Butchering heartbreak

[Baymule]

Raising your own animals is a good way to keep heritage animals alive and breeding. I always go find heritage breeds of pigs to raise for slaughter, to support the farmers who raise them. Plus the meat is better than the lean, no-fat pork modern breeds. We need the genetic diversity that mass produced meat is leaving in the dust. If disease struck the inbred mass produced lines of meat animals, our food supply could disappear in a twinkling. The genetics of the heritage animals could then be used to breed new animals, but if no one is raising them, we'd all be up sh!t creek without a paddle.

 

[GypsyG]

I have hard time with it every single time... But the reason I started raising my own animals for meat in the first place was because it just seems so wrong to me how most meat animals are treated like commodities and not given the love and respect that a living, breathing creation of God who's giving it's life to sustain mine deserves. It is hard, but I know every single one of them has had the best care and have been treated with love, respect, and dignity that they deserve... and I take comfort in that.

It surprises many of my friends that I am capable of harvesting my rabbits for meat because they know me as someone who puts a lot of thought/overthinks into everything, and a kind sensitive person who adores and dotes on my animals... But what bothers me worse would be sitting in a fast food restaurant with a burger in front of me thinking about the lifes of all the cows that are jumbled all together in that patty and looking around seeing everyone scarf them down without a second thought or a bit of appreciation. That bothers me more.

 

[Beekissed]

But what bothers me worse would be sitting in a fast food restaurant with a burger in front of me thinking about the lifes of all the cows that are jumbled all together in that patty and looking around seeing everyone scarf them down without a second thought or a bit of appreciation. That bothers me more.

I agree. When people act like I'm a murderer (yes, I've been called a murderer)when I kill and eat my own livestock, I always ask them about the meats they eat and every single one of them offer the same reply, "That's different...I didn't raise them myself!" As if that makes it less cruel to eat them! When I explain the life their meats had prior to killing, they say "I don't want to hear it" and shuffle off but will still remind me every chance they get how hard-hearted I am because I can kill my own animals.

There are none so blind as those who choose not to see.

 

[Baymule]

A person is intelligent. People are stupid.

 

[B&B Happy goats]

I have to get ten rabbits done tommrow, I will thank them , quickly kill them , and kindly put them in the freezer...and I agree with the above posts......

Ya can't fix stupid ! ................................

 

[secuono]

Normal.

Some say practicing on evil roos or evil buns makes it easier. But in reality, a calm, friendly one is more likely to stay still. And that means its less likely that you will screw it up.

I never got over culling rabbits nor birds. I tried to give them away instead, even though eating them was best. I quit all small critters, but have been struggling with butchering my sheep... I have too many rams this year, so I'll end up eating one this fall either way.

Getting better at culling them does make you feel better, since you become confident and you're less likely to make mistakes that will depress you.

 

[Baymule]

You just can't keep them all.

 

[Mini Horses]

It's difficult. But they have had a good life, well fed, not abused, humanely harvested, far better than those in the meat markets. Those were NOT treated kindly. We understand. We feel it, too. Sound off, we will listen and console. We understand!

 

[ragdollcatlady]

I used to have to fend off my ex when he would try to strong arm me into butchering some of our chickens for inlaws. I don't mind sharing for sure, I occasional gift a chicken to a friend or to those same inlaws, but every life I take, I feel it. I thank them, pray over them and do my best to finish as fast and humanely as I can. I refused to allow him to make me butcher for anyone else, because of the personal cost to my own soul. Feeding my family or myself is one thing. Butchering for someone that would not even remotely appreciate my own sting of remorse or the actual hour of effort one chicken requires, (especially for people that didn't like or appreciate me as a human that was supposed to be a part of their family) was just not worth it. So then he tried to talk my daughter into doing it. The problem with that was .... my kids really never killed the animals, they just helped me after I did the initial work. My daughter did do the actual deed just a couple times because she wanted to learn how, but of course, it was not pleasant and I typically ended up doing that hard part.

Showing gratitude for the life and sacrifice before you and putting in the effort to create a pleasant existence and quick humane end is a wonderful thing we can strive for as stewards of this little part of our world. Especially for the animals that enrich our lives in so many other ways.

Keep feeling all the feels and know that we all feel your pain too.... The process itself usually gets a little bit easier with time and practice. As your confidence in your skills and your comfort with your tools and your routine grow, it does get easier.

 

[Gary]

Thanks for all the responses. Really great