[Hevxxx99]

I'm dispatching my turkeys, like everyone else, at the moment.  I've done this for several years and usually shoot them through the brain then cut their throats to bleed them whilst keeping them head down.  I have also tried the broomstick method, which works well, if you get the degree of pull right.

My problem is that whatever method I use, I either get beaten half to death by the wings or the turkey damages itself with flapping.  I tried a killing cone but that allowed just enough movement for the breast to get bruised by the trapped and folded wings.  I've tried pinning the wings back, but that tends to dislocate the wings.

Has anyone found a method of killing them without the either wrestling match or the bruising?

[Sbom]

We always use a cone to restrain them, if they fit in it snug then there shouldn't be room for them to damage themselves. If there put in the cone then stunned and bled immediately then they can't bruise as there's no blood left. We get the odd rub mark on smaller birds and was thinking maybe lining the  inside of the cone with cardboard might help 
I definitely wouldn't do it without a cone as the wings seriously hurt when they hit you, usually in the face!

[SteveHants]

You can make a 'cone' from a hessian sack with the bottom corner cut off, when you catch them and tie their feet together, hang the top edge of the bag on the hook too - this stops them flapping about too much.

[smokingdragon]

I've just shot my 3 in the head then cut the throats. First lot of turkies that I have done. I'm very glad my son was with me to hold them, they are very strong!!! One knocked me over whilst I was holding it down after shooting.

Cup of tea then plucking 

[Victorian Farmer]

some use a axe very quick no bother

[SteveHants]

I've just shot my 3 in the head then cut the throats. First lot of turkies that I have done. I'm very glad my son was with me to hold them, they are very strong!!! One knocked me over whilst I was holding it down after shooting.

Cup of tea then plucking 

Youll have problems with the primary feathers like that. Kill, bleed, as soon as it relaxes get on the primaries with pliers, rough pluck the rest whilst the residual heat keeps your hands nice and warm. Then have a cuppa.

[Hevxxx99]

some use a axe very quick no bother

Done that: they still flap for England.

I've heard stunning with electricty means they don't flap, but not having a license for such, I can't use that method.

Finished the last few by breaking necks and just letting them flap without restraint or any objects (like me) in the way and that worked ok, but it takes some doing to hold them!

Just 2 ducks to do and I'm done for this year.    Ducks don't flap half as much!

[Sbom]

No,they still flap when stunned with electric, still need the cone! They bleed better when it's done before there dead, as in just stunned, the heart pumps the blood out quicker.
I find ducks much harder to kill, they have such cute little faces and seem to keep looking at you til the end :-(
But your right, much easier to restrain 

[Shropshirelass]

We find when doing the geese (& also with all the poultry) that its easier to tie the legs together & tie them upside down & one person steadying the bird & holding the wings together whilst being stunned & bled & their never panicked by this & the whole process is over in 3-5 mins per bird & we then dip them in a hot water boiler for 30 seconds & pluck - it works a treat on the waterfowl but cockerals seem to be a bugger to pluck x

[manian]

we use the cone method
we tend to only do ours and the thanksgiving ones and then send the rest to a chap who does it professionally.
costs £6.50
Mx

[Pundyburn Lynn]

Hello,


I've found that wrapping an old towel around the turkey while still alive enables you to hold onto it with one hand.  The other hand is then free to administer whichever method you choose to dispatch the bird, with no flapping or bruising other than the usual nervous twitch.  Works well for us.


Lynn

[oldhinton]

Hi there, bit late for this year now,but a lot of the knack of this is to do with the height at which the Turkey is hung, tie the legs together then hang so that one person can enfold the bird in a bear hug, this ensures the wings don't flap, then another person stuns and bleeds the bird, we have found that doing it this way tends to stop any bruising whereas if the wings are grasped , this usually ends up with bruise marks. Or as someone else posted, wrap in a towel or similar, as long as the wings can't move.

[Marches Farmer]

We once had a Nigerian guest staying in the farm holiday cottage who said that killing a turkey was the traditional way to feed an honoured guest but they'd lace its drinking water with gin the day before, which made it much easier to handle!  Haven't tried it myself ......

[Hevxxx99]

I did seriously consider something along those lines, Marches Farmer!

The bearhug method works quite well, but when I tried it, the birds weren't hanging so it turned into a gruesome wrestling match and sometimes I didn't win!  Tying the legs definitely helps and having two people is almost essential I think.

All done this year so now I can spend 355 days trying to work out how to do it better next time.  I think a padded cone might be the answer...

[Shropshirelass]

Ooh marches farmer that is tempting but I don't know if it would be wise if like us we sell our birds & also you'd need a lot of gin for 40-20 birds  xx