# Question about humane poultry killing



## milkmaid (Sep 15, 2010)

I've been researching killing methods for chickens, and the fastest method (the one that causes brain death the quickest) seems to be the one where you pierce the brain with a knife stuck through the mouth. Has anyone used this method, and did the chicken seem to die instantly? Would it work on ducks too?


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

we have not used that methods...we put the chicken in a cone and cut the jugler on both sides...death seems to be instant..we do not like to cause undo pain either...


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## milkmaid (Sep 15, 2010)

I've done that too, and strangely, they don't seem to show any evidence of pain. I just prefer a method that kills the brain, or at least knocks it out, instantly.


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## mjs500doo (Nov 24, 2012)

We take a hammer and a nice sharp knife. Set the knife on the neck, and hit the knife with the hammer. Immediately severs the head clean off. Perfect kill IMO.


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## keren (Oct 26, 2008)

i slaughter ducks for our freezer, my home slaughter book descrives the knife through mouth and into brain. honestly i dont feel confident in my ability.to do this accurately without a lot of practice. 

i find the method that works best for me is the broomstick method usually.used in bunnies. basically it is cervical dislocation ie. breaking the neck. cervical dislocation when done correctly.if quick and painless which is why it is the best practice euthanasia option for laboratory rodents. it is also very easy to learn and the broomstick method i find easy even being a small female and not very strong. 

one wprd of warning though, the first time i did it i applied too much pressure and removed the poor ducks head conpletely


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## JaLyn (Oct 10, 2012)

keren, I've never heard of that but i like that it breaks the neck instantly..how do you do that?


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## keren (Oct 26, 2008)

JaLyn I would post a link to a rabbit forum showing step by step pictures, but I dont think I'm allowed to do that. Suffice to say if you google rabbit killing broomstick method it should pop up and the photos are very helpful. 

Step One: place the animal on the ground and hold it by the back legs. With a rabbit obviously it will be sitting pretty normally, with a duck or chicken you kind of hang them upside down a bit and drape their neck on the ground, it calms the poultry right down which is helpful. Hold the back legs in one hand. 

Step Two: Lay a broomstick (or any sturdy handle, I use a broken one which is a bit shorter so much easier for me to manage than a full length broom) across the back of their neck, and place one of your own feet very lightly on one end of the broomstick, use only enough pressure to hold it in position, you are aiming to gently restrain the animal and keep the stick in place. 

Step Three: This seems a bit tricky and I was really nervous the first time about doing it right, but I found it very easy. You want to be able to do a couple things AT THE SAME TIME here in order for the euthanasia to be effective and humane. You bring your other foot up over the other end of the broomstick, and push down on the broomstick with BOTH FEET while AT THE SAME TIME pulling UP on the back legs. 

You will feel the neck break pretty well instantly. If you put too much pressure on the chicken/duck you will remove the entire head, which is what happened to me the first time. Bit traumatic for me, but hey at least the duck was dead, I was worried I wouldnt use enough pressure and bungle it. 

I then string the animal up by the back legs and cut the throat for them to bleed out. Be aware that they will kick and poultry will flap their wings for a short while afterwards, this is not the animal suffering, it is dead, this is just muscles contracting and a normal part of slaughtering an animal. 

In my home butchering book, it actually says you can do cervical dislocation in poultry simply by holding legs in one hand, neck/head in the other and pulling in opposite directions. I prefer the broomstick method as I was worried I wouldnt be able to use enough pressure that way, whereas with the broomstick method I can use both hands and my body weight.


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## Myles (Mar 4, 2013)

I've heard of some people who smack the head with a hammer before cutting the head off.
I just use a cone and branch cutters. Slices the head right off.


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## mjgh06 (Sep 4, 2012)

I have rabbits but used to have poultry and used the rabbit/poultry wringer combo. It works great! No bloody mess or violent death. It's a cervical dislocator and works instantly. http://rabbitwringer.com/html/trpw001.html They have instructions on how to use it on their site.


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## canthavejust1 (Oct 12, 2012)

We made a cone out of a gallon vinegar jug we put the chicken in upside down(cone is hanging) grab head stretch out neck and lop it off with a sharp knife. Quick and birds don't suffer or flop much in the cone. Our ducks we generally shoot in the head then hang and cut off head to bleed out. I don't like the duck/goose/turkey process much


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## Tayet (Feb 9, 2012)

When we butcher chickens, we just get a hatchet and put the chicken neck over a wood stump and then lop it's head off. Then we wait a few minutes and then take it's feet off and then we skin it.


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## milkmaid (Sep 15, 2010)

For the record, contrary to what the Rabbit Wringer website says, *cervical dislocation does not kill instantly!* My brother is a paramedic and says so positively. He has seen it many times in humans. An undamaged head is still alive and conscious until the brain cells suffocate, which, if oxygen is unavailable, is somewhere about 13-30 seconds.
Same applies to decapitation.
Shooting in the brain does kill, or at least make the animal unconscious, instantly. I just bought a Rabbit Zinger, and plan to use that on the rabbits.


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## mjgh06 (Sep 4, 2012)

You are right about no kill instantly. But if done properly, it will cause unconsciousness and death within 3 seconds. As a method of killing, it is only recommended on rats, mice, rabbits and poultry because of the difficulty in successful dislocation at higher weights. You can't compare humans to small animals. Dislocation in humans is caused by accident and not usually severed completely.


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## keren (Oct 26, 2008)

mj is right, humans vs small animals is a completely different thing.


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## keren (Oct 26, 2008)

No method of euthanasia will kill instantly, wjat you are after is a stun follpwed by swift death


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