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Post by dw on Jan 21, 2017 15:24:08 GMT
to do in our poor crippled chicken. We've been tending but I don't think she'll make and we don't think she needs to suffer.
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Post by gracielagata on Jan 21, 2017 15:46:52 GMT
Do you have a gun and live in an area you can shoot it? We use a .22. I know that one is supposed to be able to do the whole head on the chopping block-axe thing, but I couldn't do it on my own, as I haven't made a set-up for it. I have had to have 3 of my birds dispatched because of ailments or getting out of the pen and into the mouth of the dog (oopsy). My stepdad always comes over with his .22 and shoots them for me (they always seem to need dispatching during the weekday when my husband is at work, and I don't consider myself coordinated enough to hold a bird at my feet and shoot it safely lol). The first 2, I had a nifty net that was meant for catching errant chickens. We put them on the ground under the net and he held it down with his feet. Then he held the gun to the chicken and shot it in the chest, and it was over quickly. The 3rd bird, my husband had run the net over with the lawnmower, so my stepdad just held her under his boot and shot her like that. Her innards had become outards and she was pretty weak from it, so it was fairly easy for him to do it like that safely for himself. Sorry your chicken isn't doing well.  |
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Post by gracielagata on Jan 21, 2017 15:49:12 GMT
I should add, you can also evidently ring their necks if you are so inclined... but research how many spins are needed. We had an eggbound young hen that wasn't recovering, she was our first to need euth'ing. She could hardly walk, she was so weak. My husband did the neck spinning thing for quite a few spins. He put her down thinking she had to be done. Nope, she jumped up and ran into the pasture with a sudden burst of don't-kill-me energy. She ended up on the chopping block, and it was not a clean kill. |
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Post by Woodpecker on Jan 21, 2017 16:55:03 GMT
All I know is when I was a child, my grandfather would (it's difficult to type this) cut there heads off...I don't think this is the most humane way, as I remember the chickens would run around for a minute or two after 😕Im sorry for her not coming around for you, with all the care you've given her.
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Post by Skandi on Jan 21, 2017 18:37:24 GMT
All I know is when I was a child, my grandfather would (it's difficult to type this) cut there heads off...I don't think this is the most humane way, as I remember the chickens would run around for a minute or two after 😕Im sorry for her not coming around for you, with all the care you've given her. They are already dead even though they will run around or flap for quite some time, the head can probably feel and think for a short while after (decapitated human heads certainly can)but the body is dead. We kill them by removing the head with a hand axe and a wooden block. Same for ducks (which don't run around after) You can always practice on some spare wood to make sure you get the hit right, don't want to miss on that. Oddly when I need to kill a rabbit I find I can't remove the head like that, I use a airrifle to the head, I suspect that hitting a chickens brain would be pretty hard using that method though. |
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Post by gracielagata on Jan 21, 2017 18:58:24 GMT
Putting myself in the chicken's place ..... Option one .... If someone were to grab me .... And struggle to get a good hold on his gun .... All the while, I being in a state of panic ..... Attempting to get away .... Struggling ... Not knowing what is going to happen next ..... Option two ..... If someone were to grab me by my ankles .... Immediately swing me up over their head in a large circle .... Up and around 3-4 times .... Lay my disoriented head on a block of wood ...... And quickly CHOP .... Personally .... I would choose option two .... After losing his head, the chicken's body may continue to move based on muscle and nerve spasms. But, the body is no longer attached to the brain ....... The bird is dead ..... Not feeling any pain! Just as when you reach in to pull the guts out of a bird ...... And the bird cackles ..... The bird is DEAD ..... That cackle is just the result of air moving through its voice box ..... It has not come back to life ..... Oddly enough, the getting of the gun and using it has been the easiest for us, especially considering that they are sickly to start with, so they are weak anyhow. Our 2 or 3 that we have shot have been super easy. They just lay there once you lay them out. Then I handed him the rifle and it was over in seconds. And if they are held down with a net, it is even easier, because you can let them sit under the held-down net and get calm before you do the deed. Just be sure you aren't over any sprinkler lines or whatnot.  The swinging over the head to disorient, then chop... even disoriented, you likely need some nails or whatnot on the log to hold the head in place, then pull tension back by the feet and chop down. It seems very cumbersome and open for mistakes when it is just one person who isn't very familiar with doing it. We did this method without nails and that is why it didn't work well, she snuck her neck short and we lopped into her eye area instead of her neck.. And I did not know you could get a cackle after death like that! Wow. I wouldn't think the chicken alive or anything, I would simply marvel over how things like that happen... |
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Post by dw on Jan 21, 2017 19:21:00 GMT
My husband has pretty much volunteered to do the deed. They are REALLY his pet chickens. I'm thinking less blood the better...probably the 22.
