Reasons Why You Should Learn How to Home Butcher

I grew up on a small sustainable farm in Indiana. I learned early how the circle of life works on a farm. The values learned there I still hold today. One of them is learning to butcher your own meat animals. I believe that eating meat is a choice, and I firmly believe that if you choose to eat meat, you should go through the process of taking an animal's life and processing it into food at least once. I feel this process is the best way to connect you to your food. I also feel it instills a greater appreciation and reverence for the life of meat animals. If you are unable to take an animals life for food, I strongly suggest that you re-examine your reasons for eating meat.

2silos broilers

Have you thought about what you are going to do with your old hens when they are no longer productive layers? Do you have a culling plan in place for severely injured or diseased chickens? What are you planning to do with what you thought was a large pullet but has turned out to be a rooster? Have you ever considered raising meat chickens for your family? Did you know that one of your biggest expenses in raising meat chickens is processing?

2silos broilers

I feel a home butcher is the kindest way to cull or harvest your chickens. Packing up your chickens and taking them to a small scale poultry processor or Amish family for butchering is a hugely traumatic process for them. They are not in their familiar, secure surroundings and you are nowhere in sight to lend comfort. Your chickens have had a fabulous life at your place, why not let them stay home for their one last day?

Many feel that it's just too much to cull their own chickens or do their own butchering. Some people are squeamish about blood and guts. Others are kind of freaked out about the killing part. True, there is death, blood and guts. That's just part of it. Death is part of the life cycle. The killing part is hard, there's no doubt about it. Especially when it's an old favorite hen who's time has come. But, when you chose to have chickens, you took on the responsibility of their lives and their deaths.  I think it's much better to die an quick intended death than a death from predation, accident, disease or at the hands of strangers.

Silkies

I am teaching a class on Home Butchering, Saturday, August 10 from 9-12 pm in Columbus, Ohio. Class participants will each receive a live Cornish cross broiler chicken to butcher, clean and take home.  Participants will have the opportunity to choose how to butcher their chicken. If you have an old hen or rooster you wish to butcher, you may bring it.

A local pathology vet instructor, Tracy Papenfuss, will be on-hand to conduct a necropsy on our demo birds for those interested in learning the anatomy of a chicken or those interesting in learning to do their own necropsy.

To find out more or to register, follow the link below. 

Home Butchering Class August 10, 2013