Chicken and chips for tea last night.
I've had one chicken start to walk a little funny and I was worried it was "going off its legs" a problem with these meat breeds that can get too big too fast.
So I decided that we'd cull that one early, Save the bird any discomfort and I'd got nothing out of the freezer for tea. I was planning on butchering some this week anyway to see what they weighed out at anyway.
My eldest daughter was very keen to help. I've always been careful around the butchery and slaughter of animals around them. I don't want to put them off or scare them, but I also don't want to shelter them from it either. She was keen to understand the whole process and wanted to be involved, they've helped me feed them and move them so I think it's great they want to know the whole process.
I let her carry the axe and open and shut the pen for me.
I told her she didn't have to watch me do the killing but she was adamant that she wanted to see. Nothing morbid from her, just sheer curiosity.
She then helped me pluck it. I took it up to the house to gut as I wanted a clean chopping board. My other daughter was interested to see this bit as well. They were fascinated as I pull out the different parts and told them what each one did. Neither were disgusted or even thought to be, to them this was a natural part of the cycle, something they'd only heard of before but his time they got to see it.
This is something that would happen all round the world and children would be involved with the process as well.
Only in the western world do we think it's odd to have children involved in something like this. I hope my children stay interested and want to be involved for a long time to come.
The bird weighed 1.2kg dressed out, ideal for our dinner. There are bigger birds in the pen but I might wait a few more weeks until I butcher anymore so we get bigger birds from them to go in the freezer, good to get at least a couple of meals from each one if we can.
What do you think?
Is four and five to young to be involved with this aspect of keeping animals?
No doubt some would be disgusted by you but not me. Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteWhat's what's odd is to grow up thinking that meat is made in a factory and comes on polystyrene trays. Your children will appreciate the value of what they're eating because they know just how much work has gone into producing it. When I grew up chicken was a treat for Sunday lunch, not a cheap everyday food. I think if more people understood the process they might not accept the cheap meat sold by large supermarkets.
ReplyDeleteI agree! We don't have chicken very often as we think it's quite expensive when we buy the high welfare grain fed birds, I'm looking forward to having more in our diet and great for when we have friends over for tea.
DeleteCheap food is dangerous on the value it makes us place on food. In the past being fed was a key to surviving, now people just take it for granted.
I think it's absolutely the right thing to do. My children were older by the time we butchered our own animals but I made sure they understood the process before that.
ReplyDeleteThey were pretty small when we had pheasant for tea one day and they looked out of the window as a pheasant wandered across the garden. They asked if it was the same thing and I said it was and explained about pork/pigs etc. They carried on eating and they didn't bat an eyelid. Acquaintances the next day were horrified and made me promise not to tell their children their sausages were made out of pigs!
Speaking of which, have you seen this newspaper clipping? It's been around for a while-
http://wafflesatnoon.com/to-all-you-hunters-newspaper-clipping/
Love the clipping! I wouldn't be surprised if it was real, I read some really funny stuff people think sometimes!
DeleteWe try to tell them where everything has come from if we can, they ask if we don't tell them normally.
Fantastic Kev that you are showing them how things work, circle of life and nature etc. My boys are always interested, too.
ReplyDeleteThanks! It's a really natural thing that for some reasons some people put barriers in place.
DeleteI agree that it is both okay and appropriate. You know your children so will be able to judge best. We have adults visit us who are inveterate meat eaters but still exclaim "oh, how could you"? when it comes to this part of the process. I don't know how they think the meat they buy ends up in the butcher or supermarket. I'm sure your children as all very normal.
ReplyDeleteI think I long for a simpler time, a friend said just those words the other day to me but will happily go to KFC or McDonalds and eat anything there. Most have been really interested but I guess that has something to do witht he friends I have as well!
DeleteIt's not about age, but more about what your children are ready for, our society is squeamish about death and our food chain's.
ReplyDeleteAnthropomorphism has a lot of answer for in this country, we assign human emotions to animals and think they think like we do. When I shoot a rabbit I'm sure some people think it will be like watershipdown!
DeleteNot at all! Never too young - kids get more sensitive they older they get, in my experience. As a young chld, I was around when my dad killed and dressed my gran's chickens. The only problem he had was when I was sneakily feeding the poor chosen hen, kept in a separate little cage for a day to clean out the digestive system. 'I don't understand this' he would say 'she should be empty!'. Oops!
ReplyDeleteI agree, I think the older ones seem more sensitive about it, I commented above but I shared this on an America site and many there said the same, teh young ones took to it like a duck to water whereas if they come to it when older then they might not want to do it so much.
DeleteHaving "clean" animals to gut does make a huge difference.
the younger the better
ReplyDeleteI thought you'd be all for it!
DeleteI think it is correct that children learn where their food comes from if more did they might not be so quick to through food out. I am a townie but I believe that animal died to feed me and I must not waste. We eat a little meat with lots of vegetables as I feel that is the healthiest way to live.
ReplyDeleteWe eat less meat but know where it came from and try to waste as little as possible. A lot of veg goes through our place as well!
Deletewhat an education! i always helped clean and butcher whatever my father shot when he hunted. we used to open the stomachs to see what the animal or bird ate.
ReplyDeleteThe girls loved that bit, looking at the crop and the gizzard and seeing what they;d eaten.
DeleteMost people would probably be appalled, but most people are totally out of touch with reality. I think children take clues from their parents about how to react to things. You treated it like a fact of life, which it is! More children should be raised this way.
ReplyDeleteI think my children will have a different set of skills to many out there! And I take some pride in that!
DeleteIf only more people knew where their food comes from let alone children perhaps there would be less waste too. I'm not vegetarian but I do think far too much meat is consumed these days.
ReplyDeleteI think too much meat is eaten as well. We normally have a few veggie meals each week and one with eggs as well. My wife thinks somethings up if I haven't eaten a dozen eggs in a week!
DeleteI think starting them early might be keen. I shared this post on an American Homesteading page and most start thier kids early there adn have no problems, ones that came to it later seem to struggle more.
ReplyDeleteit never bothered us. I didnt like plucking though.
ReplyDelete