Harvest hesitancy

[OzarkEgghead]

Hi everyone...

I want to increase my self-reliancy & I know the time is quickly coming when we will have to depend on what we can raise instead of what's in stores for atrocious prices. My problem is that I'm an extreme animal lover. I connect SO much more with animals than I do with people. I've resisted the temptation to name my hens or treat them like pets but just the thought of killing one of them...or any animal...has me in tears as I type this. I've read in other places where people pray over them before harvesting & thank them for their sacrifice.....but I'm still not sure I can do it & I know I *HAVE* to get over this now before it becomes an absolute necessity.

Are there any tips on how I can overcome the emotional part of harvesting?

 

[Isadora]

Have you seen this thread? We had some good discussion
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...f-mentally-for-first-time-butchering.1561627/

 

[OzarkEgghead]

Maybe raising chickens is not a good fit for you.

I've raised chickens since 2015 for eggs...but I've always allowed them to live out their natural lives whether they're still laying or not. I have no issues raising chickens. My issue is simply with killing them....and, as I said in my original post, I need to find a way to "get over it".

 

[OzarkEgghead]

Have you seen this thread? We had some good discussion
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...f-mentally-for-first-time-butchering.1561627/

I have not. I tried doing a search for a thread but I guess I didn't use the right search terms to find that one. I will definitely give it a look. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

 

[OzarkEgghead]

I've watched a few harvesting videos on YouTube. Frankly, I think I could eventually work up the courage & emotional fortitude to do the block & hatchet method since it seems so quick....if it wasn't for the way they flap around afterward. I know they're dead & the flapping is just a reflexive response of the muscles but, it just FEELS like the poor thing is suffering. If there's a way to prevent all of that flapping & jerking & perceived suffering, I think I MIGHT be able to do it.

 

[Sammster]

I hear you. I feel this way, too. I've resorted to finding someone else to do the harvesting, if we come to that point.

 

[Sally PB]

I know they're dead & the flapping is just a reflexive response of the muscles

Can't stop the reflexes

If there's a way to prevent all of that flapping

There isn't, really

perceived suffering

THIS is what you can change, your perception. I'm not saying you shouldn't feel anything about causing the bird's death.

If you provide the bird the best life you can, with the quickest death you can, IMO, you have done well.

 

[OzarkEgghead]

I hear you. I feel this way, too. I've resorted to finding someone else to do the harvesting, if we come to that point.

To be honest, I feel like such a wuss. My grandmother did it. It was a way of life when she was growing up & started a household of her own. If she could be strong enough to do it, why can't I? It just makes me feel so weak when I'm so strong & resilient in other areas. I wonder, sometimes, if Grandma would be disappointed in that weakness.

 

[Isadora]

To be honest, I feel like such a wuss. My grandmother did it. It was a way of life when she was growing up & started a household of her own. If she could be strong enough to do it, why can't I? It just makes me feel so weak when I'm so strong & resilient in other areas. I wonder, sometimes, if Grandma would be disappointed in that weakness.

It's not a fair comparison. Like you said, it was your grandmother's way of life. It doesn't have to be a way of life for most people these days. It's all too easy to buy chicken at the store. Don't be too hard on yourself about it.

 

[OzarkEgghead]

Can't stop the reflexes

There isn't, really

THIS is what you can change, your perception. I'm not saying you shouldn't feel anything about causing the bird's death.

If you provide the bird the best life you can, with the quickest death you can, IMO, you have done well.

That last part is what I'm trying to keep in mind. Several people at my church raise & harvest various fowl. I'm not sure how they all do it but the one lady puts them in a cone & then uses some of those long-handled branch lopping shears to decapitate them. From what she said, the cone seems to help prevent all of the flapping. But that branch lopper idea....idk, that doesn't seem at all quick enough to be as pain-free as possible.