The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: plumseverywhere on May 28, 2011, 08:30:37 am
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following on from my poorly hen, who basically drifted to sleep and didn't wake up and was never in discomfort, just sleepy. I have been faced with the fact that one day I will have a chicken in discomfort or who has been attacked or harmed that needs to be despatched.
I would *like* (I use that term loosly!) to be able to do this myself because the vets charge a blinkin fortune to be frank and also because then at least they'd be home and I could do it quickly with minimal pain and stress to the bird. However...how do you 'learn' to do it properly? all the you tube clips show it done with an axe - I don't think I could do that?! all the books give great descriptions but, horrible as its sounds, I'd be better seeing it so I had a good idea how to do it.
How did you all learn? any advice gratefully accepted :)
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I learned by doing it really. Do it on a smallish bird first - do you eat your cockerels - a 'bugging every hen that moves' 5 month cockerel is a 'good' first one - again using the term loosely. We shouldn't like killing things, something's gone wrong if we do.
I 'pull' their necks which breaks them instantly.
With a chicken, body under one arm, hold neck under head (swearing fingers either side of head), pull hard and twist - you'll hear the neck break and the chook go limp. Awful but.....
The trick is to be decisive, knowing this will cause less distress.
With big cockerels, ducks and geese - lie the bird down and put a broom handle across its neck, just under the head. Hold the broom handle down with your feet either side. Pull up hard and as far as you can with the bird's feet.
For something you're going to eat, you can hang by the feet now and the blood will pool in the neck, or you can cut the neck and bleed it.
Whole method much less awful, messy and distressing than an axe which leaves blood spurting and a chook running around headless if you're unlucky :o Saw this once as a child :P
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OK, this one's really unpleasant, but having 'dealt' with the last of our thirty hubbards this morning, I think I have now tried most methods!!
Warning - the following list is not suitable for small children or people who have just eaten breakfast:
- Broom Handle (hold bird's legs, neck on ground, handle over top of neck, stand on broom and pull until flapping begins!) - Worked well for larger birds. Very positive, felt foolproof, minimal suffering, but lots of flapping
- Jaykay's method (above) - I think this would be ok if you got used to it. I could never quite bring myself to be hard enough, so I soon abandoned it. I may come back to it later, but in the meantime I have found other methods I prefer (see below)
- Hang upside down, knife through beak into brain - bird bled out well. Very gruesome, probably not that quick. Won't be doing again, and certainly would not recommend for a 'pet' bird.
- Air rifle - utter disaster. The idea was that the bird would just be going about its normal business, and would hence never know what hit it. However, chickens move much more than tin cans and paper targets, and are consequently much harder to hit. Missed twice. Hit and incapacitated the third time, required two more shots at close range to finish the job. Felt very, very crap, and very guilty over having caused panic and suffering to one of my animals, and to be stupid enough not to try it at point blank range and with the bird restrained to start with. However, for an unwell bird, a shot to the head at point blank range with an air rifle or pistol is probably just as good a method as any.
- Axe to head - only done this once, to euthanise one of my layers :-( Very quick and positive. Lots of blood from the hen, and I'm not ashamed to admit, just as many tears from me. Not easy to get right, and lots of blood around when doing the second bird, which I think would cause it un-necessary stress.
- "Dispatcher" pliers, loaned by a neighbour. Utterly foolproof, and superb for hens. However, not powerful enough for the very largest cockerels, where it was harder to get right, as there was too much neck skin in the way.
So, in future I'm going to use two methods, which I have proven to work well:
1) For small birds (layer size), I have an old roadcone (found broken in a ditch) that I cut the tip off, and attached some string so it can hang from the polytunnel roof. The bird is then lowered into the cone by the feet, with the neck sticking out the bottom. It is then killed using the dispatcher pliers (http://www.pandtpoultry.co.uk/index.php/fuseaction/shop.product/categoryid/33/productid/922). Put the pliers round the neck gently, then breathe deeply, squeeze as hard as you possibly can, hold this position, and then give a little twist just to be sure. You'll know the deed is done by the characteristic flapping. The road cone restrains the bird though, so there's no 'running around like a headless chicken' phase, and consequently very little blood (none sometimes, but have a bucket handy just in case), and no bruising of the meat. As long as you're really positive about it, this is a very foolproof method, and causes minimal distress to the bird.
2) For larger cockerels and turkeys etc, I am looking into getting a bigger set of 'dispatchers', but actually the broom handle method described above works very well. Just pull until you feel the neck give, and see the flapping. The one disadvantage of this method is that the bird's wings are not restrained, so you do have to hold on tight until the flapping subsides (about 30 seconds).
If the bird is for the table, for each method above, I would then cut into the neck and hang by the feet to ensure the bird bleeds out well (not everybody recommends this, but it seems to make good sense to me).
So, that's about as gruesome as it gets, and to be honest, it's not all that bad once you get used to it. One of my objectives in getting the Hubbards was to see if I had it in me to raise something from day-old, and kill it as an adult. The truth is, it's not something I'll ever enjoy doing (if you did, you'd be in need of serious help), but I have learned it's something I can do, and not worry about.
