Here's the fastest, cheapest way: Get a thick section of log or a tree stump. Place it on the ground so it forms a flat horizontal surface. Drive two nails into the surface so it is just large enough to hold a live chicken's neck. Place the bird on the stump, put its neck between the two nails, gently tug it to straighten out the neck, cut the head off with one quick whack of a hatchet. Death is instantaneous.

Alternatively, buy a steel kill cone (they have them on eBay), hang the bird upside down in the cone, its head and neck protrude from the bottom, rotate its head 45 degrees to the left, and cut its jugular vein (don't cut so deep that it severs the trachea). It bleeds out in less than a minute. Fairly painless if done right, and you get a better carcass for cooking with the blood drained.

That's the mechanical part. Can't help you with the psychology of it except by saying this is a humane end to a life that --by chicken standards-- was probably a great one. Consider that in a commercial poultry house about 1,200 birds are kept in an area the size of your bathroom. The meat birds live only seven weeks, and they kill them by dragging them head-first through electrified water and then running them through an automatic throat-slitting machine that may or may not work before they're dunked into scalding water.

We like the killing cone. As far as not liking to do this chore I think that's a good sign. Hate to meet someone who love to slaughter their animals. Tom

:)

you guys answeres helped me a lot. in both the practical emotional and physical aspect of it. THANKS.

i think i might also make a place for it around the corner where my neighbors kids won't accidentally look around and see what i'm doing. they are out there and into mischief alot. have always wanted to teach them a lesson about invasion of privacy, but don't think i want to teach them that badly. lol.

i think my biggest fear is the first time not killing it quickly enough or doing it but then not being able to eat it the first time. i guess if i freak out the first time and throw it deep deep deep down in the garbage that's okay.

i had heard that they did need to bleed. so the cone puts them in position to finish their bleeding. if you used an axe, you would just hang it upside down from a tree (or whatever)? it would take longer?

have also heard that plucking it is the hardest as far as tedious and time consuming. do you have to scald it first? do you tend to do a bunch at one time to make it worth the trouble? i'm a person who lives by myself. i guess i could freeze them.

i am both squeamish and practical. lol. poor little chickens who will make a great dinner.

also, the yard where i keep them is really pretty big. is it okay to do the whole thing in there, or will that make them always run away from me next time? if there was a zombie or whatever who was eating MY neighbors, i think i would be less likely to come the next time they offered me food, even my very favorite.

oh. and does the blood draw the neighborhood dogs and make them bloodthirsty so to speak. so far i amazingly have neighbor cats and dogs coexisting with ducks and so forth. i didn't know if they got any of the blood if all that effort would be wasted?

thanks!!!!!!!!!!1

They won't bleed out as much if you use a hatchet. They need a brain to continue to pump blood. Cutting the jugular is better for bleeding them out but doesn't cause instantaneous death.

If you use a hatchet, immediately hang them upside down.

You should scald them for a minute at 145 degrees.

We slaughter them by hanging them by their feet (no cone) and cutting the jugular. We've never had problems with the blood attracting pests.

Plucking by hand is so great a nuisance that we aren't going to do it anymore, and even a one-chickie size automatic plucker is several hundred dollars on ebay.

So, we're going to try peeling the entire skin off whole, feathers and all (like with a rabbit). Have read that it works, though you get a bit less meat out of the bargain. Anyone else tried this?

this is useful info. thanks both of you.

I have skinned chickens and it really is not hard. You can find directions on line if you do a search. It really is not that messy either...

I always skin my chickens. You don't lose any meat, just the skin and fat and who needs the calories?

After skinning, I remove the thighs and drumsticks, filet the breast meat from the carcass, remove the wings and neck. I soak the meat in cold water to chill it, then if I am doing several birds at once I package the parts in packages that will serve the three of us. The white meat I use for stir fry or grilled chicken. The drumsticks, wings and giblets I use for chicken pot pie. The thighs I cook slowly in a sauce. The carcass I simmer with herbs and spices for soup. There is enough meat on the bones to make a nice chicken vegetable or chicken noodle soup.

To backtrack a bit, after dealing with the meat, I open the bird and remove the innards. I save the gizzard, heart and liver. The gizzard has to be slit along one edge and then the lining and contents peeled away. The liver must have the gall bladder removed. Do this away from the other meat... If you accidentally cut into it, the bile will spoil any meat it touches. You'll know if you cut it: it smells bad and is sort of a greenish black colour. Lots of people don't bother with the giblets, so if this is difficult for you, let it go at least for the first time or two.

A couple of practical things... Don't try to do more than one or two the first time. Don't eat the meat immediately... it is better for three days aging in the fridge. Order pizza or have something you have cooked in advance. Or go out to dinner. You'll have earned it.

The first time we killed chickens, I felt very queasy and shaky. The second time, I felt a bit queasy and shaky. I still find the actual killing difficult, but now, once they are dead, they are just meat to process. You do become accustomed, but only to a degree.

I agree with Skagit_Goat_Man... you don't ever want to get to the point where it is perfectly easy emotionally. Many people find it helps to thank the chicken for giving its life so that they may eat. A spiritual touch is not a bad thing, if it feels natural to you.

you guys are all really wonderful to be so specific and practical in the meat and the spiritual aspect. who knew i could get both questions addressed in one forum?

:)

Here's my kill cone set-up (four chickens, no waiting):

{{gwi:40869}}

thanks for showing me that. a picture is worth a thousand words. this is at one end of your coop? i am trying to figure out where i would do this in my small space. i'm telling myself it's the chicken's sensitivities i'm worried about but it's really mine. do wild birds (or whatever) come and eat up the bits of blood or whatever left on the ground. or it just soaks into the pine needles? it looks much cleaner than i imagined it could.