What is the most humane method of slaughtering chicken?

Question

And I mean this is for consumption, so anything that will affect the edibility (drug,poison, gas) is not ruled out automatically.
Some methods:
brain shot (technically this sould mean instant loss of consciousness)
Cutting of neck arteries
chopping head off
... any other inputs?

I heard that chopping the whole head off, makes it not bleed out as good because the heart stops pumping blood when the spinal cord is severed.

hmm... I don't think asphyxiation by CO2 would qualify as quick death in my book. I mean the things are going to try to breathe for a while. Using CO might be better since it puts them to sleep first.

Answer 1

Use a very sharp axe and a good stable wood block (stump). Put two 3" spikes in the block about an inch apart (to hold the neck and prevent the chicken from moving its head.

Grab the chicken by its legs and place the chickens head on the block with the neck between the nails and pull tight enough so the chicken cannot pull its head out. Now with one quick chop the job is done. Right after you chop hold the chicken and neck away from you to prevent getting to much blood on you. This is as fast as it gets for the chicken. TIP: Wear old clothes that you don't mind a bit of blood getting on them as this will happen.

As with any animal, the nerves will make the chicken wiggle etc. but it is only nerves. Don't let the chicken go - this can only harm and contaminate the bird. Once it stops moving your ready for the next one or plucking which has its own set of tricks.

To make this humane, make sure you can chop accurately (hit the neck for sure) and chop the head off right away. Don't hesitate or make the bird lay on the block any longer than needed, put it on the block, pull tight and chop - the faster the better.

A very sharp medium size axe works good - to small and you may not have success in one chop which is not fair or respecting the bird.

In the years that I lived on a farm doing this, one thing I always did not matter which animal it is - pray for the animals soul to go to a place of peace and respect it. Better results will come if you don't get the birds to excited beforehand - if you do, let them settle down - they have a very short memory.

Answer 2

Brain shot sounds best, as bleeding to death sounds like no fun, and chickens have lived YEARS with their heads cut off *fed by hand through the right hole, of course* because the person slaughtering them somehow missed the brainstem. Why they kept the headless bird alive beats me, but it's happened.

Maybe break the neck?

Answer 3

Depending on how many chickens you have to process you can you can rent a bottle of CO2 from a welding supply. You can take a trash can and drill a small hole in the side of it, to which you can hook a tube to the CO2 bottle. Put your chickens in the trash can, put the lid on and turn the CO2 bottle on for 20 seconds. This will suffocate them, to which you can remove their heads.
My wife and I did approx 50 chickens this way.

Hope it helps.

Answer 4

Cutting the neck does'nt kill the chicken instantly but it make loose consciousness.
The chicken will die when the heart runs out of blood.
I rather go to a supermarket and buy one that has been" processed".Left it to me I probably will become a vegetarian.

Answer 5

My mother-in-law use to raise chickens. When she was ready to kill one she would just grab it and wring [twist] it's neck. Then she would just cut the head off. I don't know if this was quick; but, in Tennessee ; on small farms; this is how they did it.

Answer 6

I remember my dad and grandfather cutting the heads off on a stump in the back yard and then hanging them in the cellar to bleed off and to me where's the humane thing come in, when you kill something you kill it period!

Answer 7

My Grannie always hung them on cloths line and cut their head off they bled out real well

Answer 8

just lop the little buggers head off and then dip it in scalding water to make the plucking easier

Answer 9

i snap the neck