Meat Birds and small children??

[pozarnsk]

I would say that this topic should be approached differently for boys than girls. Boys generally will have no problem with it, its a fact of life and they should even be out there helping with/learning the process of providing food for the family.

Girls would require a more sensitive approach. I will definately sheild my daughter from the details of what is going on until she's older.

My 2 cents.

 

[blue90292]

Quote:
What are you afraid of, that the chickens are going to die? I can't tell you what to do with your kids, but I can tell you this:

When I was a child my father raised chickens and rabbits for meat. I always felt that he did me the biggest disservice by not having me there on butchering day so that I could learn to do things the right way and that he could be there to guide me. Now I'm 28 and raising my first batch of meat birds and I'm panicking. I cannot find a processor in my area, and all I have to guide me on doing it myself is the Story book. All I wish is that I had a knowledgable person to show me what I need to do to process these 26 birds.

Oh, and we're naming these: Stew, Barbeque, Sweet, Sour, Tandoori, Baked, Dumplings, Cassarole, Salad, etc.

sorry to go off-topic but....

to find a processor, i put an ad on craigslist and found several plus other chicken folks that i sometimes chat with. i also found knowledgeable people on eatwild.com which has a listing by state of people that raise chickens. i found a gentleman who only lives 20 min from me that has a portable processing unit and he has kindly invited me to come and see the processing if i ever wanted to.

your local feedstore will know 4H people. they are always needing processors for their broilers after the show so you could also start your search there. hope that helps.

 

[chiknlittle]

Thanks Blue90292 for the good info. Sometimes it seems I just don't know enough to know where to go for help and info. So I come here.

I know those processing units are so expensive, and after looking extensively for a processor, I thought my only choice was to do them myself. I am the son my dad never had in a lot of ways. We loved going camping and fishing and even took hunters ed together but for some reason chicken processing was never part of my father's teachings. My husband is just as clueless as I am. I still have about another month before I'm in need of a processor, but I'm really getting concerned since I've been looking in my area, asking friends, the local butcher and feed stores alike if they know anyone who does this. I've called people in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia and the local stock auction house with no success. Can you feel the panic?

My earlier post was to speak up on the kids' behalf. I think there is an age that a child is too young to help slaughter, but even little ones can help with other parts of the process. I also think that when they start asking to help is a good time to sit down and both of you talk about the process as well as any concerns. I think I was about 8 years old when I started asking if I could help. I can only imagine how much better off I'd be in my current situation if my father had taught me what to do. Because he didn't teach me when I was younger, I must now find someone to help me or find a way to teach myself.

 

[deb1]

Quote:
This depends on the girl. I am not certain that my daughters would want to help with the slaughter but they were not upset by the killing of some of our more hornery roosters. This, as I wrote before surprised me, as they are extreme animal lovers. But I had spent a lot of time explaining how much humane our killing methods were then store bought birds. Perhaps that had something to do with their acceptance of the whole process.

 

[nautical_bouy]

50 years ago this wouldn't even be a conversation,,, it's just the way your dinner gets to the table and people knew that.

 

[HaileyNJoliesMom]

Quote:
I do believe that but 50 years ago I wasnt born, actually my parents hadnt been born either.
I grew up in suburbia and my only exposure to "farm life" was fancy hunter barns where I kept my horse. Im trying to give my girls the more natural life I didnt have.

I think they are going to do fine, the processing will be done without them around unless they express interest in being there and then I will keep a close eye on how they are handling it.

Im excited about this!!

 

[greyfields]

I wonder what the FCR on small children is? Maybe we have an untapped market here.

 

[mommy9994]

I wonder what the FCR on small children is? Maybe we have an untapped market here.

Though MOST can be raised for 1 year totally or mostly free-- feed breastmilk, clothed in cloth diapers with pins. Maybe an initial $50-100 investment for the cloth diapers, cotton t-shirts and pants.

Weight gain varies considerably though, even with the same breeders. Example, my first (male) was 8lbs 15 oz at "hatch", and had nearly tripled his weight by 12 months, but my fourth (female) was larger at "hatch" (9 lbs 6 oz), but was only 15 lbs at 12 months.

Also, Mine tend to be long and stringy, while some of my friends tend to produce butterballs.

I'd say, too many variables.​

 

[greyfields]

 

[greyfields]

Instead of ordering day old chicks, you just have to show up with tequila.