DON'T READ THIS IF SQUEAMISH -killing chickens

I found this on YouTube And I haven't heard of it as a method of dispatch here in the UK. I just offer this link for information and discussion, I've not done it this way, so am not recommending it, though in the video the chicken appears quiet and calm and not in distress, and I like the woman's approach to the task - businesslike yet compassionate.
http://youtu.be/5_S3P0eU0lE
 
Never an easy subject! :roll: Interesting link, you would have to be knowledgeable with anatomy and experienced with killing to use this method and I wouldn't personally recommend for the novice.

My understanding is that neck dislocation is the only humane way of killing poultry recommended in the UK. This is certainly the method we use and death is instantaneous.

http://www.hsa.org.uk/Information/Slaughter/Poultry%20slaughter.htm

There are some very good courses out there designed to help out with this subject as well as the next stage of preparing the bird for the table

Alison from Hook Farm runs excellent courses, I can highly recommend these, especially if planning to rear poultry for the table.

http://www.hookfarm.net/courses/kill-pluck-gut-and-bone.php
 
Thank you, Foxy - those Hook Farm courses look very good - and only just down the road from me, I shall have to sign up. As I haven't ever raised any meat birds, I've always taken my old or sick girls to the vet for a peaceful end, but I do recognise at I should have instruction in DIY for this.
 
So this sums up my problems. Neck dislocation is not instantaneous. Shooting in the head is -if you aim in the right place at the right age with the right powered weapon. If you miss, and we are talking of millimetres here, the bird is unconscious so you have several more chances to get it right. I can't see courses on the subject giving you any better advice.

I will not take the chance when despatching any chicken that they have suffered in any way. We cannot afford the correct electrical stunning equipment and I don't think the birds will be happy hung upside down and sent into a water bath anyway. So bite the bullet (or pellet) and expect a lot of blood. Our pet Bottom, when the end comes, will go the same way.
 
I see the HSA website (see the link Foxy provided) does a booklet for £2.00 about slaughter of poultry for the small producer, also some videos. See their list of publications http://www.hsa.org.uk/Resources/General%20pubs%20list.pdf half way down on the left hand side of the first list.
I shall get the booklet and see what it's like.
Of course, for people like me, with very few birds, known personally and which are really productive pets, there is always the option of an old or sick bird being PTS at the vet. So far this has happened to mine, but there is always an emergency to prepare for.
 
We've got that publication Marigold. Shooting is just glossed over. For you the best bet is the vet, assuming they don't suffer stress on the journey. Our vet recommended despatch at home because of the stress induced by the journey (20 minutes) and the administration of the lethal injection. We used a Despatcher until aware of the issues.
 
im not at all sqeemish and i just wring their necks, no big deal, fast, quiet and effective
 
And for the benefit of those who do adopt the 'shot in the head' technique. Remember, if restraining the head with your left hand whilst shooting with your right, make sure your fingers are not under the head or you could shoot yourself in the finger. Ouch!

Usually unnecessary to restrain the head as cockerels go quiet when wrapped in a towel. But this was an incredibly mad TNN hen who has been attacking the other hens and screaming for the slightest reason. The cockerels favourite but totally wild, she has escaped by flying over my head out of the coop and over the fencing -needed the fishing net to capture her. For the good of all and a bit of peace she had to go. The loudest hen we have ever had!
 
Ouch Chris. Sounds as though you've just shot yourself in the hand? :-)07
 
Yes, I'm afraid I did Icemaiden. Right on the finger joint bursting a blood vessel- much blood, fortunately into the tray. Still rather sore -but she tasted good! It is so much quieter here now as well -everyone settled.
 
Owwwww.
I must admit I wouldn't mind having your courage; I was sad when Energiser disappeared last Sunday but wouldn't have been brave enough to dispatch her myself to stop the egg eating & feather pecking. Varta's really coming out of her shell since head hen vanished; it's as though she's got a new lease of life. I'd feel guilty for having not intervened myself if Duracell wasn't so upset by Energiser's disappearance...
How long does it take for a flock (of 3) to settle down & start laying again? Should I be stocking up on eggs from Sainsburys?
 
We've had the same experience Icemaiden. A bully hen goes and a 'shrinking violet' gets a new lease of life. Molly was eaten by a Chasse dog and her companion Lucy started laying like she never has before. So happy and talkative. Unfortunately I found her dead in the nest box a few weeks ago, before the heatwave. She died a very happy hen, having survived the dog attack, two weeks blindness and the subsequent abdominal infection.

Takes about two weeks for them to settle in my experience. So don't buy too many eggs. You won't like them anyway
 
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