I learned from my mother when I was just a kid (when killing and cleaning the chickens became my chore).
I had to catch one, then hold it by the legs and lay it out on an old cottonwood “round” we’d haul around the garden.
She showed me that if you stroke the back of a chicken’s neck with the edge of your hatchet without ruffling its feathers, the bird will relax and stretch out its neck; almost like it’s falling asleep. Works on ducks, geese, guinea hens, and turkeys as well. Works with a machete too, but I still preferred to use a good sharp hatchet (I used my old hand-me-down Boy Scout hatchet, still have it somewhere).
Once the bird relaxes, it’s just one good WHACK! My town friends didn’t think it was quite fair - to “pet” them, then chop them - but I knew it was the quickest way to kill ‘em - ‘cause my mom told me so. Never bothered me a bit, and didn’t make a serial killer out of me either.
Then I had to carry the bleeding chicken over to whichever tomato plant she had put a big open-ended coffee can around, and set in there so it would bleed out over the plant. Then on to the next bird (we slaughtered and froze a month’s worth at a time).
BTW - My mom grew legendary tomatoes. Bigger than a grown man’s fist.
Good info....