killing

urd · 02-02-04, 02:23 PM

what in yuor opinion is the quickest, cheapest and easiest way to kill feeder rats and mice? i mean pinkies right up to adults?

thanx in advance for any suggestions!:skull:

Linds · 02-02-04, 02:36 PM

Small to adult rats: Pillowcase off a hard surface
Rat pups and fuzzy to adult mice: Plastic bag of a hard surface
Pinky rats and mice: Pinch their skulls (pinch on an angle so the brain shoots back in to the body, not out the nose - they will still squirm but they are not conscious, it is just the nerves reacting)

All are are cheap and instantly render the animals unconscious and/or dead if done properly.

vanderkm · 02-02-04, 02:41 PM

Carbon dioxide gas is accepted as the most humane method for killing large numbers of rodents. It requires a set-up with a source of CO2 and confinement area for the rodents. A search of this forum will give several possible set ups but this will be moderately expensive if you are dealing with only a few animals.

Cervical dislocation (breaking the neck) ensures a rapid death and is humane when it is done by someone experienced. It is suitable for mice larger than fuzzies and for young rats, but is hard to perform correctly on adult rats. They can be killed humanely by blunt trama to the skull which most people achieve by 'whacking' them on a solid surface or floor. Pinkies and fuzzies can be killed by flicking the base of the skull or (Lind's method - and very effective) pinching the skull to crush the brain.

These methods are hands-on and may be seen as brutal but are effective and humane when done correctly. They are also inexpensive because they require little equipment. They are the quickest, cheapest and easiest in my opinion.

There are many several previous posts on this forum that give the details of breaking necks and whacking rats if you cannot get someone who is experienced to demonstrate for you,

mary v.

Auskan · 02-02-04, 02:43 PM

For pinkies, I just flick them hard in the back of the head. All others I have a cloth sack with a draw string. I put them in, make sure they're in the bottom of the sack, then hit them hard against the edge of a table in a downwards swing motion (I'd rather overdo and have it over for the animal in a split second than underdo it).

sapphire_moon · 02-02-04, 02:46 PM

With pinks I just flicked the back of their head. They stop moving, then started moving again (freaked me out!) but when I checked for a heart beat there was nothing. so it was just nerves.

When I have to kill anything bigger than a fuzzy I plan on getting dry ice and gassing them. I will try my hand at whacking, but if I can't do it then I will gas..

Ya try doing a cervical dislocation on a rat that is about half a pound (boy has my "little male" rat grown) I was just trying to look at his ear (nice little hole in it, but it's all healed) and was using the tongs (salad tossers) to try and hold down his head. UH HUH, forget it, he got his head out every time. And since I didn't want to hurt or kill him (atleast then, he's one of my breeders) so I just put him back in the rubbermaid.

Auskan · 02-02-04, 02:53 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by sapphire_moon
When I have to kill anything bigger than a fuzzy I plan on getting dry ice and gassing them. I will try my hand at whacking, but if I can't do it then I will gas..

Sapphire, the first time is definitely the hardest. The poor rat that was my first was probably a bit nauseous by the time I finally whacked, as I started to a couple of times, but stopped the swing before I made contact

I finally just took a deep breath and did it, and when I realized it had been successful first time and probably very little to no suffering for the rat, I didn't feel as bad about doing it next time. I figure its a lot quicker than if I fed it live to the snake and it had to put up with the bite and then the suffocation for a minute or so before losing consciousness.

sapphire_moon · 02-02-04, 03:00 PM

I know I will always be the one doing it. As I've said, my partner begged me to keep the 2 boys....and she knew I was planning on keeping the female for breeding. So the last 3 were kept, 2 until they die naturaly and 1 until she can't produce for me anymore. It will be really hard because I used to keep rats as pets.

annieb_mice · 02-02-04, 09:29 PM

I just want to add a quick note about "whacking" rats. Though personally I would recommend the dry ice <CO2> method, if you're only going to kill a few rats, whacking them would be cheaper.
If you ARE going to whack... make sure you hit it HARD, especially if the rats are large. I've known several people that have tried whacking rats and had to do it several times before the rat would die because they didn't do it hard enough the first time. :P
Good luck!
Take care
Annie B. <:3 )~~

One More Herper · 02-02-04, 09:41 PM

I built a CO2 chamber for 40$. I took the CO2 Cylinder and hose from my paintball gun, Cut a sheet of Plexiglass with a hole for the hose to cover an old 10gal aquarium. When i wnat to use it, i put the mice in it and crack the valve. It takes about 3 minutes for the to loose concesinous (can't spell) and 5 for them to die. I get about 6mths of co2 for 5 dollars.

sapphire_moon · 02-02-04, 11:34 PM

dry ice here is only 1 dollar a pound. So I don't mind spending that. Plus since my other female rats seem to be pregnant (finally) I will be gassing more rats than I would have.

To me spending 1 dollar (or less) every 3 wks or so isn't really bad.

Auskan · 02-03-04, 09:59 AM

Where do you get dry ice?

sapphire_moon · 02-03-04, 01:36 PM

wal-mart.....it's $1 a pound. Atleast at my wal-mart (in ottawa) they do. It's Penguin Dry Ice, I don't know if they have a website or not.......call your local wal-mart (or around you) and see if they have it.

Syco · 02-03-04, 04:19 PM

I was given a fire extinguisher that contains CO2, it's full right now and the guy said it only cost like $15 to refill it.
My problem is how to convert the hose to use for my purposes. The CO2 would come out with way to much force the way it is now, has anyone ever done this?

snakehunter · 02-06-04, 11:43 AM

i use a pair of pliers to crush the spinal chord at the base of the skull, quik death

Auskan · 02-06-04, 12:01 PM

This method was recommended by someone recently and someone else on here replied that it is actually an agonizing death. I've never tried, so can't comment, but I wouldn't recommend it just in case.