Question Answered: How to Slaughter a Turkey

It’s Thanksgiving weekend and Turkey is on the menu.  Sure you could buy a frozen, or even a fresh turkey.  But maybe you raised a few birds over the summer, or somehow got your hands on a live one.  Now you’re wondering to yourself, how to slaughter a turkey?

Many of us have slaughtered chickens, and a lot of us have cleaned ducks.  But a Turkey is a lot bigger and a lot stronger.  So I decided to learn this for myself – of course I just searched for videos on YouTube.

Now killing animals is never fun, and neither is watching it on the internet.
But eating food that you grow at home is very fulfilling and one of the healthiest changes you can do in your life.  And if you are going to try butchering your own animals, you owe them to at least learn how to do it correctly ahead of time.

The three videos below show three different methods.  I can’t say that I am a fan of the throat slit & let bleed method.  Sure it may be easier for you, but the animals don’t die right away.

For chickens and ducks, the chop method is best.  The animals are dead right away, and you still have the chance to bleed them out.  I’m not a softie, but I prefer if they die quickly.  But a turkey is a lot bigger and stronger, I’m concerned that it would be difficult to control them after.   As the one video shows, this is partially the case.

Here’s a great article with pictures: Howling Duck Ranch

The videos also cover feather removal, gutting, cleaning, and some aspects of butchering.

Here are some videos on how to slaughter a turkey

* Graphic Videos – Animals Are Killed*

Weight Method (throat slit)

Cone Method (throat slit)

Chop Method