A question about euthanasia. PS all my babies are fine.

[addictedtochins]

Can someone explain the different humane methods. I don't know what is done during the heart stick procedure. I just wanted to learn more. All my pets are 100% fine.
Is there a safe way to do it at home if it was needed??

 

[Spoof]

Cervical dislocation is legal and widely used.
Gassing is legal.
Electrocution is not legal, but popular among pelting herds.

Most vets put them down with potassium (give them a heart attack).

 

[ticklechin]

My vet uses the gas that puts the chins under in a glass tank, then uses the heart stick.

There was a member of CNQ and another forum who had a home made CO2 gas chamber at home that she used to put chins down, that was just not for me.

 

[Peep_erz]

I just recently learned that guillotine's are considered humane. They have to meet very specific requirements. I think this is mainly used for research purposes though.

 

[aznmexaggie]

Euthasol injection is also legal, however, its use is restricted and it is not available to the public.

ETA: I don't know if anyone is interested, but these are the methods used for various species: http://www.ahc.umn.edu/rar/euthanasia.html

 

[fanofdmb84]

I've seen (attempted) heart sticks, and after that, I would never ever consider doing it to a conscious animal (gassing first would be fine). IMO, a heart-stick alone is far from humane. Years and years ago I did an at-home gas chamber to euthanize a rat, and it worked quickly and effectively, but the noise scared her so she was a little panicky. If worst came to worst and I had to do it again, I would go with cervical dislocation. I've seen that done and it was so much faster and calmer than other methods.

 

[Claire D]

Most vets put them down with potassium (give them a heart attack).

That's interesting - most vets here use barbiturates.


Every chin I have had PTS has been anaesthetised by gas ( the chin is placed in a plastic box with the lid on & isoflurane & oxygen are pumped into the box) to the point of deep unconsciousness - as deep if not slightly deeper than if the vet was about to perform surgery on them - then the chin has a cardiac stick. The drug is injected straight into the heart & the chin is dead within seconds.
It is painless & not distressing for the chin - it's often very distressing for the owner. It is always carried out with dignity & the greatest respect for the animal.

 

[Spoof]

That's interesting - most vets here use barbiturates.

Potassium is cheaper. They used it a lot on horses when I was at college because of that, I assisted with one once and it was horrible. Horses do not go down fast when their heart stops, they struggle a lot and will kill you if you're not careful.

 

[threewingedfury]

I use cervical dislocation. As Tara mentioned, it is humane and widely used. I find it to be the easiest and most painless way for a chin to go, but I don't think it should be used unless you're trained to do it properly or you could just make the situation worse.

 

[Claire D]

Potassium is cheaper. They used it a lot on horses when I was at college because of that, I assisted with one once and it was horrible. Horses do not go down fast when their heart stops, they struggle a lot and will kill you if you're not careful.

That's awful - I am glad the vets here use barbiturates & not potassium.

 

[AZChins]

That's interesting - most vets here use barbiturates.

That's what my vet uses.

 

[cindyv3737]

What is cervical dislocation. How is it done?

 

[AZChins]

It's breaking the chin's neck.

 

[GorillaJTA]

Cervical dislocation is legal and widely used.
Gassing is legal.
Electrocution is not legal, but popular among pelting herds.

Most vets put them down with potassium (give them a heart attack).

KCl is only acceptable in anesthetized animals, so by that point why not just use a barbiturate overdose.
Barbiturates are extremely painful if they are not IV.

Guillotining is very specially used in labs and only when pharmaceutics may interfere with experiments.

Cervical dislocation is not REALLY supposed to be used on rats, so I am not sure how humane it is for chins.

C02 in a closed gas chamber would be the most cost effective and humane method in my opinion. After that would be gas anesthesia with barb overdose.

 

[GorillaJTA]

What is cervical dislocation. How is it done?

Cervical dislocation involves putting pressure at the base of the neck and pulling/wrenching to break the spinal cord. It should ONLY be done with proper training since doing it incompletely or incorrectly can cause the animal massive amounts of pain as well as a long slow death.
A lot of people who use CD use it as a secondary (confirmatory) method of euthanasia.

 

[minrex]

AVMA Guidelines on Euthanasia (this document explains the different methods of euthanasia and whether or not they are considered humane): http://www.avma.org/issues/animal_welfare/euthanasia.pdf

 

[GorillaJTA]

AVMA Guidelines on Euthanasia (this document explains the different methods of euthanasia and whether or not they are considered humane): http://www.avma.org/issues/animal_welfare/euthanasia.pdf

Hey now! Don't bring official documents with simple succinct information here! You are going to hurt our delicate disposition and take away my opportunities to show off.

 

[Laurie]

Having watched my sister die before my eyes I would only consider taking my animal to a vet who would first drug or put the animal under before performing the euthanasia. No living creature accepts death without a fight--even when they know it is time to go. They fight and will fight until the bitter end. Having to see this and hear a death rattle is very emotionally painful. I am very, very, VERY big on drugging anyone or anything until it feels no pain and then having it put down.

 

[cindyv3737]

Eek!

 

[RDZCRanch]

That's interesting - most vets here use barbiturates.

All the vets I have ever spoken with (dog, cat, and exotic...not cattle or horse) use a barbiturate solution for euthanasia.

A nonsterile solution containing pentobarbital sodium and phenytoin sodium as the active ingredients. Rhodamine B, a bluish-red fluorescent dye, is included in the formulation to help distinguish it from parenteral drugs intended for therapeutic use. Although the solution is not sterile, benzyl alcohol, a bacteriostat is included to retard the growth of microorganisms.

That's the contents of euthanasol which is a product from Schering & Plough. It's widely used by veterinarians that do a heart stick.

I know of vets that do the heart stick, IMO, without sedation first it's not ethical. Can you imagine having your heart stopped and being awake to feel it? Sedation then euthanasia is the only way to go about a heart stick.

I have also done a gas chamber set up with dry ice. It went very well for both the chinchilla and myself. I swaddled her like a burrito and made her as comfortable as possible, then introduced the gas. She didn't smell it and the dry ice melting in close proximity (not touching) kept her at a nice temperature. She went to sleep and then passed on, no struggling or crying but you have to use a large amount of dry ice. I had my brother help me, and he's been working with dry ice for the past couple years in his labs so he knows exactly how it works.