Please help me understand meat eaters not wanting to process a chicken!

[DeepFriedBacon]

And I gotta quote dennis leary - " eating meat is an instinct, not eating it is a decision!"

 

[Shewholovesducks]

No better way to eat them if the blood is on your hands I say! To each is own, but I get a sense of oneness with the planet, a lil more in touch with nature if it's done by my hand. Having to sit and watch them die, that's part of the process. Seems to me if you're going to raise them, eat their eggs, and eat them, might as well give the honor of doin it yourself. But I can understand why some can't, it's not for everyone.

I can respect that it actually makes a lot of sense what doesn't make sense is someone thinking anyone who does that is somekinda crazy monster while eating who know's who's animal. What I've never understood though is people who kill animals just because they don't eat them or use anything they just kill them.

 

[City Chicken]

I have a friend who says that if I serve her one of my chickens not to tell her... And she complimented a meal once, I said it was venison... She stopped eating. It's retarded.
She will only meat boneless skinless Chicken breasts.

Now, I don't enjoy processing... And there is a place locally that only charges $3 a chicken.... And I will go with that if I have several to do again....
But I have done the dirty work and will keep doing it if I have to. I approach it very scientifically.... It interesting to me, but the time and preparation make it better to pay to have it done.

 

[twentynine]

Animated movies that give animals human qualities.

I kill and eat my own chickens, the blood does not bother me. What does bother me is the smell of scalded feathers.

 

[DeepFriedBacon]

Yes, the prep time and labor....which is why I'm planning on doing 25 or so @ a time. Figure might as well make the day of it. Better to prep all at once than have to do it monthly. Going to find out how many I need in the freezer over winter and adjust the numbers, do one big harvest in the spring and one in the fall.

 

[gg706]

I can understand not wanting to kill anything. I am in this moral struggle myself. I want to process my own chickens for my family. I do not want to continue to support the abuse meat birds go thru. As well as ensure a clean meat supply. However actually killing the animal is a difficult thing for me to come to terms with.
I am sortof caught in the middle...I feel like a hypocrite because I eat meat and feel if I am going to eat it, I need to be big enough to do the deed myself. But I am not finding the strength to go thru with it. My last order of chickens I kept the hens and gave the roosters away.....Felt stupid to do so as I knew they would be butchered, so it was like giving away food for no reason other than I couldnt do it myself. I have some chicks growing up in the brooder right now about 3 weeks old.....I am pretty sure there are 3 roosters. I have plans to butcher them, I find myself thinking about how I am going to deal with it. I have put down 2 hens over the last year, it was difficult to do but had to be done to end their suffering. For some reason harvesting a chicken for food does not summon the same strength for me. I wish it was no big deal to me, but it is.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

I once heard a story on NPR where they asked many people "What would you kill for, what would you die for, what do you live for?" It was very interesting. Also interesting to hear so many people saying they'd die for their families, but NOTHING could make them kill. The exception was a hunter, who said he routinely killed things to feed his family. My answer to all three of those questions is "my family." In the event the revolution (or the flu, or the war) comes, you'd better believe I'll be out there cutting some rooster throats--and the pet goats wouldn't last long, either.

In the meantime, I've done it. We raised 25 meaties one year--oh, man, that was some wonderful chicken! But I truly hated killing and gutting and plucking them. I've been up to my shoulder in a cow about to give birth, I've helped to haul dead calves to the rendering plant, I've had a cow literally poop down my back, I've been covered in horse blood and afterbirth, but I just truly disliked butchering the chickens. So now we raise them and haul them to a processor that charges $2.70 per bird, $3.50 if they're shrink-wrapped for you. The extra cost is worth it to me.

So I guess the point of this whole long ramble is this: Firstly, do it once. Especially if you're a meat eater, you owe it to yourself and them to do it at least once, know what goes into it, see the blood, understand what eating meat means. You may find that this is not for you, and that you can find a compromise where you know where your food comes from, but you yourself don't do the killing. You'll also know how to do it if something terrible happens and the grocery stores shut down. But if it's not for you, don't let anyone make you feel badly about it. You're still more educated than 99% of Americans. But still--participate AT LEAST ONCE.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

I can understand not wanting to kill anything. I am in this moral struggle myself. I want to process my own chickens for my family. I do not want to continue to support the abuse meat birds go thru. As well as ensure a clean meat supply. However actually killing the animal is a difficult thing for me to come to terms with.
I am sortof caught in the middle...I feel like a hypocrite because I eat meat and feel if I am going to eat it, I need to be big enough to do the deed myself. But I am not finding the strength to go thru with it. My last order of chickens I kept the hens and gave the roosters away.....Felt stupid to do so as I knew they would be butchered, so it was like giving away food for no reason other than I couldnt do it myself. I have some chicks growing up in the brooder right now about 3 weeks old.....I am pretty sure there are 3 roosters. I have plans to butcher them, I find myself thinking about how I am going to deal with it. I have put down 2 hens over the last year, it was difficult to do but had to be done to end their suffering. For some reason harvesting a chicken for food does not summon the same strength for me. I wish it was no big deal to me, but it is.

My advice for this is: just plan to do one. Don't plan to kill all three in one day. And allow the rest of the day to be open, so you don't have appointments or dinner plans afterwards. Make sure that someone supportive is nearby in case you need it.

The first one is by far the hardest, even to make that first cut. I, too, am pretty strong about putting down sick hens, or even cutting the head off a chick that isn't going to make it and is suffering. I understand what you mean that killing a healthy animal is more difficult. But I can tell by what you've written that you have the strength to do this, and that you'll feel better about yourself after you've done it. And then, if it isn't for you, don't do it any more. Dont' beat yourself up. You're already doing better than many chicken owners because you have the strength to put a chicken out of her misery humanely instead of letting her suffer until she dies. Good for you.

 

[DeepFriedBacon]

Sometimes, that first step is the hardest. I remember my first time deer hunting. 11 years old, first morning, a HUGE buck walks out 25 yards broadside. Only thing on my mind was I'm gonna have to cut this things balls off and rip out it's guts. Didn't shoot. To this day, that was the biggest buck I've seen while hunting. That was 20 years ago...lol.

Next year told myself I'm not going to let that happen again. Now it's no big deal, process literally takes about 5 minutes. Skinning and butchering takes a bit longer, but that first field dressing was a doosey!

I've yet to "harvest" chickens, but seems no different than turkey, which I've done.
I'd suggest getting/making a killing cone, to reduce the flapping that goes with it. This way you can cut the throat and look away if you need too. After the first couple, you'll be fine. As long as you do it with respect and love for the animal you'll get over any qualms you have about it.
A side bonus is you are aquiring a skill set that most people don't have. The way this world is going, this skill set can keep you and your family fed through difficult times.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I have a friend who says that if I serve her one of my chickens not to tell her... And she complimented a meal once, I said it was venison... She stopped eating. It's retarded.

Now, I don't enjoy processing... And there is a place locally that only charges $3 a chicken.... And I will go with that if I have several to do again....
But I have done the dirty work and will keep doing it if I have to. I approach it very scientifically.... It interesting to me, but the time and preparation make it better to pay to have it done.

I really dislike processing but I do it anyway and paying thouse amounts for someone else to do it, not to mention the cost of getting them there and back, completely removes any incentive to raise my own. I can already buy organic pastured chickens at Whole Foods Market for what it costs me to buy meat chicks and feed them out.