Need a chicken killin' tool.

M3mphis said:
Taking their heads off is so messy, tho. Does "bleeding" a bird make any difference if you're cleaning them right away?
Click to expand...

I prefer to bleed them. You have to be careful when you behead them that not too much blood gets pulled down the trachea.
 
Zach Gulsby said:
I prefer to bleed them. You have to be careful when you behead them that not too much blood gets pulled down the trachea.
Click to expand...

When I cull my chickens I tie their feet with twine and hang them upside down off a tree branch. I've got a "chopping block" screwed to the tree such as not to harm it, and I stretch out their neck with a loosely tied noose then give 'em the whack. Head comes off in one neat blow and then it all bleeds out.
 
[
When I cull my chickens I tie their feet with twine and hang them upside down off a tree branch. I've got a "chopping block" screwed to the tree such as not to harm it, and I stretch out their neck with a loosely tied noose then give 'em the whack. Head comes off in one neat blow and then it all bleeds out.
Click to expand...
Wow, do they get a blindfold, smoke and a last request lol. My buddy talks about killing chickens with a ice pick somewhere to the head - when done right they pluck easier. But he just wrings their necks - go figure.

On the original topic- if you are mainly use the tool for brush removal- I would go with a large blade like the farm knife posted or a parang. Might as well get a different type tool for each grandkid so they don't have to fight over who gets them.
 
A Visitor said:
[
Wow, do they get a blindfold, smoke and a last request lol. My buddy talks about killing chickens with a ice pick somewhere to the head - when done right they pluck easier. But he just wrings their necks - go figure.

On the original topic- if you are mainly use the tool for brush removal- I would go with a large blade like the farm knife posted or a parang. Might as well get a different type tool for each grandkid so they don't have to fight over who gets them.
Click to expand...

I don't bother with plucking mine--I skin 'em. My chickens are layers, though, so it's not often that I have to off them. ;)
 
Lots of great chicken killers out there. Take a look at the Fiddleback machetes. They come in 12, 14, 16, and 18" lengths. Handles are very comfortable and price is around $100

Or if you want the ultimate chicken killing bling, get one of these: A bit more than $300 though

attachment.php
 
Last edited:
Make a killing cone out of an old javex jug by cutting off the spout and secure to a post with hole pointing downward. Place chicken into killing cone so that their head and neck stick out. Simply slit the throat using your knife and let it bleed out, then move onto scalding, pluckin, guttin and finally cooking. pretty simple. Or just hold bird onto chopping block and remove the head with one chop. No rocket science to it.
 
M3mphis said:
Taking their heads off is so messy, tho. Does "bleeding" a bird make any difference if you're cleaning them right away?
Click to expand...
We bleed ours. I don't cut the head off right away, I just use my 'custom' elk antler handled mora to cut the jugular. They bleed out real nice that way.
If you cut off the head and sever the spine right away, it causes the nerves to tighten making it harder to pluck.
We kill about 30 or so each year this way.
 
A common method of killing them without causing spasms is an ice pick upwards through the soft region behind their palate. Goes right into the brain and they go totally limp, or so I hear. Never done it myself though.
 
I learned from my grandmother, it was an old worn out paring knife sharpened to almost an ice pick shape, but still with a cutting edge. She could stick a chicken running the blade the blade into the mouth and up into the brain at about a 17 degree angle, hang it upside down by its feet, watch until the feathers relaxed and run her hands from tail to head and 90% of the plucking was done with one or two passes, also works with turkeys. Then the head came off using the same knife with a little slice between the first vertebrae and the skull.

You see the same influence when you try to catch a chicken, it will shed feathers easily if scared - to leave you with a hand full of feathers and chicken gone. For some neurological reason this does not work when you cut their heads off first.

She let me try, I failed miserably several times and got to pluck the chickens, finally learned. Have not done it since 1959, but bet it still works.
 
Yes, this looks very menacing BUT the truth is I would get the 'hawk before one of my lovely brides show winning hens.....
This is "Aretha"...she shares my love of 'hawks and cheese doodles....She left a little "present" right in the middle of my photo session....

kith1.jpg
 
I killed many chickens by breaking their necks with a flick of the wrist while holding their heads between the middlevand index finger, absolutely no neck wringing; then they go heads down into a metal funnel to keep them steady
Then, beheading and cleaning While still warm
 
You guys are so inhumane!
I've Never killed a Chicken!
Although they are delicious when deep fried... I typically just order them by the bucket. (Please note the sarcasm in this statement.)

If I didn't live in suburbia I'd probably know more than how to raise dogs and goldfish.
 
Wringing, etc are more practical. The Condor golok or village parang or pack golok would be what I'd use for chopping, since you have less chance of missing or hitting partway than with a hatchet or axe.
 
Or this one Foster Bro's #8
IMGP1302.jpg


It's in the process of getting a new osage orange handle at the moment.
 
just like ed fowler described his grandmother doing i have an older poultry book and it shows cutting the birds jugular vien by putting the knife in the chickens mouth and cutting just in back of the jaw.it goes on to say/ show how to stick the bird in the rear lobe of the brain to debrain the bird if it is going to be dry picked it makes the feathers come out easier
 
Last edited:
Way to go, you found documentation - I always wondered if anyone had recorded it. Thank you gldngrk.

So much of the practical information about the simple life has been lost it is good times to hear someone wrote it down.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top