Last month, a group of neighbors helped us to process 38 chickens who were raised in our yard. Dan and I raised them for 9 weeks.  We split the costs of feed. Several of us went to a workshop in VT ahead of time to learn how to process in an efficient and respectful manner. It was well worth the $25 registration fee. When all was said and done, it took 5 of us 4.5 hours to finish all 38 chickens and scrub everything down with bleach. 

 

Here are some random thoughts from some of the participants: 

 

I decided to look at the first 2 weeks after Saturday as a "fast" from meat. I will go back to eating meat, but the 2 weeks gave me a chance to appreciate what it is that was sacrificed. (Of course, having said that I realize that I did partake in moose and deer the day after... so this is really about the fact that WE were responsible for the processing.) I see this as sort of like firewood. We touch each piece of wood 6 or 7 times that by the time it makes it to our woodstoves, I pick up a piece and am surprised that I remember that specific piece! The grain, the splits, the bark... whatever it is left an impression. The same thing is happening for me with the chickens. We fed them. Cared for them. We killed them and processed. We know these just as intimately, but in this case the object of my scrutiny is less than beautiful.

I think it's a good thing to question and find a place that is comfortable. I'm not sure being thoughtless is the right answer for me. What I keep coming back to is that those little beasts were as healthy and happy as they could be. They led relatively charmed lives compared to what their counterparts lead in CAFOs. They ate sunflower leaves and bean leaves and grass and tomatoes. They drank water off the grass. They scritched in the dirt. And I think that deserves equal weight in the balance.

 

 

 

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE "PROCESSING," AND INTO THE NIGHT
SHE SHARPENED HER KNIVES 'TIL THEY WERE JUST RIGHT

THERE'S A CLEAVER, A CORER, A BUTCHER OR TWO
IF ONE DOESN'T WORK, THE OTHER WILL DO

SO MY FELLOW SLAUGHTERERS, DO NOT DESPAIR
NOW YOU KNOW HOW A HUNTER FEELS, WHEN THERE'S MEAT IN THE AIR

DON'T WE FEEL RIGHTEOUS, WHEN PICKING UP FREE RANGE ORGANIC MEAT
AT THE FARM OR THE CO-OP, WE DEPART, A LIVELY STEP UNDER OUR FEET

DIFFERENCE THERE IS NOT, I TELL YOU SO TRUE
A TRIGGER, A SLIT, YOUR GRIP. THERE TOO