| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| rksmith |
Posted - Mar 15 2011 : 4:00:59 PM
Here is my dilemma. I personally have no problem in raising an animal to butcher and eat. I have no problem in doing so myself (as in I do the butchering) my husband however is another story. He doesn't think we should butcher any of our animals, he doesn't want to do it, he doesn't want me to do it, he doesn't want my dad to do it. He says he is ok if we take it to the butcher pen BUT...I don't know of any butcher pen that handles a chicken or a turkey or a rabbit here and there. This is really driving me nuts and getting on my nerves so bad!! I've even suggested paying someone else to come do it and he doesn't want to. I remind him that when we agreed to buy animals it was to eat them or sell them or trade them; I'm all for eating them. He allows himself to get attached and doesn't want to butcher or get rid of them (unless they piss him off then he's all about let's get rid of them--I'm ready to eat them!) Our goal is to move away from being grocery store dependent and I keep telling him we can't do that if we don't butcher and eat some critters. He doesn't want to hear it. I don't know what else to say or do in this situation..any suggestions? I know that once I've had enough of this I will go ahead and butcher to my little stomach's content and fill the freezer..but at the same time I would like for him to be more open and accepting of this fact of life. We both agree that the crapola in the grocery store is unhealthy, tasteless crap and we both want better food for our family. And yet, he continues about how we just can't eat our babies...oh yes I can! I really feel that an animal who is loved and appreciated and butchered in a humane and appreciative way truly tastes better than one that has been mistreated or not appreciated and loved. At any rate, like I said this is really grating my last nerve fiber!!!
Rachel
Farmgirl Sister #2753
Do not ask the Lord to guide your footsteps, if you are not willing to move your feet--Dr. Kioni
http://www.mynsp.com/rksmith
http://madame1313.wordpress.com/ |
| 9 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| batznthebelfry |
Posted - Mar 22 2011 : 1:14:36 PM
Oh my so many stories...I didn't grow up on a farm until & was 15 & it was somewhat a shock to a city girl but overall I really liked it...some of the butchering was so tough & yes I cried many tears but still ate the what they provided...Mom was smart she never told us if we were eating a butchered animal we butchered, plus we were so hungry from all the farm work we didn't think about it. I had to butcher the rabbits & like the story above I had one scream because I didn't hit it hard enough to break its neck tore me up bad but I still had to tend to that chore....I am very attacked to my hens & even my one big male rooster that needs to go....But my mind set was getting chickens for eggs not meat so I always try to find homes for the roosters...I am sure some are going in pots but I don't ask & I don't want to know. My neighbor girl has the same sort of husband that can shoot a deer but can't kill the chickens, ducks or quail they have raised...so even though I have offered many many times to butcher them for them they end up giving 100's of dollars of animals away....but they won't let me buy them cause they know they will get butchered....whereas if someone else buys them & butchers them they don't know it....it drives me nuts everytime she says she is getting more animals that they will butcher & I know they won't.....they have 1 income & 4 kids.....She has given away 50 full grown quail, at least 10 full grown ducks & about 50 chickens so far in less than 2 years....now she wants to get more ducks & female turkeys that she says they will butcher....but if they name them as they always do they will be given away just like the others. I am all for the living off the grid, going green, healthy ect but some people are just not cut out for it...I want to live with no electricity, wood stove, compost toilet ect but I have a husband who has to have a computer & TV...I have lived that way where I had a outhouse, had to boil my water for bathes, used oil lamps & had a woodstove for heat & cooking...I loved it....I went to bed when the sun went down & got up with the sun rising....yes things took longer to do but I enjoyed that time.....its not a life some can do & I understand where my husband is coming from but if I need help killing something thank goodness he will help because he is not attached to the animals like I am.....Michele'
Chickens rule!
The Old Batz Farm
Hen #2622 |
| sherrye |
Posted - Mar 21 2011 : 07:32:37 AM
thought i had a minute and would comment. papa supports me in what i do. growing food was mt idea first. i do all major butchering and all killing. papa lifts the steer with the tractor splits the carcass etc. he is willing to seal a meal the packages etc. we work well together, each doing what he can. i think as stated above as you go forward and do some it gets easier. i always say a prayer and give thanks for what my Gos Jehovah has given me and the animals part in it. then i do the big stuff and papa backs me up. we just loaded 2 pigs in trailer yesterday. GONE they are when they cost more to keep and we are on the downside of profit they go. so we have 3 more pigs to send. i find if i grow doucle what i need, say 2 beef i sell one to pay for other. so right now i have one cow at butcher, 2 hogs go today, then 3 more hogs, then i have 20 fryers still to do. then i will buy 3 pigs to grow out in summer. we are always in production. we try to sell what we eat here to pay for animal bills. hope this helps. i think just doing it, it gets easier. i used to cry when i killed a chicken for food. now i am humbled and grateful but no crying. sherrye
the learn as we go silk purse farm
farm girl #1014
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| RedGateGal |
Posted - Mar 20 2011 : 6:57:21 PM
Not sure how long your hubby has been farming since you say he did not grow up on a farm. The first time we took a few calves to the butcher, it was difficult for me. The first eggs I scrambled and the first turkey I ate from our farm turned me off. I had watched my husband breast the turkey out. But...I wanted a different way of life. It was clear that if I wanted to a healthier product that I would have to come to terms with the process. I did not want to be dependent on a grocery store and wanted to live off the land.
