Hubby wants me to let him kill my chickens!!

[Mtn Margie]

Your description makes me want to gag!!!!! I have been raising my own meat and egg chickens and turkeys for years and would never go back to store bought meat. The kids have never second guessed our meat and where it comes from, in fact, they are very proud of the fact that they help supply the food for the family.

 

[missnu01]

Don't name them..they aren't pets, they are food...You can treat them well and play with them and have a great time, HOld them, love them pet them...but remember they are your food...I have no issue killing and eating our chickens...I love them, and also know they are delicious. I get really sad when we have to kill one that is hurt or sick. I won't eat one that is sick, so it just seems like such a waste. I hold the chickens still and my husband does the cutting, or chopping depending on what method we are using..sometimes we cut the throats, and other times we just give them the good old head cleaving axe treatment. I don't know why it bothers some people, but not others. There is one rooster that I have a hard time thinking about killing...He's huge, and old...and I love him. He follows me around the yard and keeps my silkie rooster from attacking me...He also doesn't allow any fighting between the chickens...nobody can fight with anyone else without him stepping in, and he's a big guy...so what he says goes...

 

[bobbi-j]

Don't name them..they aren't pets, they are food...You can treat them well and play with them and have a great time, HOld them, love them pet them...but remember they are your food...I have no issue killing and eating our chickens...I love them, and also know they are delicious. I get really sad when we have to kill one that is hurt or sick. I won't eat one that is sick, so it just seems like such a waste. I hold the chickens still and my husband does the cutting, or chopping depending on what method we are using..sometimes we cut the throats, and other times we just give them the good old head cleaving axe treatment. I don't know why it bothers some people, but not others. There is one rooster that I have a hard time thinking about killing...He's huge, and old...and I love him. He follows me around the yard and keeps my silkie rooster from attacking me...He also doesn't allow any fighting between the chickens...nobody can fight with anyone else without him stepping in, and he's a big guy...so what he says goes...

x2. I also hold them while my husband decapitates them. I'll admit - I usually turn my head. Not because it grosses me out, I'm not bothered by the blood. I just hate the part of turning a live chicken into a dead one. Once the head is off, I'm fine. I also have a rooster that I won't kill (or have killed). He sounds alot like yours. When we started raising chickens, I just made the decision that some will be eaten. Period. No, it's still not easy to kill the pretty ones, but it's a choice that we have made.

 

[missnu01]

Right in right on. I usually watch just to make sure in not about to lose a hand or something...and to make sure we accomplish what we set out to do. I have been known to cry a little over culling sick birds. Probably because I end up handling the sick ones more so they become ultra friendly just before I have to ultra kill them

 

[bobbi-j]

Right in right on. I usually watch just to make sure in not about to lose a hand or something...and to make sure we accomplish what we set out to do. I have been known to cry a little over culling sick birds. Probably because I end up handling the sick ones more so they become ultra friendly just before I have to ultra kill them

Yep - there's a bit more of an investment after you've tried your darndest to make them better and end up having to kill them anyway.

 

[Demosthine]

I would be so MAD if someone wanted to wat one of my chickens after it died. I would NEVER forgive them. It is just like wnting to eat a dog after it dies.

Having actually eat dog, I can say it's very tasty if it's been cooked right, just like the older chickens. There's a certain process to the cooking that differs slightly than beef, for instance. I am a firm believer that nearly all animals are available for food. In many countries, cat and dog are both very common in the market. As Americans, we've become too separated from our food sources to truly understand and appreciate what we are eating and I believe that's a part of the problem with our children. They never learned the sanctity of an animal's life, nor that the creature should be used in it's entirety once it's been slaughtered. Instead, they kill for fun.

As I've said, nearly all animals are considered food for me and I've eaten a great many varieties. My wife, however, is much more conservative. She is adamantly opposed to me slaughtering her Silkies when the time comes, but "says" she is ok with the others. She's become very attached and has them all named. When I first said I wanted some, she threatened to divorce me if I brought any home that weren't dead. My, how the tables have turned. She has bought ten of the thirteen chickens that we have had. Two passed away.

Slaughtering them isn't a big deal in all reality. There is the emotional aspect some have to get over, but the process is almost mindless. There are numerous ways to calm them before you slit the throats and while they bleed out. It's really only a couple of minutes, if that, for them to die and hasn't appeared at all painful. They remain virtually motionless until they finally go limp. From there, the rest of the process takes less than ten minutes and isn't messy at all. The best introduction to it would be to go to someone else's house and assist. That will get you over the fear of the actual process and bring you solace knowing that it isn't a painful, gruesome death. From there, you can work towards overcoming the emotional aspect. Craig's List is a good place to get the free chickens from and use them to learn. It won't be as tragic from the emotional standpoint if you make a mistake there, either.

Now, deboning the chickens has been the bane of my existence. That is a skill that I just haven't been able to tackle and really does turn into a mess.