Yesterday we attempted once again to “harvest” our chickens. A rite of passage for any meat-eating homesteader I would think. Since I am a novice I have no words of wisdom to impart, just our experiences on the day.
First we put a big pot of water on to boil (Childbirth? Chicken butchering? The answer is to boil water.)
As you can imagine, “harvesting” any animal is not a Disney sing-along; there is a fair amount of blood and guts involved. Yet I have decided that my children should observe if they want to be a part of the process because butchering animals is the reality of eating meat.
We had opted out of using a killing cone and instead decided to swaddle the bird in an apron, with its head hanging down as in a YouTube video we (my younger sister MB and I) had watched. It made sense to me to pet and calm the bird before ending its little life. Less stress the better, right? Is there not truth to that in “harvesting” cattle? Why not chickens? I believe that as I held it there before the dreaded cut I was able to calm it, and even trust me…with its life. :/ In the end and very possible because I’m new at this and somewhat afraid of anything that moves that’s not human (that’s another post), it might have experienced some stress in the finally moments. I mean who wouldn't?
My man “harvested” the next one, which if you go visit my sister's blog, My Life as a Platypus, she elaborates in more detail how that one went down. ;)
After the kills were complete, I would say the rest of the process went much better…for the living that is. Scalding, plucking, cleaning, gutting were performed as well as can be expected considering our amateur status.
For the Lord your God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of your hands, and you joy will be complete. Deuteronomy 16:15
1 comment:
WOW - this sounds like an adventure, but perhaps not a walk in the park? Though I'm a suburban girl to the core, part of my childhood was spent in a tiny town in Nebraska, where most of my friends lived on farms and "harvested" their own livestock. This SHOCKED the city right outta me the weekend one of my friends had a slumber party coinciding with Butcher Weekend. YIPES. More power to ya, girl!
On a separate note, thank you so much for linking to my bog in your blogroll! I'm honored and so glad you like it!
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