So I guess I tell you all of this to say that it took me some time to "mentally" change to obtain what I wanted. GOOD LUCK and sending some Tennessee farmgirl patience your way.
Farmgirl Sister #2574
www.redgategal.blogspot.com
"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined." ~ Henry David Thoreau
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| msdoolittle |
Posted - Mar 18 2011 : 9:12:09 PM
I don't know what to say except if he is willing to eat meat, then I don't see what the hangup is. If he wants no part of the process, that is absolutely fine. I understand about getting attached to animals, which is why I dote on my laying hens and not my broiler meat birds.
I don't have a good answer for you...my hubby does the killing and I do the cleaning/cooking of the animals. :0(
Also, Kris, I completely understand what you're saying. I do have parrots and 2 goofy small dogs, but everything else 'does' something. Rabbits give us manure, chickens lay and make manure, and then there's the meat animals.
FarmGirl #1390
www.mylittlecountry.wordpress.com |
| rksmith |
Posted - Mar 18 2011 : 11:32:26 AM
Oh yeah, we've been going to the stock sales, and the price for goats/sheep is crazy! We've been buying local grassfed beef recently and with that it has SO much more flavor and we don't eat as much, seems to be far more filling. I've pointed out this and how we could save more money by doing our own butchering. It will come down to me going out and just doing it. I think once it is done, he'll come around and be ok. If not, I'll still have some good eats.
Rachel
Farmgirl Sister #2753
Do not ask the Lord to guide your footsteps, if you are not willing to move your feet--Dr. Kioni
http://www.mynsp.com/rksmith
http://madame1313.wordpress.com/ |
| chickenjanedoe |
Posted - Mar 18 2011 : 08:56:44 AM
Racheal you could always say dear i'm going to butcher something...pick one or i will.
And for the record a friend of mine was at an auction house last week getting feeder pigs and a calf and scuttlebut was that prices are going up 30% this year. Maybe you could show with cold hard cash what that means to your wallet if you have to buy at the store. Just thinking... Good luck and happy butchering.
sandy |
| rksmith |
Posted - Mar 16 2011 : 7:01:27 PM
We've discussed this a million times and he just doesn't get it!!! He wasn't raised on a farm (I was) and perhaps that plays a role, I don't know. I keep asking him why buy it when we can grow it and why feed it if we can't eat it (or milk it or shear it, etc) if it doesn't contribute here we don't need it ;). He says he understands but still doesn't want to have any part of butchering here. I'm not sure what his hang up is, but the clock is ticking and sooner or later I will get some butchering done one way or another.
Rachel
Farmgirl Sister #2753
Do not ask the Lord to guide your footsteps, if you are not willing to move your feet--Dr. Kioni
http://www.mynsp.com/rksmith
http://madame1313.wordpress.com/ |
| kristin sherrill |
Posted - Mar 16 2011 : 01:06:49 AM
Rachel, you do have a dilemma. I don't know what to tell you. Maybe have him watch Food Inc. We used to have rabbits years ago. My hubbt killed one for us to eat. That was his last rabbit. He said the poor thing screamed. I can't blame him for that. But there are alot of more humane ways to butcher. I will not have anything here that cannot give us either meat, milk, eggs or wool. It's got to have a job. We cannot afford to feed animals that aren't working for us. That may sound a bit harsh, but it's the truth. Even the cats help out by keeping rodents away. I haven't seen a single mouse yet. Even the chickens are good mousers. They love them.
I hope you can get him to understand how you feel about this. My cow Mazie just had her 1st calf a few days ago. It's a bull calf, just what I was wanting. I named him Chuck, because that is what he will be in 18 months. Even the grandkids know this. That's why I got the cow. And we have goats that give us milk and meat. Anyway, maybe watching Food Inc. will change his mind.
And if that doesn't work, y'all might could start a petting zoo and charge at the gate. You might make enough for all the feed they are eating!
Joy, that is so true. And our animals need to know this.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
| JoyIowa |
Posted - Mar 15 2011 : 7:10:59 PM
I had the honor of teaching at a Native American community for a little more than 10 years. The belief of that particular tribe is that there is no greater honor in an animal's death than to be killed to provide food for humans.
If it's not illegal, unsafe, or immoral, why not try anything once? Who knows? You may come back for a second helping! |
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