If you want to butcher your own animals but are afraid you will not be able to do it… watch this.
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Janet Chaney says
Commented on you tube also, came over here to watch as a pioneer. Thank you for sharing this!
Cynthia Stephens says
How old is to old for butchering a chicken when it no longer lays eggs? We have some much older hens that I would like to “cull” so I can bring in new ones.
Aust says
In our experience they are never too old, pressure cooker fixes that!
Dan says
My thoughts exactly…LOL
Juanita Dixon says
Aust and K.
I have been dispatching animals for meat since I was very young understanding that if I want to eat meat an animal must die like your children were raised to understand.
You, with K’s help, did an awesome job on this video.
Keep up the good work or providing videos that help beginners.
Ellissa says
I wasn’t gonna say anything about the totem pole, but I thought it ? it makes me smile and feel kinda warm and fuzzy when someone whines about being the “low man on the totem pole” I’m so glad someone else knows that that is actually the place of honor! Love you guys! Thanks again for keeping me company during this “learning curve”
Wendelyn Geiger says
My butchering and harvested wild animals came from after I hunted them. This way works too, like you said you know what you’ve fed them and the environment in which they were grown.
Nadeya says
Can I ask a question… I’m learning about homesteading and in my research have found your channel… Thank you for your time and videos, btw… but I am curious as to why, if the neck was broken, the rabbit is still flailing about? Forgive me my ignorance, Ive no experience with any of this and am asking with a genuine desire to learn, but it was always my understanding that when the neck is broken the rest of the body is paralyzed.
Thank you. 🙂
p.s. I appreciate the content of this video and the simple point that taking another life, even if it is to feed yourself and your family, is never easy… at least it shouldn’t be. Watching this was a little difficult but if I plan on doing any of this myself I need to learn. 🙂
Aust says
Nadeya, great question. You learn when you start feeding your family your own farm raised and wild harvested meat that animals are incredible in their will to survive. A deer that has been shot in the heart with a bullet, and the heart has been literally exploded into pieces can still run 100 yards into the woods to survive. A chicken with it’s head cut off can literally fly away (or flap away) from the spot it’s head was removed. A rabbit that has it’s neck broke is no different. The animals body misfires for lack of a better word, signals firing as it shuts down, and it can do some incredible things. When you finally get to that place and start butchering your own animals, just remember animals fight death fiercely, and don’t let it make you feel like you did something wrong, as it is normal.
james says
thank you guys! super appreciate the time and effort you spend in your vid.
Cory Anzaldua says
I’m trying so hard to learn from these but I just can’t put behind me ending a life that could be lived. I feel like this is a bit silly after your explanations and many videos but the thought is still there.
Aust says
Not silly Cory, it is good to have compassion for the animals we raise!
Matthew says
Hi, my name is Matt and I’m living in Australia. I have recently moved to the country with my young family. We only have a tiny space here, but perhaps just enough to be as homestead and self-sufficient as possible. My next-door neighbour has been butchering his whole life and he’s getting close to 80! –I think. I have had the thought to ask him if he would teach me, but never could because a part of me didn’t really want to go through with it. To take another life, of a being I see myself in. I haven’t even killed a fish. But, for whatever reason now, it actually seems the right time or something. So I asked and he agreed.. So it could be any day now. So I searched youtube: “What does it feel like to kill an animal” And here I am. How very helpful your video has been. I like the conversational presentation, funny, warm. I felt invited into your home. Great content, I’m going to have to go back and watch what you’ve done so far.
Aust says
Matt, wow! So glad you found us! And congrats on taking this big step towards providing for your family! I am a bit jealous, learning from a professional is a great opportunity! Keep us posted on how it goes! – Aust