Feeder rodents

[mark129er]

This sounds foolish but I was wondering what the most "humane" way would be to kill a feeder rodent. At present i am placing them in a canvas bag and "gently" smashing the bag off the nearest sturdy object. I know it sounds barbaric but thats the best thing I could come up with. If anyone has a better method I would love to hear it.

Thanks, Mark

[Amiechann]

CO2 seems like the most humane way, but may be hard to come by, and to set up a "gas" chamber can be a pain in the butt.. We opt for the "grab by the tail and 'Whack" method

[CyberGypsy]

I "wack" em' too.
Gas is more humane, but less cost effective (unless you're gassing a lot at a time).
Another method is cervical dislocation. Hold the rodents head down with a pencil or wooden dowel or something on the back of its neck. Grasp the tail and pull up firmly...not as hard as you can there Conan, else it can get messy. Breaks the animals neck, more humane than wacking.

[Linds]

This is one of the most frequently asked questions in this forum. Run a search and you will come up with many different threads, but all the same info pretty much. I use your method... though I wouldn't describe it as being gentle. I put all my body weight in to doing the medium - large sized rats :eek:

A few previous discussions...

<a href="http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=17326&highlight=humane"> 'nice' way to kill a rat?</a> - 39 replies
<a href="http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9833&highlight=humane">Sorry folks..another question-killing feeders</a> - 32 replies
<a href="http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=7637&highlight=humane">Mice killing</a> - 31 replies

[mark129er]

Asphyxiation is far from humane, if you have ever been placed in an oxygen reduced situation you would know that gasping for air really sucks. Thanks for all the input.

[Linds]

Mark,
Gassing is not the same as being drowned or choked out. It behaves much in the same manner as carbon monoxide. It is not detectable by odour, it just makes you very sleepy then you pass out and die, this is why people are killed from Carbon Monoxide leaks, they have no clue what is happening. Drowning and choking on the other hand are the worse ways to kill an animal. Minutes of pure panic :(

[Classic]

Screw a mouse trap to a piece of plywood (12"by12") or any sturdy surface and use the trap. Obviously you hold the trap back by hand and let go when the rodent is in place. Works very well for me.

[Bartman]

wacking sounds the best..a quick bang and there dead..no suffering.

[mykee]

I also put them in a ziploc bag, and throw it on the floor, hard. Death is immediate, and hopefully painless.

[Lisa]

Gassing so far has cost us $2 (katey asked for $2 of dry ice and they gave her a bucket full) over a period of 3 or 4 months. Dry Ice isn't hard to come by, you can get it at places that have welding supplies and canadian tire now carries CO2 (at least the one in uxbridge does). Building a gas chamber is pretty cheap, we use a bucket with a lid, a deli cup with water and a couple cubes of dry ice. this will do about 10-15 rats at once. We get about 2 or 3 cups for free, this is more then enough to do 40+ rats. Try wacking 40+ rats in one sitting.