does anyone ever get used to killing and eating their birds

[sandcat]

I'll start by saying that this is the first time ive ever been a part of killing our own food, we killed 3 of our drakes on sunday and the whole family got involved, especially our 2 teens they helped pluck and prepare the ducks, I cooked them but couldnt bare to eat them, just looking at it made me feel ill, tried cooking another one a few days later, made sauce and stuffed the duck, all the while thinking"this is going to be great" at tea time i couldnt even look at it, family loved it though. We are trying to be more self sufficient by raising our our meat but im just dont think im made of tough enough stuff to actually eat it. I dont eat meat much anyway but wouldnt concider myself a vegetarian, just wondered if anyone else was like me when you killed something for the first time that you had reared yourself, do you ever get used to it?

 

[gallorojo]

I'm always troubled the night before we kill any animals, and don't sleep well. I have always been fine, however, on the day of, and quite fine to eat the meat afterwards. I know the animals were well cared for, had a good life, and were humanely slaughtered. If you don't eat them, their death will have been for nothing. All life dies eventually, most things will die in a way far more horrible than home slaughtering. Give them a good life, and a good death, and honor their sacrifice by using what they have given to you as much as possible.

 

[sandcat]

Nothing gets wasted as we have big family and i was the only one that didnt eat it, the reason that i want to raise animals for our food is that i dont like how animals suffer from the begining of their lives to the end of their lives, you are so right that my ducks have a good life, and they didnt suffer in death either, i just wish i didnt feel so disturbed by it, it was actually me that wants to do the whole raising our own food as i dont want to push my family not to eat meat, they like meat and im fine with it, but i always feel troubled when i buy meat for my family knowing where it has come from, i would be much more comfortable knowing that the meat my family eats has been happy from begining to end, does that make sense?

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

I had a terrible time at first so I took it in stages. I'm still having someone else do the butchering, and probably always will, but I have progressed to watching too make sure they are handled humanely, and I no longer cry on the way home. I also have no problem cooking them now. So to answer your question, yes I think you get used to it.

 

[rhoda_bruce]

Seems like long ago I had a few problems with eating my birds after dealing with them. I guess my opinion is that after exposing yourself to it repeatedily, you will not be so sensitive about it. Its still not something I enjoy doing, but I prefer eating my own animals to tat of the ones from the stores. It is good to toughen yourself up if you want to be more SS. It can help in several areas.

 

[peeppeeppeep]

I haven't tried killing a chicken yet but I wish I could do it or have someone do it. I eat poultry fairly often and don't like having to buy commercially grown meat.

So far, though, my experience was that we raised lambs last year and had a LOT of rams. Had to reduce the flock and could not find enough buyers so I had one butchered. When a friend came to visit, he cooked some of the lamb chops and raved about the taste. I ate one and was nearly ill from thinking about the animal it came from. I ended up giving away most of the meat, except some that I cooked for a group that came for a solstice party. They all loved it.

So...I just hatched some chicks...I'm hoping that later this year I can have a friend help me butcher some and that I can get up the nerve to eat the meat. It's hard when you have raised them and known them as individuals. I don't know if I'm anthropomorphizing...intellectually, I don't think it's wrong. But on a gut level...I understand how you feel, totally.

 

[SilkieMomma]

I agree it is very difficult to kill and then eat something that you have raised. We have done this with a couple of our roosters, family said it was great but I can't eat it just yet.

 

[flowerchicks]

Quote:
I have never slaughtered any of my chickens, but this was very well said.. thank you

 

[sandcat]

my partner killed them and cut feet,wings, head off etc... me and our sons plucked them and then my partner gutted them, i was ok with all of it until i was faced with eating it, thankyou so much for your replies it has helped me alot. I initially got the ducks as pets and after 2 lots of duckling that was more heartbreaking than fun and all the mess and all the food and everything to do with ducks has just led me to not think of them as pets anymore rather pests!! Pests that taste good, i just need to be able to cook it so it looks ok, at the moment our duck just doesnt look how it does in cookbooks.

 

[DebbieF]

I can only kill one that is suffering. I hate doing it, but it seems that's the only time I can. I understand the part about them having a much better life than a commercially raised animal and would rather see more people raising their own food. I just had to have one put down yesterday, a beautiful Brahma rooster with a broken leg. It was nearly completely snapped off and only held on by some skin. I held him for about a half hour and cried before my son took care of him.