Processing for the first time?

[mstricer]

I still can't make the killing cut and can't watch. I do everything else though, Monday I plan butchering the rest of our roo's and I want to do the killing cut. I but an exato knife (you know the ones with removable blades) So its fast and swift. I hope I can do it. I always have to wait till the cutter is ready. I guess if you want things done do them yourself huh.

 

[PunkinPeep]

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You can do it. Once you do it a couple of times, it's not as hard as you think. Just give yourself a count down and get-er -done.

 

[mstricer]

Thank you. I'm glad that I will be making the leap into doing it all. There are some roo's still around that I would love to be able to send to the tree of woe.

 

[Kindred]

Good job for getting things done.

I can say for myself. Call me weak or whatever you want, but everytime I kill a chicken or deer or squirrel or whatever it may be I feel a bit of remorse for the animal. In my view if I didn't I wouldn't be human. But I eat meat, and for me to eat it has to die and that's the nature of things.

So, do the deed give thanks to the animal and have a BBQ!

 

[Salt and Light]

Kindred, I feel the same way. There's always a sort of "sadness" when I butcher. But, like others have observed, I know the birds had a decent life and fared much better than commercial raised birds. One bird raised and killed on the "farm" is one less bird raised and killed in factory.

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[Keens2050]

To post an answer to original post - It didn't bother me a bit to have my chickens killed - my husband and son butchered our first-ever batch of 10 Cornish! I agree with what was said, though - I knew them from day one, knew what they ate, enjoyed the sunshine, a lovely run with grass and bugs, plenty of TLC...and it makes a delicious chicken soup! Let me tell ya I'm hooked on home-raised chickens! We got our first batch of 10 Cornish at local livestock auction for 50 cents each! But now we have silver-laced wyandottes; 8 hens and one roo. Wouldn't mind getting the Cornish again but they eat a lot and poop even more!

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Certainly for many of us, raised in a modern urban culture, it's quite a departure to go calmly up to an animal, one you're not frightened of, threatened by, or disgusted with, one you've known all its life and may even be a bit fond of, and deliberately end its life in order to eat it. We've become so disconnected with our food sources, we barely consider the human effort that goes into preparing our food, let alone the living animal or plant that it's made from. You can be driving in the city, feel a slight hunger pang, and within minutes find any number of buildings where you can obtain a meal. You can drive behind the building, talk into a box, hear a barely-human voice respond, drive to tinted windows where disembodied hands collect your money and give you a bag of food. And there you have a hot meat sandwich costing you just a dollar or two and very little time or effort. You barely acknowledged the server handing you the food, let alone considered allllll the people who cooked, prepped, shipped, butchered, harvested, grew & raised the plants & animals represented in your sack. You may even decide you cannot finish it all and throw away your unwanted portion.

I have found it very empowering to have learned to process my own chickens, and I am made extremely grateful for their meat on my table. I carefully consider all the effort on both our parts to bring it to my plate, and I do not waste a tiny morsel.

 

[TanithT]

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I feel rich when I've finished processing some birds, most certainly. No one on earth can be eating better than me when it goes straight from farm to oven, enhanced with just a few fresh-plucked or wildcrafted herbs.

I do, on occasion, indulge in very high-dollar meals out. The best of the celebrity chefs whose cuisine I have paid highly to enjoy are quite conscientious about sourcing the freshest farm produce and highlighting its flavors. And after I've chatted with them about how *I* source my meat, they are frankly envious. There are chefs whose skills exceed mine, but none whose ingredients are better and fresher than mine. Generally they can't get it nearly as fresh and good, no matter how much they pay, and they know it. That's how I've made a few top chefs humble, and envious too.