Need Advice-I'm too soft hearted to butcher the cockerels

[Luvmybob]

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That is how I came by it so easy, I have hunted and fished since childhood so it was no problem. I have had to in the past dispatch some of my favorite chickens but held no remorse or ill will for doing it, they don't have names and I don't play huggie pie kissey poo with them. they are well cared for and happy.

AL

That is so true. My mom said, don't name the ones you plan on killing.

The 6 we got, I promised my kids that these would be our egg layers and they won't be killed but they promised me that the offspring that they had would be for food and we would not name them.

It's going to be hard for me no matter which way I look at it but I know I can do it. I too have hunted ( well once, 6pt buck with my dad ) and I'm an avid fisher(woman) so I'll be fine.

My 12 yo daughter told me "mom, you have to show me how to kill the chickens so when I grow up I can have a chicken farm" Be strong for her..lol

Take care!

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

i think the biggest thing is dont psych yourself out. its not what you think or imagine for you or the birds. think of it as a task. can you share the work? my hubby is the axe man and i'm on guts. a sense of humor helps too (for instance we have a bucket for the "smiley parts").

read everything so you know what to expect (i like harvey ussery's site: themodernhomestead) and understand the words used to describe butchering are by nature inflammatory - that is.. they make it sound worse than it is.

next - honor your work and the birds. pray for thanksgiving, for provision, and for courage.

then get all of your tools ready (extra sharp knives!) and march out there and git 'er done.

it might help to go thru this section and read other's experience. hands down what you'll find is people saying "it wasnt as bad as i thought" or "i cried then we just did it"

also find comfort in that your birds go from "someone you know" to "meat" very quickly.

good luck! and as someone said in a past post.. if you dont have it, borrow courage from all of us here - we are behind you all the way!

 

[Judy]

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Thats a really good way of thinking about it

but I still can't do it, they have names and personalities. yup I'm a sucker

Well, I'll tell you my secret. I share land with my son and his family, and I am the chicken caretaker, by choice. I help with the processing -- but they eat the "good" chickens and I buy mine from the store. Prtly economics, but also saves me getting past eating "my" chickens.

Maybe when this batch has babies you can set the roos aside and just think of them differently. If you mate a barred hen with a solid color roo, you'll have sex links (I gather -- research that first!) and you'll know who is not going to be a pet from day one. You gotta do something with all those roos when you hatch your own, and we plan to hatch under broodies.

 

[Rooster Cogburn Jr.]

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I tried to do that. Ordered 50 NHR pullets. 51 arrived. 3 so far are roos. Still less than 90% but adding 3 or 4 to the 18 or 19 I already have. I'd say the ratio was about 1:1. Seems like 2:1 when they are chasing them all over the place

 

[Rooster Cogburn Jr.]

Rooster Cogburn Jr. :

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I tried to do that. Ordered 50 NHR pullets. 51 arrived. 3 so far are roos. Still less than 90% but adding 3 or 4 to the 18 or 19 I already have. I'd say the ratio was about 1:1. Seems like 2:1 when they are chasing them all over the place

Also the 1 to 1 ratio is the luck of the draw. I picked them all out myself. Also the ones that died may have all been pullets though not likely​

 

[tackyrama]

I have always admired what the Native Americans did (probably still do) when they made a kill. They did a little ceremony thanking the great spirit and the animal for what they were provided. It really sets things in perspective, for me anyway. A previous poster said to think about how much better the chickens life was compared to a chicken factory. This also works for me.

 

[Bossroo]

In my College Anthropology class we were told by our instructor ( a female full blooded Oglala Suix) that the plains Indians would stampede a herd of buffalo over a cliff, then harvest all the meat and hides that they needed. The meat was cooked and eaten or dried into gerky and the hides were cured for use for clothes or tepees. The rest was left for the coyotes, wolves, bears and vultures . She never mentioned any type of ceremony for the deceased.

 

[Bridget399]

I got 4 roos out my 6 straight run RIR from TSC. I thought it was going to be easy to butcher mine, too, but my roosters have never gotten mean! They are 13 weeks old today. I think they will go to my FILs where he can butcher them and eat them himself. I don't think I'm going to be able to do it either. I know how you feel.

 

[Rooster Cogburn Jr.]

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Glad I'm not the only one with this problem. guess it's something I'll have to get over. I plan or raising calves and pigs to eat someday. And they're cute babies too. Atleast someone else will be doing the deed for those.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

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That's a tough issue for a lot of folks to face, especially those of us accustomed to our modern urban culture. It's an unfamiliar concept, to kill an animal by ourselves for our own food, to kill an animal we're not frightened of, or threatened or disgusted by. That's why it really helps to consider them like produce you grew for the table. You wouldn't say "oh that's such a beautiful tomato, I could never eat that! Instead I'll pick these from the branch that poked me in the head, and those ugly ones there."