- Thread starter
- #101
Jamie Molihan
Songster
This is Henrietta and Blanche
I just discovered this thread today so I'm a little late to the party but I wanted to share a few things. I'd also like to say that the kindness, maturity, support, and respect shared in this thread has been wonderful. I've seen these threads go sideways very fast in the past but all of you have created a great thread full of not just great information but also understanding. Kudos to all of you.
I started my fowl journey about 2.5 years ago with ducks. Then I added chickens and quail. I kind of fell in love with the idea of homesteading and raising my own food. The quail were meant mostly for meat. At that time I was in the suburbs and was limited on what I could raise. I had no prior experience with butchering. I didn't really get any support from friends and family. Honestly, not one of them thought I could do it. Butchering day came and even though it was extremely difficult I was actually able to do it. I did feel a sense of pride for having completed the process of raising a bird from a chick to having meat on my table. It did take me a while to get over that first butchering before doing another batch but I have continued to raise quail.
My first chicken butchering was last spring, a 22-week cockerel. He was a butt and the choice to butcher him wasn't hard (though I knew the actual act would be hard). I did tons of research and decided on the killing cone/throat slitting method. I thought I was prepared. It didn't go well at all. I messed up. It took longer than it should have and the bird suffered for it. I felt extremely guilty about the whole thing and swore I'd never use that method again. I now use a large pair of tree loppers. Its much easier for me to do a quick, clean cut and with complete decapitation I know the bird doesn't suffer. Since then I have done some CX, extra cockerels, and even a couple ducks.
Earlier this year I had to do an 8 month cockerel I had planned on keeping. He had a name and was meant to stay but as he matured he changed. He was ruining the harmony of the flock and had to go. I didn't like the idea of passing a problem bird onto someone else so he ended up in the crockpot. His was the hardest because he was beautiful and I really did like him. I actually couldn't bring myself to eat him. I feed my dogs a homemade diet so he was their dinner. I was grateful his death had purpose and he lives on in my flock through a couple daughters.
I have gotten better and faster at the process but it's not easier. I don't think it will ever get easier and I don't think I want it to. I am proud of the things I have learned and done, even when they didn't go well. Especially since I know I did it completely by myself. No one really wants to help me (though they have no problem eating the meat). I thought I would need help with the ducks (those eyes!!) so I asked my older brother if he would. He's a hunter. He agreed to help but didn't seem to keen on it and kept dragging his feet. I eventually just did it myself. I learned then that the idea of butchering is hard even for those that have taken a life for food.
I think this whole thing has taught me a much greater respect for animals that end up on the dinner table. I actually eat less meat now because I have a greater knowledge of what it took. And the meat I have raised taste way better than any of the meat I buy.
@Jamie Molihan I hope that you can take comfort in knowing you did what was best and I think you should be proud of yourself for completing the task.. I don't blame you for not being able to eat the meat yourself and as long as it doesn't go to waste I think it's totally fine. I also hope that you don't completely swear off raising and butchering your own meat until you have had time to really work through all your emotions. I almost didn't do it again after the first time but eventually did and I'm glad I did. If this is something that is really important to you I encourage you to stay open to the idea of trying it again. Maybe just try doing it differently.
Thank you so much for your kindness and your input. I know that I may feel differently about it once I get over the shock of the whole thing, but right now I feel like a villain. I thought I had prepared everything just right, I didn’t. I decided on the cone method also. I had the girls locked up so they could t see it, and now I wish I had been sitting in the coop with them. I didn’t cut right, it wasn’t quick, and then he got out of the cone and ran to his hiding spot...bleeding the whole way. I started crying and shaking. My husband picked him up and cut off his head. I threw up. While dressing him I was shaking so bad that when I mad the vent cut I stabbed into him and nicked the intestines. I then had to stick a garden hose on him while I continued to dress him. Like I said...it was awful.
i am glad it over. I now only have the two girls, one Isa Brown who thinks she is a full on raptor and one teeny D’Uccle who thinks she is Godzilla.
