Raising chickens for home consumption is a must for every homeowner that decided to stay off-grid. However, things can get quite tricky when it comes to slaughtering them for meat. Hence, most people would usually choose to use a pellet gun to kill them quickly without having to deal with the blood of the chickens.
The answer is yes you may shoot your chicken to harvest them for their meat but you will also need to keep in mind that you need to shoot them at the right spot. If you shoot your chicken at the wrong spot then your chicken will end up suffering more than it should and it could still be alive. In a nutshell, shooting a chicken with a pellet gun is fine for as long as you have a good aim to kill it instantly.
Can You Shoot a Chicken in the Head?
Yes, you may shoot the chicken in the head but more specifically you will need to aim for the back of the base of your chicken’s skull. By aiming for this spot, you will be able to ensure the instant death of your chicken. The use of a pellet gun is highly recommended for the process of slaughtering your chickens.
A perfect example of an ideal pellet gun to use to slaughter your chicken is the .22 caliber pellet gun at 1000 fps. However, you may also use the .177 calibre pellet at 1200 fps if you manage to get your hands on one. This type of pellet gun will also get the job done but regardless of which one you choose to use, be sure to aim for the right spot. If you feel that you have bad aim then it’s better to just use an axe instead to chop the head off.
How Do You Properly Shoot a Chicken?
First Step: Find the Pellet Gun that Satisfies Your Shooting Needs
While it’s true that the two types of pellets guns mentioned above are perfect to be used for slaughtering, different people have different shooting styles. Hence, you need to find just the right pellet gun that meets all of your shooting needs so that you will be able to have the perfect shot every single time.
When it comes to choosing the right pellet gun, it can be quite confusing at first as there is a wide variety of options that are available on the market currently. Each of these pellets guns has a specific model that serves a particular purpose so you will need to choose the right one for you based on your shooting skill.
Second Step: Learn How to Shoot Your Chickens The Right Way
Learning to shoot your chickens the right way is vital in ensuring an instant death of your chickens. If you have no prior experience in shooting, then it’s highly recommended for you to practice your shooting skills first. You may do so in any of your local shooting academy near you to sharpen your shooting skills.
Apart from that, you may also practice on your own but be sure to find a suitable location for your training session to prevent any unwanted injuries or accidents. Once you are getting used to having a perfect shot for everything that you aim for, then that means that you are ready to shoot a real chicken by yourself.
Third Step: Choosing the Right Pellets for Your Chickens
There is a lot of types of pellets available in the market nowadays that will surely make it difficult for beginners to pick the right one for them. Hence, you must educate yourself about the type of pellets that you need. Some pellets are specifically designed by experts to kill tiny creatures such as varmints and rodents.
On the other hand, some are also made to kill larger animals such as deer and feral hogs. If you are an avid hunter then you are most likely already familiar with the types of pellets to choose from. However, if you’re a beginner then it’s highly recommended for you to pick the ones that we have to recommend earlier.
Once you are ready to try other types of pellets then feel free to try them out before you buy them to analyze the penetration power of each pellet.
Fourth Step: Some Things that You Might Want to Know Before Shooting Your Chickens
The first thing to keep in mind is that you will need to euthanize your chicken correctly in the most humane way possible to prevent any unnecessary suffering. Utilizing a pellet gun is perfectly fine if it is being used the right way. Otherwise, it will only defeat the entire purpose of being humane to the chickens. Your round needs to be quick. Anywhere faster than 800 feet per second is recommended.
Firstly, place the muzzle of your pellet gun at the back of your chicken’s skull. Then, please ensure the altitude of the muzzle to be high enough at the level of your eye. One of the critical steps to do before you shoot is to ensure your positioning is locked on the target.
Just in case you missed your target then you will need to shoot the target again as soon as you possibly could. It’s highly recommended for you to always bring a spare round for such cases. Shooting at the level of the eye pierces through the spinal cord of the chicken and its brain. This happens extremely fast to the extent that the chicken will feel less to no pain at all during the process.
Compared to other methods, the level of pain that the chicken feel is relatively lower when it is being shot at the level of the eye. One thing to avoid is to shoot the chicken anywhere lower than the level of the eye.
This is because the level of pain that the chicken feel will be excruciating. You will also need to ensure that your alignment is correct.
Fifth Step: Checking on the Chicken
Once you have successfully shoot your chicken at the right spot, then you will need to check whether the chicken is dead or otherwise. It’s normal for you to observe any kinds of jerking and twisting motions. This happens due to the reaction from the nerves and it’s not due to the extreme pain that the chicken feels.
So far, this is the best method to euthanize your chicken properly for consumption or to end its pain due to any sickness. If you’re following each of these steps properly then you would be able to avoid any kinds of horror that would haunt you in the future.
