I'm just not certain we couldn't find a better way. Of course, in the older wars, the boys came in off farms and knew how to quickly dispatch and how to catch, kill and dress game. Since I was born on a chicken farm, I am not disturbed by the chicken choking routine. Chicken dispatch was fairly routine at home. I had to do this to get a 4-H project complete.
Feathers smell when wet.
And they have to be wet to remove them. And then they stick to your hand. Dead chickens have been known to run 50 feet or in circles,, even with the head cut off and the neck flopping back and forth. It has to do with muscles. And the fact they have a very small brain.