Killing Cripples Quickly and Humanely

Jeff Reardon

Jeff Reardon

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Odd question, but one that's come up twice this season.

What is the best method to dispatch cripples quickly?

We've had two the just refused to die.
 
I know all the ways official techniques and have used them, but in the end I just hold them by the feet and thump them hard against something hard, maybe several times. Hate the spinning neck breaker. I agree there are some that just refuse to die.



Jeff Reardon said:
Odd question, but one that's come up twice this season.

What is the best method to dispatch cripples quickly?

We've had two the just refused to die.
Click to expand...
 
Need a hard boat or blind floor but a heavy boot stomp on skull crushing it will finish them. Neck wringing usually works for me but that skull crunch is quicker.
 
Dispatching crippled birds has never been easier! ? Adrenal Line (adrenal-line.com)

I picked up one of these at Easton a few years back. It is on my waders, and works as advertised. I know the old-timers would make one with a large nail, but these were cheap at the show. I find the hollow at the back of the skull, and insert in and up, wiggle a little and dead bird. Pretty quick and does not do much damage, though not sure the taxidermist would agree. For real trophies, I drown them, though that is not as humane I will admit. I have a crabbing net I use for retrieving birds and that is easy to hold them under for a time.
 
That finisher is interesting, though a little pricey. I dispatch larger fish with a small knife slid behind the skull to sever the spine. Better than bashing their heads in.

One on Saturday was still crawling and flapping after a head knock that broke the skull and drew blood. I was glad we did not have a kid or a first timer along.
 
Jeff Reardon said:
One on Saturday was still crawling and flapping after a head knock that broke the skull and drew blood. I was glad we did not have a kid or a first timer along.
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Yes, I don't understand that, but I've seen it plenty of times.
 
I have one of the tools that Dave have has linked to have only used it a few times but is a handy thing.
 
Can't believe no one has mentioned just biting the heads off cripples. [ninja] [ninja] FWIW I usually just whack their heads on the deck of the boat.
 
A little chomp right above and behind the eye does them in quick and doesn't mess them up and worse then need be.
 
Well, I prefer to collapse their lungs or just sit on them. Depends on the situation. Is it more humane? Maybe not but since I never got the hang of wringing neck (also ugly pictures) or bashing their poor headbones on a gun stock (always ended up bloody and also not dead), I prefer to just sit on them or crush their lungs from their back.
 
Just let one of my friend's dogs retrieve them. They'll be dead by the time he returns from the retrieve.

Years ago I bought a Day's End Fowl Necker, a multi tool. I'm not sure if they are still being sold. The stainless pliers part of the tool breaks the neck of the duck. It does cut out the head bashing technique. For pheasants we grab them hard over the wings and pinch off their oxygen. Birds do their death flap in less than a minute. Probably same results to sitting on them Dani.
I have The Finisher on my lanyard as well.

Now I want to hear the best way to kill off a goose!
 
Dani said:
Well, I prefer to collapse their lungs or just sit on them. Depends on the situation. Is it more humane? Maybe not but since I never got the hang of wringing neck (also ugly pictures) or bashing their poor headbones on a gun stock (always ended up bloody and also not dead), I prefer to just sit on them or crush their lungs from their back.
Click to expand...


For me it just seems to take too long and there is always something to do right then (manage dog, get boat situated, etc...) when I can't be sitting there dealing with snuffing out the bird. Standard technique tho and not bloody and there definitely are bashed brain birds that refuse to shut down.


Thoracic compression.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326487824_Rapid_cardiac_compression_An_effective_method_of_avian_euthanasia
 
tod osier said:
For me it just seems to take too long and there is always something to do right then (manage dog, get boat situated, etc...) when I can't be sitting there dealing with snuffing out the bird. Standard technique tho and not bloody and there definitely are bashed brain birds that refuse to shut down.

Thoracic compression.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326487824_Rapid_cardiac_compression_An_effective_method_of_avian_euthanasia
Click to expand...

Tod, I got to where I've learned to hold onto the bird for the most part and handle the dog or do whatever I need to. However, I know that I am in the south where water is warmer, the boats I use smaller in protected waters and generally the birds I see are smaller so my little hands can deal with them for the most part while doing what I need to.

Finally got the Finisher video to play for me.....that's essentially what we do with Alligators once we have them on the edge of the boat. Use a knife or chisel and sever the spinal column and then a coat hanger right through the brain stem hole in the skull. No gator is allowed on the boat until both of those things are done.
 
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Dani said:
Well, I prefer to collapse their lungs or just sit on them. Depends on the situation. Is it more humane? Maybe not but since I never got the hang of wringing neck (also ugly pictures) or bashing their poor headbones on a gun stock (always ended up bloody and also not dead), I prefer to just sit on them or crush their lungs from their back.
Click to expand...

My experiences are nearly identical. I use a knee to the breast bone with all my weight and it works quickly. Maybe I need to go on a diet :) I will add this is a very good means if you plan to mount the duck as it doesn't present any problems for your taxidermist, unlike neck ringing.

Eric
 
Glad someone else said shoot them in the head.

I am usually running the dogs off the back of the boat so I get the bird once the dog is in the motor well. I take them from the dog and quickly twist the head in one direction while twisting the neck in the other direction. Snapping the spinal column. On occasion I have been known to whack their heads on the side of the motor well. But if you do that they will bleed out through the ear canals and you?ll be amazed at the amount of blood that?ll drain. It?s a bloody mess. If it?s a bird that someone wants for taxidermy, I usually lay it on its back and do the thorax compression with the heels of both hands. I don?t have the iron grip of Superman that Andy has on those starlings.
 
I wring necks most the time, especially on big geese when hurrying to pick up birds. It is hard to wring necks in a layout blind or little Marsh boat. I don't bite ducks anymore, some smell and taste bad. If I am going to crush skulls I just put the head on the gunnel in the boat or a stout post in the blind and press with the palm of my hand. I have had some pretty lively cripples in the layout with me when more birds were working.

Regardless of how you dispatch them, some always seem to do the funky chicken and not go quickly.
 
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After quite a few years of wringing necks, kneeling on geese, and bashing heads I've become really sold on the finisher tools. A buddy of mine has one that he let me borrow and it's quick, easy, and humane, as well as being easy to make a DIY version of. On a related note, we raise and slaughter around 20 meat chickens a year and by far the easiest way to kill them is to put them head down in a killing cone and cut their throat with a sharp knife, the sudden loss of blood pressure has them dead in around 10 seconds and you don't get nearly the amount of flapping around you get when chopping heads off. I have wondered if it would be worth setting something like that up if you had a permanent blind?
 
True story.

In high school a friend, a non-duckhunter, decided to take a taxidermy class. His instructor told him to bring a dead duck to class and he would begin the process of mounting his first animal. Not being hunting season and not wanting to go to the farmer's market Jay drove over to the local park where all sorts of domestic ducks lived. He coaxed a duck close enough to him with bread and stuffed the duck in a plastic heavy duty plastic bag. Jay decided to terminate the ducks life with the exhaust from his car. He taped the bag to the muffler and started the engine. The bag quickly filled up and popped off the tailpipe. Learning from this Jay cut a few slits in the bag allowing the fumes to flow though and escape the bag. This time he revved the engine, and in plain site of all the park visitors lord have mercy. His quote to me was "That duck was stone dead in 30 seconds." Proud of his accomplishment he duck to duck taxidermy class. The instructor held the mallard up and quickly noticed a MASSIVE body and itty-bitty wings. Sheepishly he said he did not want to know whose pet Jay offed.

Eric
 
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