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Post by Woodpecker on Jan 21, 2017 20:20:03 GMT
All I know is when I was a child, my grandfather would (it's difficult to type this) cut there heads off...I don't think this is the most humane way, as I remember the chickens would run around for a minute or two after 😕Im sorry for her not coming around for you, with all the care you've given her. They are already dead even though they will run around or flap for quite some time, the head can probably feel and think for a short while after (decapitated human heads certainly can)but the body is dead. We kill them by removing the head with a hand axe and a wooden block. Same for ducks (which don't run around after) You can always practice on some spare wood to make sure you get the hit right, don't want to miss on that. Oddly when I need to kill a rabbit I find I can't remove the head like that, I use a airrifle to the head, I suspect that hitting a chickens brain would be pretty hard using that method though. I can tell you, due to seeing the chickens run around with no head...well I couldn't eat chicken until I was about 20 years old. It was traumatic to me😟 |
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Post by gracielagata on Jan 22, 2017 14:15:47 GMT
My husband has pretty much volunteered to do the deed. They are REALLY his pet chickens. I'm thinking less blood the better...probably the 22. That was pretty much my idea with using a .22. Plus, it can be done with one person who is inexperienced with using hatchets or axes on such a small- possibly moving, no less- target. |
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Post by paquebot on Jan 22, 2017 16:08:36 GMT
Keep a box of .22 CB shorts around just for close-range dispatching. Even .22 birdshot will work if you can find them.
Martin
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Post by gracielagata on Jan 22, 2017 16:33:30 GMT
Keep a box of .22 CB shorts around just for close-range dispatching. Even .22 birdshot will work if you can find them. Martin Just out of curiosity, do you mean to have a person shoot the chicken while it is still in the pen walking around? I only ask because my parents used this method to kill their whole flock when they deemed them too old and didn't want to care for them through winter.... then they promptly threw the bodies out in the open areas behind their property... a waste if you ask me. But they just shot them where they stood in their pen. After each bird would go down, the group left would twitter a bit but still not spazz and run or anything. So they were fairly easy targets from what they said. Not exactly a method I am in favor of, still. |
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Post by dw on Jan 22, 2017 16:38:47 GMT
Hubby took care of her...he is sad. He gave her favorite treat, put her in a box and took her out aways from the other girls.
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Post by paquebot on Jan 22, 2017 17:22:55 GMT
gracielagata,if one is going to use a .22, the CB short is most effective if the bird is walking around. If in your hand, birdshot at close range works. Idea of both is to prevent a chunk of lead flying around via a ricochet. Martin
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Post by gracielagata on Jan 22, 2017 19:45:42 GMT
dw, paquebot,Thanks for the info. I think, I hope, lol that my stepdad was using a proper round to prevent a ricochet issue. We were also overtop of a grassy area too. So hopefully he used the right round at their house as well.
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Post by Mari-in-IN on Jan 22, 2017 21:56:43 GMT
Hubby took care of her...he is sad. He gave her favorite treat, put her in a box and took her out aways from the other girls. Would you please offer my sincerest condolences to your DH... Reading this post just brought tears to my eyes due to the fact our chickens are also beloved pets to the both of us... I can't imagine how hard that was for him... |
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Post by countrymom22 on Jan 23, 2017 1:06:24 GMT
Although I think of my chickens as livestock as well as pets, I hate to see anything suffer. And although I know putting an animal down is the right thing to do, I can't help but to think of how amazing each of God's critters are. How much they seem to enjoy their own lives, just as we enjoy ours. That makes the whole process so much more difficult. That's why my hubby has to do the dispatching.
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Post by here to stay on Jan 23, 2017 11:00:53 GMT
Although I think of my chickens as livestock as well as pets, I hate to see anything suffer. And although I know putting an animal down is the right thing to do, I can't help but to think of how amazing each of God's critters are. How much they seem to enjoy their own lives, just as we enjoy ours. That makes the whole process so much more difficult. That's why my hubby has to do the dispatching. So very spot on. |
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