, causing a bloody mess. Experienced operators can and do break the neck bloodlessly, but first timers can find themselves wondering what went wrong.

Alternate method: Capture chicken. Grasp head of chicken *VERY* firmly in right hand, make an authoritative "whip-crack" motion with right hand. Again, an outside job, since "excess authority" can result in decapitated chicken and bloody mess.

Alternate method #2: Retrieve kindling hatchet, meat cleaver, machete, or similar chopping tool, capture chicken, place chicken's neck across block of wood, apply chopping tool with sufficient force to separate head from chicken. Warning: This should take place outside, in a fairly unused area, since there will likely be copious bleeding.

Alternative method #3: Load shotgun - 12 or 20 gauge - with #7 - #8 birdshot. capture and restrain chicken in a human-safe manner, against a shotgun-safe backstop. Target chicken's head from close range, disengage shotgun safety, pull trigger. Hearing protection optional but recommended, and definitely do this outside.

Reply to
Don Bruder

As I recall, egg eating is a symptom of lack of calcium in the diet. Are your hens gettng sufficient calcium in the form of oyster shell, etc?

Paul

Reply to
pdrahn

This is the preferred method, but it doesn't always work:

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Reply to
Bob

. Press chicken down against the ground, while holding in that position, gently touch top of chicken head and slide your right index finger slowly down over beak and forward about six inches. Repeat this hypnotic motion until the chicken is completely still. Then take an axe and chop off it's head. This method is slower than others suggested here, but less messy since the blood from a chicken with it's head cut off is vast. Do this outside. In the barnyard. But then... if you had a barnyard... you would already know this. So do it in the kid's sand box!

Reply to
Wayne Lundberg

My grandmother's method was to reach down grab the chicken by the head and flip it in a tight circle. Takes about 2 seconds but then she had a lifetime of practice.

Cheers,

Kelley

Reply to
Kelley Mascher

Wood chippers not to be used to euthanatize poultry, AVMA says

"Use of wood chippers has not been endorsed by the AVMA as an acceptable means of euthanasia for poultry." This statement is a response to an article in the San Diego Union-Tribune that reported employees at two area poultry farms used wood chippers to dispose of some 30,000 live hens in February. The article erroneously stated that the AVMA approves of the method.

"It is absolutely absurd and ludicrous to believe that any veterinary medical association, especially an association that has for more than

140 years been the leading voice for humane and proper care of animals, could or would advocate throwing live chickens into a wood chipper as an appropriate method of euthanasia," said Dr. Bruce W. Little, AVMA executive vice president.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture denies that the veterinarian who was consulted is a USDA employee. The San Diego County district attorney initially decided against filing animal cruelty charges against the owners of Ward Egg Farm. But in April she reopened the case after receiving numerous complaints criticizing her decision not to press charges.

The owners of Ward Egg Farm claim that a veterinarian with the USDA had signed off on using wood chippers to destroy the hens. State quarantine rules enacted because of the outbreak of exotic Newcastle disease in Southern California prevented the hens from being transported to a slaughterhouse elsewhere in the state.

AVMA-sanctioned methods of euthanasia for poultry and other animals are detailed in the "2000 Report of the AVMA Panel on Euthanasia," available at

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Reply to
Polymer Man

My grandmother had this down to a science. Wait 'till feeding time, check hatchet to be sure it's sharp. Throw out feed for the chickens, while they are eating, grab selected chicken form behind, by the legs. Hold said chicken upside down while walking to hatchet location. Chickens pass-out when they are upside down. Kick drain bucket into position, position now out-cold chicken on chopping block, still holding feet in the air. One slight stroke of the hatchet, not enough to stick in the chopping block, head goes into bucket, move chicken over bucket a let it drain. Process takes about .1 sec. Hatchet stays clean, chopping block stays clean, bucket contents go into the compost pile.

Reply to
Gary A. Gorgen

Depends on your situation and how much gore you wish to endure.

Headless chicken races featured large in our baryard at times.

A killing tool that look a lot like a pair of pruning shears with a spoon in place of the anvil was used when efficiency was required. The blade was placed in the mouth of the bird, with the spoon on the top of the head. A quick hard squeeze and it was all over, the chicken or turkey going limp.

The method that was given in Harrowsmith magazine before they went yuppie scum was to hold the chicken across your chest, sort of, with the head between the index and middle fingers of your srong hand, arm outsterched, while holding the legs with the other hand. A quick stretch and the neck breaks. Effective and under complete control. Also hard to remove the head and make a mess.

The last few I despatched I hung upside down on the fence, held the head and cut the throat and neck. They thrashed a little bit, but the blood was contained in an appropriate area, and I did not have to chase after the carcass.

Cannabalism usually has it's cause in either a lack of nutrients or a lack of space, but sometimes it's just what one chicken does.

Cheers Trevor Jones

Reply to
Trevor Jones

Mom had a stump with a length of bailin' wire attached to it. Th' other end would be twisted a few wraps around th' impending chicken supper's foot. After she whacked it's head off it wouldn't get very far away.

Snarl

Reply to
snarl

The only thing I'd add is to swing it briskly by the legs in a big vertical arc a bit to daze it first. You won't have problems handling it then.

Reply to
John R. Carroll

Method #4

"Cletus Method"

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Its actually fairly easy to do, and can make you some serious money in bar bets.

Gunner

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Reply to
Gunner

Come on now metalworkers.. I expected something more creative, like a chicken-sized guillotine..

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Reply to
Doug Warner

Thanks Don, I like method #1. For method #2, maybe a video would be good to make of the process. This one chicken is 2 years older than the rest and is relativel antisocial.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus7121

Yes, I have a big bag of oyster shells and give them to the hens, it is not helping. Besides, their feed is supposed to contain calcium.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus7121

If I squeeze the neck very tight as I chomp off the head, would I still get all blooded and messy? Or would I be able to restrict passage of blood?

i
Reply to
Ignoramus7121

I thought Iggy might rig up a mini electric chair connected to his TIG welder...

Chris

Reply to
Christopher Tidy

I donno! The way a chicken flops and runs around with no head I don't think I would want to try hold onto one!! Greg

Reply to
Greg O

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