At what age do you allow your children to process meat birds?

[yinepu]

I was 3 when my mother had me help with the butchering.. my main job was to hold the heads down as she swung the axe (learned real quick to keep my fingers out of the way).. also had to help pluck and gut

 

[Ibicella]

I started doing it at age 11. I was one of the few that was taught to do it because they knew I could handle it and wasn't going to mess around with the knives.

I think it depends on the kid. If you've got a responsible, level headed kid that you have confidence won't screw around and hurt themselves, I don't see why they shouldn't be allowed to do it at your judgement call.

 

[Highlander]

My DS (10) and DD (6) both watch and "help". They do a lot of the plucking and then they watch when I gut etc, they love to play with the feet. They really get a kick out of eating something that they have helped to prepare. Often they are more keen than I to do it!

 

[mississippifarmboy]

Just thought I'd share the fruits of his labor.....

Yummy...

 

[donrae]

I find this interesting. If you'd taken your 13 year old son hunting and he'd taken a nice little buck, would anyone be appalled if he were butchering it? Don't think so. Don't know why folks get so bent out of shape by things like this. Good on you for teaching your boy right.

When's dinner, btw?

 

[PotterWatch]

Our kids help with processing. They pick feathers the plucker doesn't get; cut off feet, oil glands, and heads. If we were processing just for ourselves, I would let them have a go at the whole thing if they wanted. Our birds are sold though, so they have to look as professional as possible. They are now 10 and 11, but were 6 and 7 when we processed our first ever birds.

There are usually 7 or so kids around when we are doing processing since the people who help us bring their kids with them. They help fetch the birds and just hang around to watch. They range in age from 3 to 11.

 

[sourland]

Sourland was helping process game and meat birds by the time he was 7 or 8. I was entrusted with humanely dispatching meat birds in my early teens. Never was able to convince the Princess or my kids to help with the processing. They were too darn smart for me.

Tell Jon that I too hate plucking and feathers hanging on your hands. It is gross - especially when plucking ducks or geese.

 

[erinszoo]

Our son watched us process when he was about 6 or 7 and was fascinated by all the innards. However, he has aspergers too and now at 17 won't touch the processing of them. He has the job of keeping the other birds away while we are doing it.

On the other hand our 14 year old daughter is the best plucker of the family and loves to help. We haven't let her actually butcher one on her own but she would if we let her and offers to hold the bird while dad cuts it's throat without even flinching.

Guess it all depends on the kids ... of course I would never let my neighbors know that we are slaughtering in the back yard or let them watch because I'm sure someone would get their knickers in a knot and start complaining. One of our neighbors thinks we're horrible because we make our kids mow the lawn and rake leaves ... imagine what they would say if they saw them butcher a chicken.

 

[ginbart]

I think the younger you start them the better it's like hunting. If your showed how to do things then you know and it's not a shock. I could never process my birds because I was never showed how to. I ask my DH and he can't do it. I told him I could cull them if he showed me how to clean them but again he can't do our chickens. He's funny.

I bet that man, and if he has any children, could not live off the land and couldn't make it if there was no store around.

I think it's great he can do it.

 

[Mamma_Duck04]

My husband was grown up on hunting to eat, where they were in Maine, it was very normal- still is. He went hunting the first time at 6yo. My dad's always been a hunter- says the girl whose birthday falls during the week-long hunting season dad would take... LOL but the MOST he ever had me do was pull feathers from a duck & a pheasant he got when I was around 14 or 15. I became a vet tech later in life & realize I am not a killer as much as a saver, so it's really hard for me to kill an animal unless it's obvious it's best for the animal. BUT I shocked myself when I realized once it's dead, I'm perfectly fine skinning/butchering an animal. So be it, DH is more than capable of doing the deed for me & I'm more than capable of handing all the 'gross' stuff later lol

Our son was always present when DH would bring home a deer, so he's seen his share of dead animals, with the emphasis of 'we're going to EAT this' (ya know, opposed to when a loved family pet has died). He's always been allowed to 'help' if he wanted, occasionally he'll help pull the skin during skinning, but then loses interest & goes about his day. This year DH got a deer & our son (7yo) was involved from skinning, to dismembering, to washing & grinding the meat. I was surprised he stuck with it for so long as he's high-functioning autistic.

I had to cull a layer hen a while back & he still thinks she got sick & died, only because we were all attached to them. But for meat chickens, I'm not worried we'll get attached to them as in 'pets' that we have with the layers & I plan on letting our son help out- not with the culling process though. I think I'll give him a couple more years before I let him witness that one lol. But he's already in a more reasonable place with respect to killing to eat, etc. than most people I know.