Okay..you raised the animals and its time for slaughter...

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...what does this mean to your kids or family? Are they freaked out or non-plussed about it all? Are they grossed out about consuming meat when they know the animals it came from (my friends husband is)? My kids (almost 3 and 4 1/2) wouldn't stay in the house when the meat man came so they witnessed the "dirty deed" of the gun to the animals head and the blood. I worried all day about nightmares or some sort of repercussion but we got off scot free in that repect. I explained the whole thing as simple as I could (" a man is coming to kill the pigs and ram lamb so we have meat to eat this winter")and my 4 1/2 year old was totally fascinated by the whole thing and not in the least scared or really dismayed (found one pigs death throes funny ..he's 4 for pete's sake..just thought the pig was doing something funny). Is this good or bad? Can't say yet. He did express some sympathy for the pigs at least("ohhh poor pigs...now go shoot the ram lamb!!"). How does this time of year affect you all?

-- Alison in N.S. (aproteau@istar.ca), October 09, 2001

Answers

The first time we got ready to slaughter chickens, I made my husband go out back, made the kids stay in the house..or so I thought. They were about 6 and 8. He chopped the first head off, chicken flopped around in a very impressive display, then we heard little cheers from around the corner of the house and "Do it again, Daddy!" So much for protecting their morbid little psyche's. Seriously, we always made a distinction between meat animals and pets. Rule 1, never name a meat animal, or at least call them T-bone, or Chili, or something equally culinary. It also helps alot to just give them the usual attention to their needs, but don't play with them or bond. After the first time or two of eating Fluffy, they learn it's easier to play with the pets, and not their future dinner.

-- melina b. (goatgalmjb1@hotmail.com), October 09, 2001.

It doesn't bother me once the animal is dead. I hate having to take the life of the animal, necessary or not, it just goes against my grain. The kids don't mind at all, and are fascinated by the whole event. I do try to shut them in the house while we are dispatching the animal, I don't want them to take too large an interest in killing things and become desensitized to the taking of life, or for them to be traumatized by it. But they try to watch out the windows!!!

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), October 09, 2001.

There was a really great thread on this subject on the Countryside Forum a couple of weeks back.

-- Kelly (ksaderholm@yahoo.com), October 09, 2001.

First, let me state that I am NOT a homesteader (yet), but wanted to weigh in on this important issue.

I love to hunt, but I hate to kill. I have hunted all my life and still feel some guilt when I pull the trigger and kill an animal. I set down next to the animal, and using mental telepathy, apologize for taking its life and explain that it's flesh will sustain my family and myself. Sounds crazy, but I believe the Native Americans held much the same belief. I take pride in cleanly killing the animal, preventing any undue suffering, and butchering it for our table.

Killing an animal that you raised yourself is I believe one of the most honest things you can do. You should not feel guilty for killing it if you have given the animal good treatment and made sure that its death was quick and as painless as possible. Allowing your children to witness this I think is important life lesson. My son is only three now, so I haven't personally gone through this with him, but I will explain through example that killing for sustenance should be celebrated, not condemned. I think we sometimes don't give our kids enough credit on discerning common sense every day events. Killing for the sake of just killing; now that is another matter entirely.

I wonder how many non homesteaders even consider this issue? How many of them consider if their "Big Mac" was from a happy animal, or its treatment in the "meat factories". It seems that the ones closest to living on the land consider these type of issues because we are there to witness them.

-- j.r. guerra (jrguerra@boultinghousesimpson.com), October 09, 2001.


Killing and skinning the rabbits, our two older boys were not nearly as thrilled as the younger ones. We had a friend come to show my husband how to do it; my 9yo daughter got right in there helping to hold the skin and pull it back. When we first got the rabbits, she was all excited about stew, slippers, and mittens.

Chickens are more interesting. We could not keep our little almost- 3yo daughter away. She said with awe, "It's dead." After a pause she added, "Kill the other chickens, Daddy!" Our two older boys took the feet and used their pliers to pull the tendons, causing the claws to move. They talked of showing these to a certain young city girl in the youth group!

We do not name meat animals, only pets or breeding stock. We joke about this sometimes. A week or so ago, my oldest was throwing chickens up into his tree house to see if they would fly down. I said, "How many times do I have to tell you not to play with your food?"

-- Cathy N. (keeper8@attcanada.ca), October 09, 2001.



Oh my, Cathy, thats a funny one. My boys have been chasing the poultry all summer..never thought of it that way though(playing with their food). I probably would have fallen over laughing. all has gone well here with the whole slaughter thing. I went to the abitoir tonight and came home with my pork and lamb plus some that friends had ordered from me. The pigs dressed out to 200 pounds each and the lamb came to 34. I feel rather proud of the fact that I raised these animals for our table. Very rewarding and productive. hubby is tickled pink by it all and wants to know how many pigs we will do next year!!LOL I am glad that my children are not twisted. Sounds like most of the little ones are quite takens with the whole experience. Thats a load off. Guess we should give 'em more credit , eh?

-- Alison in N.S. (aproteau@istar.ca), October 09, 2001.

When it comes time to butcher rabbits here, my kids (two girls, ages 11 and 4) are right there with me. Their dad kills the rabbits quickly with a 22, and I do the cleaning. My 11 year old knows more about anatomy than most adults do, and appreciates how precious meat is! Most kids go through their childhood, munching on their chicken nuggets and hamburgers, not understanding they're eating an animal.

I'll never forget when my oldest daughter was 5. We lived in the city then. She and I were in the car one day and she was eating the inevitable happy meal. While munching on her burger, she was telling me how much she loved animals and how anyone who ever did anything to hurt an animal was a terrible person. I told her I agreed that animals were very special and should be treated well. Then I asked her if she understood what hamburger was. She frowned and shook her head. I explained to her that she was eating the muscle meat of a cow. That that cow had to die in order for her to be eating that hamburger. She sat there for a minute, looked at her hamburger, and then took a big bite out of it. She smiled at me and said, "good cow!"

Now this daughter, who loves to munch cow, and is fascinated by the innards of rabbits, is the most compassionate person I've EVER seen when it comes to animals. She loves anything with fur, and just about everything with feathers or scales! So, I don't think it's bad at all for the kids to be there at butchering time - if they want to be, I would never force them! I think it can be very educational. And it can help them to understand how precious these animals are.

-- Cheryl in KS (cherylmccoy@rocketmail.com), October 09, 2001.


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