[GrannieAnnie]

I read a post on the River Cottage Forum that I found interesting, and I have asked the poster if I can copy it to here.  I'm sure you'll find it interesting too!

So thank you Jenny for your kind permission to cut and paste!!!!!

I am no expert and I do not keep chickens, but I would love to have egg layers when my circumstances improve to accommadate them (I'm still a student). However, I have a piece of information some of you may find interesting.

When I went with a few others on a World Challenge expedition to Belize to do project work and help the people out there, one of the aims of the trip was to buy livestock, kill and cook it ourselves. We decided chickens was the best option and the easiest to obtain in the local market and we had an ex-army guy there to help us. He taught us the strangest thing:

Do you know you can put chickens to sleep before killing them?

Its really easy to do - put their head under a wing and hold the round their body and turn them in a big circle - like on a ferris wheel. Clockwize/anti-clockwze it didn't seem to matter, but after a few turns at arms length they were fast asleep.

This had a few benefits:
1. our army guy could take time to show us how to break their neck carefully and humanely, without the bird flapping to much and causing chaos

2. It died quietly and asleep - this especially made us feel better about doing it.

3. it didn't make any noise and there was relatively little flapping afterwards which meant the rest that were to be done didn't go crazy, and we didn't get upset with the spasms afterwards

I guess you could also use the technique if you need to examine a bird of yours and it doesn't want to know.

I would be interested to hear from anyone who knew about this technique already or those that have given it a try because I watched the 'Chicken out' series (Well done Hugh!) and it wasn't mentioned and it might have helped - especially the Milway gang in the future when they can't use Hugh's mobile dispatching unit (Sorry, I don't know what it is really called) anymore.

[richyrich7]

Wow that's interesting thanks, have you tried it grannie ?

[GrannieAnnie]

Haven't tried it yet Richy, but I will try to remember tomorrow!  If it works, it could be good when trying to put some purple spray or whatever on a pecked bottom!!!!!

Jenny said it worked for them!

[SnooziSuzi]

Wow!  I'm going to try that on one of mine on my day off!  I'll let you know if it works! (the sleeping bit, not the putting to sleep!)

[jack russell]

can someone try this this morning please  i would but am not anywhere near my allotment until tmw.

[slowef]

Jack do you not check your birds every day, how do they manage food drink wise?  Not criticising just wondered how they are put to bed and let out or are you an auto popper

[chickychick]

fascninating post ....someone hurry up and try it pleeeeeaase..mine were already asleep in bed by the time I got home from work.

[richyrich7]

If it's dry tomoz I'll give it ago, the neighbours think I'm nuts anyway. How you supposed to wake 'em up again  

[jack russell]

Jack do you not check your birds every day, how do they manage food drink wise?  Not criticising just wondered how they are put to bed and let out or are you an auto popper

no i dont check every day at the moment as i have moved house just recently so its no longer on my doorstep   :shock:   they are checked by by neighbouring lotty friend though    they have a large hopper for there layers and similar for there water there are also bucked of water in the outside shelter for them they put themselves to bed :shock: and there is no hatch on the door.  They are surrounded in a  harris fence enclosure 6 foot high and at the base there are either fence posts or old bricks to keep foxy out if he gets passed that then good luck to him :roll:

[Foxy]

Tried it....erm hard to put their head under their wing - not sure about the ferris wheel - but did a large slow circle... erm not sure they certainly didn't go to sleep and looked a bit dizzy. Not sure its a good idea. I tried it on Romeo he is very very feisty thought it might help getting him a bit sleepy before the judges get hold of him. He looked at me as if to say "what you do that for??? Im still gonna peck you!!! :? " Should I still take him??? :!:

[GrannieAnnie]

I tried it with one that I found pecked.  I tucked her head under her wing, then held each wing close to her body with my hands and did about 10 big vertical turns, like a ferris wheel.  She wasn't asleep, but she stayed really quiet while I wiped the bit of blood off and put vaseline and liquid paraffin on the wound.

When I opened her wing, she just looked at me then made a funny little noise, so I put her down and she stood there for a minute then ambled off.  

I'll keep practising!!

[betty]

My grandmother and mother have done this before and showed us kids how to do this years ago.  It does work.  You have to tuk their head under the wing good and hold it tight, then make big circles and quite a few of them, then you sit them down gently and wait a few minutes.  Some will sleep longer than others, depending on how many circles you make.  It never seemed to hurt them, but they will look at you funny :shock:

[SnooziSuzi]

LOL!   can someone get a camcorder please - I'm dying to see this!