Fire Ant Farm
Get off my lawn
Baby animals are great ambassadors for the non-farming family members. My partner never goes out to the livestock area of our farm but spent a good hour snuggling with a chilled piglet yesterday to bring it back to life. He's even learned to accept that all animals eventually die on the farm.
That's been one of the most important lessons I have reinforced for myself since starting to keep animals for food. (Not counting eggs). That it's possible to care for an animal's well being, and comfort them and derive joy from them, but that they are still livestock, not pets, and are being kept for that purpose. (And that every single bit of meat I have ever eaten came from an animal that had to die, often after living a much less pleasant life than my chickens.) I closed the loop on this for myself for good this weekend with my cull.
I was on the phone with my mother yesterday talking about all of this existential stuff, respect for animals that provide food, what it's like to cull chickens I raised as chicks, etc. - bless her for listening to me, she is a city person (as were her parents) who would never do this herself, but understands why I do it and doesn't judge. And do you know what she said (before I could)? She said (unprompted), "Maybe that's why kids who grow up on farms or in 4H and are around all of this are so well adjusted." I agreed, and I told her that while I didn't blame her and dad at all, but that I sure wish I had learned this before I was in my 40s. If I had kids, they would sure as heck learn this before age 10...
Glad your partner has the ability to ease himself into the process, participation-wise. I'm impressed that you're raising pigs - I no longer have the stomach for any pork that comes from big ag - I have a couple small family farms where I get it now. I'm not allowed to have pigs where I am, zoning-wise (not that I have the bandwidth for that right now...)
- Ant Farm