Meat Birds and small children??

[SandraMort]

Yeah, that's called fruititarianism. Personally, I don't get it, but it exists. Vegan or raw vegan is as far as my brain can stretch.

 

[smith2]

I was about 3 when I was attacked by my mother's big RIR rooster. I never forgot that experience so when she invited me to help with the chicken processing on day (about 10 years old) I said sure. I remember being somewhat shocked and a little overwhelmed by the whole experience. I eventually helped more and more as I got older. By age 13-14 we were doing 4 hens at a time and I was helping with plucking and "watching" her. However, I must not have watched as closely as I should have because she came to visit last spring and had to show me how to do it again. I am 44 and she is 78. We still talk about old times and doing this when I was little. We did 4 roos and I can now do them on my own. Interestingly enough my sister (6 years older) finds the whole process totally disgusting, but will eat more fried chicken than any of us.

I remember my mother killing the hens where I couldn't see them for a long time and she never mentioned what she was doing other than to answer in some basic way. Once they were dead they didn't really bother me any, and she would talk about where our food came from and how we should never abuse or be mean to our animals, etc. I was about 10 when I saw her wring their necks for the first time and cut the head off. I was pretty shocked.

I guess the point here is don't tell them more than their little heads can manage and keep it simple. They may not pay much attention to the whole process unless you make a big deal out of it. I remember it taking me a while to come to grips with the whole "processing" picture. Some children just need time to adjust and others are just not bothered by the whole thing that much.

I still have a hard time with the initial kill, but after that I do okay.

 

[Bossroo]

Quote:

Have you seen a single cell, free , chlorophyl bearing organism under a microscope in your Biology class? If you did, methinks that you would be whistleing a different tune. Also, if you care to again look under the microscope, you will find thousands of single and multi-cell organisms living on/in these same tomatoes, lettuce and apples even after you wash them. Check out the Government health reports regarding people getting sick after eating these and other fruits and vegetables. Also, how do you explain the fact that the plants turn to follow the sun during the day? How do the carnivorous plants fold their "traps" to ensnare an insect if it didn't "feel" the insect first? Etc. !

 

[SandraMort]

Quote:
Yes, I was a hard science major in college. I think those arguments are nonsense. None of these plants are self aware, deliberately manipulating their environment to meet their needs.

BUT if you really are concerned about the death of plants, then it is amoral to eat meat, as many more plants die to support the life of the animal.

I don't know why I replied. I knew better back when I was vegetarian than to get involved in such silliness...

 

[blue90292]

back to the topic please. thanks.

 

[SandraMort]

My nine year old vegetarian daughter requested that I get "ugly chickens" for meat, so she "won't have a sign of pity for them". Then Eva said she'll name the meat chickens "Roast, Chicken Roast, Pot Roast, Sliced Roast, Lunch Roast, Pig Roast and Turkey Roast. They'll all be the Roast Family."

Now she's describing the slaughtering process. She said you hang it upside down, "cut off its throat" then scald it. My husband is pretending the baby is a chicken and when he got to the scalding process, he began to scold the baby. It's very funny. Once that was clarified, she told him to take out the feathers, put a stick through it and roast it. No, no, take out the bones first. Now dh is telling her we're going to raise boneless chickens. LOL

 

[MaryT]

Well....

I have four boys 14,11,9,8

Before we got meat birds they have always asked where dinner came from.. Like what is it? What type of animal? Those type of questions and thanks to the internet we learned together..... My boys thought it was cruel what some animals from what we call meat factories are dealing with and thier life to the point of butchering...... They knew that something had to die for them to eat and really were not sure how..... They knew eggs came from chickens, but again were not sure how .... Now they know how and where I was sure they weren't gonna like it and would stop eating eggs, But thanks to our BO who allowed us to watch her lay an egg they now know where and how....... Thier response to the chicken was thank you girl and then to me was lets go eat it......lol Now for the meat birds, We told them we were getting them for dinner...... They said they understood and that when the birds were ready wanted to watch........ Well the 14 yo decided after the first bird that was all he wanted to know and really did not want to help at all...... He cried a little but said he understood..... He told us it was better that we did it than go to the store and buy it but He said he felt that he just wasn't ready to be a part of it........ So we agreed that he dosen't have to be.... our 11 yo wanted to watch He also cried a little but felt it was all worth it when we had the chicken for dinner and also expressed that as of now would not like to be a part of it, but wouldn't mind the plucking part or even cutting up the meat after it has been processed..... the 9yo watched got a little teary eyed but said wow that is gonna be a good dinner.... our 8yo watched said that is just gross ...... the 8 and 9 yo then proceeded to ask questions about what each and everything was that was comming out of the chicken when they finally got all the answers they wanted they decided that they had enough of watching now they just want to know when we are gonna have em for dinner? So My guess is it really depends on your children and how you approach it....... each and everyone of thier reactions will be different some kids can handle it some can't...... I say just proceed with caution you know your kids the best..... Do what you feel in your heart is best for you and them....... It is not something you should force on them because of age or gender YOU BE THE JUDGE......

 

[FlockEweFarm]

Quote:
Talk about butchering elk; my ex shot one during a blizzard and by the time he got it back to the house it was a mess outside. We did not have a garage, and he was exhausted from dragging it to his truck, so I helped him drag it into my kitchen, and I skinned and processed the elk on my kitchen floor. My kids heard the commotion and came out to see what was going on, and woe unto them for having a former cop for a mom, they got a full run down of the forensics of the wound path and the manner of death! I have a son with Downs Syndrome, and he was not real sure of the whole mechanics of the processing thing, and I will have to see how he reacts the first time we process some roos, but as for my other kids, I am very matter of fact about issues of life and death and the place of chickens in the grand scheme of things. We love our pets, but many of our flock do not have names, and firmly grounding them in the realities of the Discovery channel and Animal Planet, instead of Disney, has helped a lot.

 

[blue90292]

we went to red lobster for dinner this past friday. my son (6 years old) loves to watch the lobster's in the tank at walmart and at the any other place that has lobster's. so when he said he wanted to eat lobster's, i took him to red lobster. it was our monthly date. he watched the lobster's until dinner came. when dinner came, he wouldn't touch the lobster. i was mad! that's expensive dinner!!

he says to me, but that's my friend. i explained to him how the lobster gave up his life so he could eat him. that made him even more sad. he ate one bite and then said i'm sorry, i can't eat it.

so i took it home, chopped it up and made lobster fried rice. he ate that.

 

[UncleHoot]

I guess I've kind of been avoiding this thread...

One of the reasons that I wanted to raise chickens was to get "in touch" with my food. As a society, we are so far removed from our food sources, that one of these days, I half expect some news organization to be shocked and run a story about how animals are being slaughtered for meat.

While my daughter was still relatively young (8 yrs), I wanted to make sure that she understood the concept of raising animals for food. She had absolutely no trouble adapting. However, after the first batch, she did get teary eyed because "all the chickens are gone." Honestly, I felt that way a bit too, so I got some laying hens. Now, we always have chickens, and meat birds come and go. She loves eating them, too.

But mostly, the experience was for me, and me alone. I've had a garden for quite a few years, and to me, this was somewhat of an extension of that. I'm the type of person who thinks that a meal isn't a meal without meat, so my garden never provided an entire meal. But now, I can grow entire meals in the summer. It's a good feeling.