In your situation Plumseverywhere, if you would be prepared to fork out for the vet in time of need, definitely get yourself a pair of the plier thingies (http://www.pandtpoultry.co.uk/index.php/fuseaction/shop.product/categoryid/33/productid/922) to have handy when the time comes, as an alternative option. The less suffering for both yourself and the bird IMHO!!
HTH!! Womble.
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The Humane Slaughter Society is a good starting point. They specifically say that the pliers are NOT humane. And sorry, Womble, the bit about the air rifle is total nonsense - I can't believe you actually tried that.
We've just killed five huge cockerels this morning - live weight between 10lb and 12.5lb - Hubbards at 14 weeks that were reprieved for two weeks by the BBQ and the Smallholder show. It was the best kills we've ever done. Road cone, narrow end cut off to accommodate the head. Bottom end (the "road" end) cut off so that it can be securely screwed to one of the telegraph poles in the barn. Cockerels not fed since last night and enclosed, so easy to catch. Carried gently to the barn and gently slipped into the cone, head first. No drama. Birds relaxed.
Single airgun pellet through the brain - airgun mouth against the skull of the bird - not some pantomime of trying to shoot a loose bird. This gives a stun / kill. Immediate slitting of the two blood vessels in the neck with a very sharp knife to kill by blood loss and to bleed the carcase. Food bag tied over the head to collect blood. After 5 minutes, carcase removed, fresh bag tied on and off for weighing and plucking.
No stress, very little blood around.
I don't enjoy the killing either but I'm really pleased with the job we did this morning. It sits well with the care we give them when alive. Glad it's over though and looking forwardto roast chicken tomorrow :)
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i agrre with rosemary the bird need restraining. we use a block of wood and then lay a broom handle over its neck and then shoot it in the very back of its head. the slitting afterward makes sure and gives you a very well drained bird. its not a one person job though. at least two. it works well on geese and turkeys. but you do need to be careful. the pellets can pass through and zip about. hence the block of wood. wehave the axe as backup. in case it goes wrong.
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Very good description Rosemary - hadn't thought of the traffic cone :)
Plums - it might be worth you practicing with an already-dead bird to discover the exact amount of effort and the precise technique for breaking the neck. That way you get to practice without worrying you are hurting the bird. There are several vertebrae in the neck to try.
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For over 20 years Ive been using exactly the same method as Rosemary describes for both chickens and ducks. And if handled as described little stress to birds prior to the final deed..... I would go for this method Plumseverywhere.
Well explained Rosemary ;)
Dave
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My OH is so quick with the chooks by breaking the neck it astounds me. Just picks them up puts them under his arm , twist and done. With the turkeys and geese and ducks we stun them ,put them in a traffic cone and then use a humane dispatcher on them. It is quick , not a squawk and clean. We also hang the larger ones above the traffic cone to pluck them using the cone as a funnel into a sack. He has been doing this all his life though.
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Womble, I for one would like to thank you for the honesty. I expect we have all at one time or another attempted to dispatch something in a way that later seemed silly to have tried. Most of us (yes me included) are too embarrassed to recount those stories - but perhaps in doing so would help someone else to avoid repeating our mistakes.
I took my first hens to the vet to dispatch. They wanted to do it by injection but then we would not have been able to eat them, which seemed a total waste as these birds had not even come into lay yet and had been savaged by a local terrier.
The vet showed us the pulling down and twisting technique - but clearly he was not sure he'd got it dead as he kept checking the eyelid reflex to be sure. My then-hubby did the second and pulled the head clean off - lots of blood and the headless chicken effect made sure the blood got everywhere.
(I must emphasise this was when I lived 'down south' - not my local vet up here.)
So we invested in the wall-mounted humane dispatcher from a well-known smallholder supplies company.
http://www.ascott.biz/acatalog/Poultry_Processing_.html (http://www.ascott.biz/acatalog/Poultry_Processing_.html)
(sorry SfS, I did look if you had them on your site!) It is very reliable, adjustable for bigger and smaller birds, and you can do it on your own. I still use it now. I don't have it wall-mounted but on an old half-round fence post, which I lean up the wall wherever I want to use it. You just hold the bird against your body and maintain that hold while the flapping happens, check the eyelid reflex if you want before releasing the neck.
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Womble, I for one would like to thank you for the honesty. I expect we have all at one time or another attempted to dispatch something in a way that later seemed silly to have tried. Most of us (yes me included) are too embarrassed to recount those stories - but perhaps in doing so would help someone else to avoid repeating our mistakes.
Well said!
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Womble,
I cringed and laughed at the same time as I read your post!
We too have done our best to humanely kill.
At some point don't we all need to remember that they are just animals. Not something to be tortured, but animals none the less. Put here for our use.
Before the claws come out, I love my animals beyond explanation. Much to the confusion of my friends and family.
