Off to Market,...

[motheroffive]

I just took my first 24 Frey's Special Dual Purpose meat birds to the slaughter house. I guess I'm a softy at heart because it made me very sad. I guess it's a good thing I didn't try to kill them at home. I probably wouldn't have been much help to the others. And I guess it's true that the more you handle them the harder it is to see them die because I was fine with my first 2 pigs getting killed and that was in my back yard, but I had more contact with the chickens. I know that they will taste good and be very healthy for me and my family though so I know it's all worth it.

A big thank-you to BackYard Chickens for soooo much information. You've really helped me learn all about chickens. Starting with my coop design right to slaughter day. Very appreciative of this site!

 

[HEChicken]

Its hard not to get attached, isn't it? If I can offer a word of advice, learning to butcher them yourselves will be worth it. The slaughterhouses don't treat them very well there at the end - they don't care and they see animals come in to be killed all day long so its all in a day's work to them. For me, the last "act of love" is to be the one who does it. I hold them and talk to them and pet them until they are relaxed and calm, and THAT is the last thing they know - not the stress and anxiety of being transported to someplace unfamiliar that has the stench of death and the desperate last calls of animals that are scared to death.

It isn't easy - my first few I cried over. But like anything, "practice makes perfect" and after awhile it does get easier. I will never enjoy it, but I do it now with the knowledge that I gave them the best life I could and I honored them in death by making their last moments as pleasant as possible.

 

[motheroffive]

Thank you HEChicken for your kind words. That was exactly my thought as my husband was putting the birds up onto the shackles. "These guys don't even care about these birds, they're so scared, I just want to hold each one and say thank-you before they die." haha - and even as we were cutting them up to bag them I wouldn't let myself think that they were just running around in the coop this morning! My husband promises me that we will do it ourselves next year because we'll be more set up to do it (ie, chicken plucker, cones, etc). I just hope I have the stomach for it.

 

[donrae]

Baby steps. You don't have to be Super Survival Woman right off the bat!

And I still cry sometimes when we butcher. My best advice is to use a cone, that helps distance you a lot from the bird. That, and don't plan to eat any of them for a few months. Time helps!

 

[BCMaraniac]

Just hang in there, all things in its time.

I am in the medical field, and it was very difficult at first. It is never easy to take a life, and in all reality, it shouldn't be.

I agree that the cone is the easiest way to process, and the least traumatic for you and for the bird.

You will get to where you need to be.