[suziequeue]

And also Dan had the site link:

http://www.accidentalsmallholder.net/livestock/poultry/slaughtering-poultry/

Yes - that's where I read about the air rifle being effective for stunning and killling:
 

 
 <blockquote> We kill the birds first thing in the morning so the crop and gut is empty; shooting them in the head with the air rifle makes the stun and kill. It is very efficient.
We immediately bleed the birds, pluck them, and then hang them for 24 hours in a cool outbuilding (in a clean pillowcase and out of reach of cats and dogs). They are much easier to dress when they are cold.</blockquote>

Certainly can't afford one of those despatcher things although they look very nice. It'll just have to be a traffic cone for our boys 

[manian]

 
Certainly can't afford one of those despatcher things although they look very nice. It'll just have to be a traffic cone for our boys 

i knopw what you mean....... if i had seen the price before accepting it i would have said no.
should be easy to make one.....with wood and a cone - thats what we were going to do before being given this one
anyone near us that wants to use feel free to ask
 
Mx

[jaykay]

With the broomstick method can you pull too hard?  i.e pull their head right off and if so is it an issue?
 

Yes, and no.

To be absolutely blunt, I think the attempts at stunning are to make the humans feel better but is crueller to the chickens.

I think we owe it to them to do the job cleanly and properly and get the bravery up to do it, not add an extra stage in that could go wrong, could really hurt and scare them. An air rifle is not designed for this job.

In fact I have a dispatcher, still in its jiffy bag in the garage as I've never used it. If someone wants it for the postage they can have it. PM me.

[Beewyched]

hi its definately worth having a dispatcher
not pleasant to do but I find this ok (as much as the process is quick and no flapping and chicken/turkey is very calm ) their neck goes in the bars (has a curve for the neck and just pull. it has a spring on it
we were given one by a friend/farmer
didn't realise they were so dear...... we have a cone for the turkeys and i'm sure you could make one
Mx

Our dispatcher doesn't look like this one - ours is just the metal bit that has to be mounted on a door frame - no posh cone things for us 

[suziequeue]

So Jaykay - with the broomstick method - do you place the chicken on its front or back? and do you face the chicken's head or tail when pulling...


Does the chicken start to struggle when it's pinioned under the broomstick but before you pull its neck?

[Beewyched]

hi its definately worth having a dispatcher
not pleasant to do but I find this ok (as much as the process is quick and no flapping and chicken/turkey is very calm ) their neck goes in the bars (has a curve for the neck and just pull. it has a spring on it
we were given one by a friend/farmer
didn't realise they were so dear...... we have a cone for the turkeys and i'm sure you could make one
Mx

Our dispatcher doesn't look like this one - ours is just the metal bit that has to be mounted on a door frame - no posh cone things for us 

Oh ... & we paid less than £30 for it too 

[jaykay]

So Jaykay - with the broomstick method - do you place the chicken on its front or back? and do you face the chicken's head or tail when pulling...

I lie him on his side. His head is facing away from me, I pull his feet upwards, my hands together, one of his feet in each hand, so I have a good grip. I end up with his toes facing me, at chest height, so I've twisted as well as pulled.

Does the chicken start to struggle when it's pinioned under the broomstick but before you pull its neck?

No, they tend to go quiet but you get it done fast anyway.

It's possible to actually pull his head off, which makes a right mess, but at least you know you've done the job. They flap afterwards, sometimes quite a bit. The neck is very clearly broken and you know the job is done. I then leave them to hang so that the blood pools in the neck. If I've pulled the head off, I tie a carrier bag over the neck while the body hangs.

I hate doing it, which is as it should be. I also don't fudge it which is what I owe them. They've given me 6 months of good company and are about to feed me, so in my view it's what I can do for them back, to get over my squeamishness and give them a quick, clean end.

[Bionic]

I wonder is it possible to put something round the wings and body before you pull so that they aren't able to flap as much.
Perhaps a layer of cling film or something. Any suggestions?
Sally

[jaykay]

I think just hold the wings afterwards. Or learn to ignore it. You're right, it isn't nice.

But otherwise, doesn't it just become something else the poor bird has to put up with, that prolongs the process for him?

[suziequeue]

Humane slaughter of a chicken
 
I found this on anther poultry forum. It had good feedback on the thread but I can't actually view it as access is limited from this computer.
 
Is it any good?

[jaykay]

Yes, it shows the process well enough.

It looks like the broomstick has slipped and the job hasn't been done - but it has. (you can check if you do it yourself that the neck is floppy)

Personally I don't move my foot off the broomstick so fast and with a cockerel pull harder, but this shows how quickly the job happens and is over - and holding the bird between his legs like that stops the flapping too.
 
I just hang mine up and ignore it.

[Bionic]

I was surprised at just how quickly he did it. In fact hardly saw him pull at all.
 
thanks Suziqeueue
Sally

[suziequeue]

The thread itself has somebody sharing about their first experience of using this method after watching the video.
 
http://www.poultrychat.com/forum/index.php?/topic/7806-broomstick-method-video-how-to-do-it/
 
Looking forward to watching it once I get home

[shetlandpaul]

sorry jaykay the air rifle method is very effective. but you really need to know how to do it. the axe method is the back up option. the humane slaughter folks are not happy with neck breaking.
the air gun does seem to work better on geese thou. always have a backup method on hand no matter how you do it.

[kegs]

We've got a metal wall mounted dispatcher which we use on our chickens and cockerels (£30).  There's a screw which has to be adjusted according to the bird you're culling but it certainly does the job.  I hate the process to be honest but the bird always seem calm enough.  I wrap a large bath towel round their body and wings and place an old sock over their heads then sit for a moment to calm us (more for my benefit than theirs really, because by now they've almost gone floppy and sleepy).  So I hold the bird and OH pulls the lever.  Job done.