PLEASE: No throwing stones
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Just animals ..... put here for our use
Not a question of throwing stones - this is just not how I see the world or my place in it.
Anyway, humans are animals too (as in, not plants or microorganisms).
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Thank you all so much for sharing your tips and stories. It truly helps someone, like me, who has not actually undertaken the despatch in any way shape or form.
I also appreciate your honesty WOmble and found reading through your trials has helped me clear in my mind on what could/would happen.
I think, if i have an unwell bird that I can get to the vet I will pay the bill. I am keeping the chickens only as egg providers/pets so not for meat so method of killing is not important in that respect.
In case of an urgent need to put a chicken to sleep we have a rifle and could use the traffic cone (neighbour has one!) and rifle method.
Thank you again everyone
Lisa x
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The Humane Slaughter Society is a good starting point. They specifically say that the pliers are NOT humane.
Thanks Rosemary. To quote the Humane Slaughter Society (http://www.hsa.org.uk/Information/Slaughter/Poultry%20slaughter.htm) website: "Methods that crush the neck (e.g. pliers) do not cause concussion and are therefore unlikely to cause painless or immediate loss of consciousness. Their use is therefore NOT recommended."
It's a tricky one to know though. Personally I found they worked very well, and for the reasons I said above. If the HSS are saying they're no use because they cause the bird pain, then yes I'm sure having your neck squeezed hurts like hell, but at least it's quick. Having done about 20 birds this way in the past month, all I can say is that the birds always lost consciousness very quickly indeed (dilated pupils etc), so in the absence of an electrical stunner, it still seems as good a way to me as any.
And sorry, Womble, the bit about the air rifle is total nonsense - I can't believe you actually tried that.
OK, Mea culpa. It was the last bird to go, so it's not like I was walking around the run taking pot shots. I just wanted to know if the air rifle might be a good method, and no it's not. It is worth noting though, that if a clean head-shot from 10m away is not enough to kill the bird straight away, I don't think it can really be considered foolproof even at point blank range. It's also inherently more dangerous than any of the other methods.
So yes, I feel more than a little stupid, but if it saves anybody else from my mistake, a little embarrassment on here is a small price to pay. Oh oh, yet more replies posted whilst I was typing. Hope I haven't started anything here, as I really wasn't trying to. :-[
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Oh no womble, please don't feel stupid about this, please don't, I really apreciated your candor and honesty about these techniques - I feel really guilty for asking the question to be honest as its caused some disharmony.
I just really needed to know what to do if I was faced with a situation where I needed to act - the you tube clips were awful - I knew people here would advise me. You gave me such a brilliant, comprehensive answer with pros and cons to each method and it helped SO much. Thank you and I really meant that.
Still having read the answers today, I don't feel that I cxould have done this to Korma yesterday who literally drifted off in her sleep like a much loved pet. BUT a chicken who was maimed by a fox, I would do all I could to end their suffering xxx
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I think, if i have an unwell bird that I can get to the vet I will pay the bill.
To be honest I think you would cause the bird more suffering actually getting it to the vet to be despatched than you would just despatching it yourself at home. I know that when I had to despatch my first hen (ex batt who was just slowly keeling over in front of me) I went through all the 'must take to the vet' thoughts when in reality I was just running from the inevitable responsibility of putting her out of her misery asap. In the end I did the deed (broomstick) and although felt fairly rubbish, I did feel better that I had stepped up to the mark as it were.
Its not easy, but is part and parcel of respecting the animal IMHO
All the best
Tish
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Its not easy, but is part and parcel of respecting the animal Amen to that!
Birth...life...death.
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Sorry, Womble. I didn't mean to make you feel stupid. My excuse is that I was feeling unattractively smug after things went well this morning. Not a good thing in smallholding, because tomorrow is another day and Mother Nature may decide to get me back :)
The only time we've had hate mail via TAS was when we recounted in the Diary our first "kill" of meat chickens and the subsequent processing of the carcase. We were indeed totally inept - armed with a cleaver, a pair of garden secateurs and a blunt knife, a copy of Seymour's instructions (it was windy and the pages kept blowing shut), by the time we'd got the carcase plucked and cleaned, rigor mortis had set in. The bird of course had "set" straight out and we couldn't get it in to the shape of a supermarket bird so we roasted it on its side. We were accused of all sorts of things including being disrepectful to the animal. Which we weren't - we were doing what you did - letting folk have a cringe at our situation but hopefully helping them manage better than us.
On the airgun, it's not intended to kill (although I think it probably will), it will render the bird unconscious - it is the blood letting that kills. Done against a wooden backstop, I think it's pretty safe for the humans. On that we shall have to agree to differ. I couldn't use the pliers, although we did have some once.
I did enquire about a concussion stunner but it was mega expensive - way out of the price range for a smallholder, plus it needed to be maintained.
Anyway, pax all. Please.
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We have the wall mounted one but fixed to a frame under the cone so it is on its side, we stun the birds before we put them in the cone.
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Today I discovered another method of dispatch which has not been covered in this thread.
That story was wonderfully told.