method to kill mice/rats

[ortega]

I've herd about this method to kill mice/rats, but I'm wondering if anyone has ever tried it... You take a ruler and place it behind the mouses/rats head while it lays on a table/surface. Hold the head in place with ruler, grab the tail and give it a good tug. This will break the mouses neck. NO blood, not very much twiching at all. Anyone got any more info...

[vanderkm]

This will work with weaned to adult mice and very small rats - not with older than weaned rats unless you are very strong and have very good control.

There is still plenty of twitching because when the neck is broken there is massive stimulation of the nerves as the spinal cord is severed, and there is reflex movement of limbs, but as long as the neck is broken very high, near the skull, the trauma, internal bleeding to the brain result in virtually immediate unconsciousnesss and it is a very humane death.

The order of things you list is a bit off - you have to be holding the tail when you put the mouse down - not grasp it after you have placed the ruler (or other similar object) on the neck.

The rodent is usually very cooperative - when you are holding by the tail and place it on a rough surface it will usually try and crawl forward and extend its neck, so it is easy to place the object on the back of its neck near the skull. They only time they bleed is if you use too much pressure and break the skin - otherwise the bleeding is contained within the skin.

This is basically the method we used for thousands of mice and it is clean, humane and efficient. A pinch to the brain is better for pinkies and small fuzzy mice - the pressure of this method will usually separate the head from the body with very small rodents.

mary v.

[BoidKeeper]

I give them a knock on the head first then I do it. With rats anything larger then a hopper, I find that the spine breaks at the shoulder blades and not the neck.
When done right there is zero twiching.
Trevor

[Auskan]

Thanks Trevor, you've given me an idea. I've been afraid to try breaking the neck as I was really afraid of not doing it right and ending up causing the animal pain. I've been whacking, but do you think it would work to try breaking the neck of an already dead animal? I mean, just to get the practice on where to hold them, how much pressure needs to be applied etc? Then, once you've got the hang of it, you can try it on live animals?

[sapphire_moon]

I think it might work if the animal is still twitching, as it gives you practice on a "Resisting" animal, i don't think there are many rats/mice that is going to "mind" you putting something on the back of their neck where they can't see. It would usually put them in a panick because they would feel like they are being attack by a predator.
Atleast I think so. lol

I usually gas (if I have over 10 to kill) or whack.

[Cake]

This is the way we kill rats in one of my classes. It does work on adult rats but you gotta do it quick and not be afraid. For adults you gotta hold them in your hand so just the shoulders and head are out of your hand. They dont like this very much and will try and get a grip on your hand with their back feet. Hold em tight so they cant push off with their front feet. Give a good whack across teh back of the head so they are knocked out. This makes it much easier. push down and forward with a cylindricle bar at the base of the skull and pull from teh base of the tail.

Practice makes perfect though and you cant learn by watching others do it, hands on experience with someone talking you through it is the best way. Your first try will most likely result with a stuned rat with a broken clavicle. But that will just make you want to do it right.