[lpm67]

She does sound egg bound, however I totally second CW's advice. Neck wringing sounds far harder than it is.... it is incredibly easy to dispatch a chook that way. Personally I prefer the axe, I make a wee cardboard cone and slip the chook into it upside down then tuck it under my arm laying the head (throat down) and simply chop. The cone seems to keep em calm and stops the worse of the flapping (flapping made me cry the first time I killed a chook). Goodluck and you might want to put a tad of olive oil on their mash if its egg-binding.

[rslt]

Well, when I got to her (she was under a piece of wood) she just rolled over on her side. I put on latex gloves and checked for eggs inside her and there weren't any. I put her down and she couldn't stand and looked in pretty bad shape. This was the third day with no food as well.
So I had no choice. I ended up breaking her neck but it took me a few tries, I won't go into the details but the main thing was, I was unsure if it was nerves or if she was not actually dead. All up it would have taken under a minute for her to stop moving.
Thanks for the help and it really was a mercy killing.

[blacksmith]

you did the right thing I have had to do it to many times over the years

[Rayzerm]

It's hard at the time, but at least it's over now. It would be worse to look at an animal slipping away over a long period while in pain all the time.

[lpm67]

Aw gee that sucks. Well done on dispatching her though....sometimes I wish we could do the same for ourselves (euthanasia) but thats totally illegal in this country...I suspect that will change worldwide in the next 20 years...saves on healthcare and pension$$$$, anyway thats another subject altogether.

[Rayzerm]

Originally Posted by lpm67

Aw gee that sucks. Well done on dispatching her though....sometimes I wish we could do the same for ourselves (euthanasia) but thats totally illegal in this country...I suspect that will change worldwide in the next 20 years...saves on healthcare and pension$$$$, anyway thats another subject altogether.

Now that is a whole can of worms to open up...

[AlpineZone]

Haven't killed a chicken in many years. The brain stab technique has been used by butchers for generations.

I always just tied legs together and hung them upside down on a make shift clothes line and grasp the neck firmly to calm them then open there mouth and stick a rapala fish fillet knife through the roof of it into there brain and twist. They go limp fast and it kills the nerve impulses.

For those who plan on eating there killed chicken it makes the feathers easier to pluck as well because there muscles are not tense.

Then I take the head off and let them bleed out then finish preparing them.

Hope this was useful.

[kevin]

unfortunate experience you went through, but good for you in displaying the fortitude to do what needed to be done.

[George]

Cardoard cone method is good when chopping head off, as bird doesn't flap around and doesn't splatter blood everywhere around.

Not pleasant experience, but think of it as it had to be done to reduce bird's suffering.

[Ron Fontaine]

When I raised turkeys I used the axe against the neck method. It didn't seem to be too traumatic. In fact the other turkeys would run right up hoping their turn was next, perhaps because they associated me with feeding them.

As for the .22lr bullet in the head method, never heard of that!