[chasechicken]

Hi all,

In the past I've taken our sick hens to the vets to be put down, but it's not cheap, I feel a bit daft doing it and also feel the 30+ minute car ride isn't nice for a poorly hen.

So - I'm thinking about, next time, doing it myself.  My concern is I don't think I can do it by breaking their neck by hand, and don't much fancy the broom handle approach.  I've had a look at various videos online (sick, I know!!) and found that using an axe seems easy enough and effective, and somehow by using something to do it rather than my bare hands, I'd feel somewhat detatched from the situation.

Just wondering if there are any reasons to / not to do it this way?  I plan to have someone else holding the bird while I do the deed (hope I don't slip!).  I know the body will move a lot.  Will there be masses of blood loss?

Ok, not a nice topic .. on a more cheery note, there's a mallard with her 12 ducklings at the local garden centre......... how cute................. 

[Casey76]

I would strongly suggest using a killing cone and a sharp (scalpel) knife if you want to dispatch this way.

I use the broom handle method, and one I accidentally too the head right off, and my kitchen looked like something out of CSI.  Blood up the walls, on the ceiling, across the windows etc, because they flap just as much with decapitation as with dislocation, escept once the head is removed there is nothing to stop the flapping from convulsing the whole bird, and each time the bird jerks, there is another spray of blood (sorry to be so grim, but this was my experience!)

With a killing cone, the movements of the bird are contained, and the blood can be drained into a recepticle positioned underneath the bird.

[gracie]

Horrible post but very informative. I was saying last night that I want to learn how to do it incase anything happened to my chickens. They free range and I worry that they may get attacked badly but still alive and it may be necessary to help them immediately rather than waiting for my husband to come home. Is the bloodless method difficult to learn, I worry I wouldn't do it right and prolong the agony, but I think the cutting would be worse. All horrendous I know but surely best to be prepared for the sake of our animals.

[OpiumEater]

I've never heard of a killing cone, I can feel another google coming on. Handy to know though, as I too feel the cost of having them put down and cremated by the vet to be a bit excessive.

I'm confused on how to get rid of the body though, have read they can go in general rubbish in bags, in compost if hot enough and another source said had to be cremated.

Can anyone confirm?

[chasechicken]

I think either way it's pretty quick .. my main concern is that the dislocation method doesn't tell you immediately if you've done it correctly (well, maybe it does, but I'm not sure - i.e. the flapping may be pain rather than death!) whereas if the head's off then the head's off!

I will look into the cone method thanks!  And, I think it was your post previously Casey that put me off the broom method ...... the head coming off from being a little too keen?

:-\

[GrannieAnnie]

These are the proper cones, but you could make one out of a road type cone.  My Brian has all the right equipment for culling as he does it a lot, electric stunner etc, but if I have to cull any sick or injured birds, I use the wall dispatcher on the same page.

http://www.ascott-dairy.co.uk/cgi-bin/sh000001.pl?REFPAGE=http%3a%2f%2fascott.biz%2f&WD=cones&PN=Poultry_Processing_.html%23aPY127#aPY127

[evie2]

No pictures of the apparatus came up and when I clicked on the icon it brought me back to the forum did I do something wrong?

[shetan]

there is also a dispatcher available. unless someones already mentioned it by another name. its like a walnut cracker and you slip the bird's head in and then squeeze to dislocate the neck.

we usually do it by hand because we can tell by touch that its done - then leave the body to finish twitching.

the axe method can be messy, and if you don't hit hard enough/quick enough/miss or only half do it, its not fair to the bird.

needless to say - we never dispatch a bird infront of the others - always in or behind the shed.