Ewww! My first kill today. Am sick as a dog ever since. Any thoughts?

[2-acre-zoo]

Hiya all:/
Yeah, am a bit sickened with myself. I was nervous catching the young roo, knowing what I was goin to do to him, but then was fine with the actual killing part. Nice clean chop to the neck with a cleaver and the rest was no problem - clean up, hanging up roo, etc.
Even called the boyfriend and left a message along the lines of 'Yay, I did it, no difficulties.....jaysus, that's a bit hard, even for me?' - 20 mins later I felt so nauseous and I've been the same ever since. NOT NICE. Not that I thought it would be nice or anything......I guess I was just fooled by how easy the whole process was and thought I wouldn't be effected. Hmmm. How many do I have to do before I get used to it I wonder? Thanx for reading peeps xx

 

[EweSheep]

You will be fine. It is your thinking cells that got warped a bit LOL!

 

[birdface]

I feel ya,

I just killed my first two last night...I didnt chop their heads off though cause i didnt want to deal with the blood. I snapped their necks. And apparently didnt do such a good job of it cause i had to do it twice on each one. And to make it worse my kid came out just as i was done cleaning up and asked where they were. And then tell me he missed them already. He doesnt know i killed them, had to tell him i gave them to someone at work.

 

[2-acre-zoo]

Thanks guys, am feeling a lot better already ( I love this forum.....I feel so brutal talkin to anyone else about it!) Ewesheep, you're bang on the money - I'm thinkin too much! And birdface, yeah, I feel your pain too! I went with the blood because I didn't trust myself to break his neck properly (being a smallish woman and all) but I have to say the gore was pretty ugly.....but the cleaver worked fine first time and the roo wasn't distressed (held him up by the feet wrapped in a towel and he kinda went to sleep first. My youngest (10) cried over his 'FAVOURITE ROO' too. He's fine now though.....
Now if I can only bring myself to eat the result! The boyfriend will be over again in a few days and said he'll cook it, so I'll pluck, gut and clean tomorrow. Thanks for your thoughts!

 

[Linn Bee]

Dad and I killed and processed 100 cockerels some 25 years ago. It never got easier - I just got better at doing it.

This year I got a dozen chickens after a 20 year hiatus. I had to dispatch the Brahma rooster after he took several good-sized chunks out of my granddaughter one afternoon.

Granddaughter stood way off crying. Grandson was excited to taste homegrown chicken so he didn't mind watching. I did the deed, but I honestly didn't enjoy eating that chicken very much. Both grandchildren ate the chicken with gusto.

Like you, I gotta toughen up. I just might have another chicken to dispatch and no one else around here is gonna volunteer to help. It is up to me to cook her or bury her if she must be culled.

Love, Linn B (aka Smart Red) Gardening zone 5a - 4b in south-est, central-est Wisconsin

 

[Darin115]

Did you just chop his head off and hang it up like that? I am not a professional but I think you are supposed to do it all in one day.
I know the guts will hold heat and cause the meat to spoil.

Darin

 

[2-acre-zoo]

Thanx Linn Bee, you sound tough enough - and I guess it's not something you ever WANT to get used to. Talked to my best friend about it earlier and she didn't want to know really as she grew up doing this on a farm and never kills them for food now, EVER! I personally want to be more self-sufficient and I also feel bad about eating a chicken all nicely wrapped up in plastic perfectly happily, and then not being able to do the deed myself?
Same as yourself, I have no-one volunteering to do it for me. My man knows me and I know him - he has only killed magpies that attack his small bird sanctuary, and respects my (um..) desire to do this myself. I might NEED to kill for food sometime soon ( I live in rural Ireland, and the whole country is a bit screwed.....the joys) so I'd better get a grip I reckon. Love back at ya xx

 

[2-acre-zoo]

Quote:
Well Darin, it's pretty cold outside here at the mo, so I don't think it'll spoil.....and I've hung it in the outside shed now. Besides, here in Ireland and the rest of Europe people usually hang them for a few days...one at least. I've heard different things, but I'm going with my BFF who grew up doin this and says they would hang it for a day, then pluck, gut and clean in that order. Kill on saturday, eat on sunday....like that. And yes, I just chopped it's head right off. He didn't know what hit him

 

[Darin115]

Congrats on your first kill. You will get used to it. Just don't ponder the thought.

Darin

 

[2-acre-zoo]

Cheers bud

Fine now really - 2 glasses of wine on a school night - oops! But I SOOO deserved them