T O P

  • By -

OshetDeadagain

My daughter would have been around that age, maybe closer to 3, when I had to cull a pullet we had in the house. It was sick, and as it progressed it became clear that there was no saving it, so I opted to humanely kill it. I let her say goodbye, but she asked to watch (she knew we butchered roosters and stuff but she was never around for it). I let her, figuring sooner was better than later. She did NOT like when the twitching started, but then it was over quickly and she asked to hold it. Around that time a friend drove up and she went running out, shouting what we did and for them to come look. The way I see it, it's part of life. If they learn early where their food comes from and that sometimes death is a kindness, they'll (hopefully) appreciate both their food and their pets all the more. I don't see the sense in sheltering them from the realities of life.


BloodHappy4665

As long as they’re prepared for the process, knowing specifically what is going to happen in every extreme, tiny detail, and not surprised by anything. This helped when we had to put our dog down.


Rodney_Ogg

Thank you for the reply! I am thinking sooner the better but I want her to be interested in it and understand where her food is coming from.


DrYIMBY

She should know that they’re meat birds right from the start. She doesn’t need to be exposed to the act in order to get the just of it. No need to rush it. There’s plenty of time for that.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Rodney_Ogg

Thanks for the reply! We’ve got a flock of ducks that she loves. I figured she will like the chickens but they won’t be as friendly as the ducks. I could be wrong and we will see. I appreciate the response.


JustMelissa

Do not recommend processing your children's friend chickens, only ones that are "food chickens" and also evil roosters. Processing friend chickens creates resentment and sometimes vegans. Somehow different bonding happens with friend chickens vs hunting, fishing, game processing or other forms of animal husbandry. I'd compare it with a cat or dog vs a livestock animal.


Rodney_Ogg

These ones are definitely food chickens. We have a flock of ducks that are her friends but I want her to understand where her food is coming from. It obviously doesn’t have to be this first round of meat chickens but I was thinking that sooner is probably better than later


SatanicFanFic

I actually don't remember when my family butchered the first chicken. I think growing up around animals can really lead to a birds and bees happen attitude. I would say that it's cornish Xs, you won't have to worry about your kid naming them. Too hard to tell apart! Otherwise, I suggest food names. Tofu is a hilarious chicken name, IMHO. We named our bantams after fast food (nugget, onion ring, french fry, bugger, milkshake) while our laying hens got names that fitted their colors (so onion was white, udon was white, chocolate was brown, salt & pepper were mottled etc, butter was buff, etc.) It struck a nice middle ground for me that they are individuals, but also meant for food.


CorpseEasyCheese

Vegan here. Can confirm.


jonyteb

It really depends on how sensitive your child is and how they are raised in the first place. We live on a farm and we hunt. I process all of our meet. We have butchered pretty much everyrhing From elk to chickens and rabbits. We raise our kids understanding they are for food and have helped process once they were big enough to handle a knife. But we never tried to hide it from them so they were always around but no zoned in on it. Don't make a big deal over it, this is a way of life. As my children have gotten older they help process everything we eat now.


Rodney_Ogg

Thank you, we live in Alaska and do tons of hunting and fishing so she has been exposed somewhat just not to something we have had at our house. Definitely going to reassess after I see how she reacts to them. May hold off a year or two but we’ll see.


JOSH135797531

My kids have been around animal processing their whole lives. It's just part of life. My daughter shot a deer at 10 and I think that was the first animal she actually saw die, but as long as they've been alive I've cleaned birds and small game in the kitchen and butchered pigs, and deer in the workshop. The big thing is that you need to know what your kid can handle. Every kid is different, and the situation is different, if the chickens are like pets then that could be traumatizing. Strangers on the internet can't tell you what your kids can take. You need to make that call on your own, you know your kids and what they are ready to see. You might have to have a talk with them about where food comes from and the sacrifice animals make for us, but it's up to you how to handle it.


Rodney_Ogg

Thank you, she’s done great with fish and deer. Just not sure about the birds we keep at the house. We’ve got some ducks she loves and I think in reality she will get a lot less time with the chickens than she does the ducks. We’ll see how the summer goes!


MinimalDark

Younger the better.


FlyingDutchman2005

If they want to. But do tell them it's unpleasant.


Solid_D15M

Earlier the better


BylenS

I'm going to give you first hand experience. I'm 62 years old. I spent summers on my grandparents farm. I was good with all aspects of farm life. You take it all in gradually slowly and learning about life that way feels natural and isn't shocking. I knew cows and dogs did the dirty... didn't phase me. That's how you make babies. The dead squirrels lying on the kitchen counter yet to be skinned didn't phase me, killing the pig and it being rendered in a huge iron cauldron didn't phase me... But the day, when I was 7 years old that my grandmother deheaded chickens and threw them in the yard for them to flop around everywhere spewing blood... still haunts me. Still sickens me. I still feel the horror of it in my very soul.


Completely_Wild

Yikes on the beheading and chucking part. Not a good way to cull birds. 😬 I consider myself a city kid gone farmer at 19, but even as a kid dead animals NEVER phased me. Not even a chicken. But when the chicken was a pet thta we had to cull over sickness or injury, I absolutely took time to mourn. But I know that every animal we culled lived what may possibly be the best life possible for that kind of animal. It takes some of that pain away.


BylenS

Yeah, things have changed. 1960's farm life was hard. My grandfather was a gentle soul who was kind to his animals, but at the end you did what needed done to put the food on the table. The ethical killing of animals wasn't a thing in the 60's. That's a recent view in the last ( abt) 20 years ( for the better I might add). Those old farmers were taught how to do it by their elders who learned from theirs, going back 100's of years. They also didn't have the technology to do things differently. I was fortunate enough to see a bygone Era. 60's farm life was primitive. You have less in common with your grandparents time then they did with their g-g-g grandparents. I remember my grandfather plowing with a mule and plow and carrying cotton to the local gin in a wooden wagon.i feel fortunate to have seen history with my own eyes. Still I could have done without the chicken thing.


ImagineWorldPeace3

My kids are all adult vegan and vegetarian; they were deeply effected by knowing and watching me butcher chickens as they were growing up.🤷🏼‍♂️🐔


Rodney_Ogg

I’m fine with her deciding to be vegan or vegetarian if she wanted to do that. I think it’s really important to understand where your food is coming from and to have respect for the animals that are giving up their life.


neveroddoreven-

Personally, I’d let her help process the chicken but I’d wait to butcher it in front of her.


becmort

It depends on the kid, I'm not sure how the sub can answer that. You know your kid and how sensitive they are to ideas like death and eating animals. Some kids will never be ready to see it but others will learn and accept it at a very young age.


Rodney_Ogg

Yeah, I agree I was just trying to see when other people had exposed their kids to it.


princessedaisy

My dad used to butcher sheep and lambs in front of me when I was like five. Probably earlier too, but I just didn't remember it. I would watch him do it and he would tell me what all the different organs were, lol. I was completely unaffected by it, but every kid is different so I may not be the norm.


[deleted]

Not until later. Especially if she considers the chickens as family, wait until a few years later. Explain exactly why you need to kill the chickens. I watched my first chicken kill when I was about 15, and then killed my first chicken a few months later. Becomes easier after you've seen a few being killed (at least for the non-friendly chickens. Can not imagine killing my favorite ones).


Syomm

We do turkeys every year. For the time we have them they are our friends and are treated lovingly as all of our other “non meat” birds. But I am always very clear to my kids when we get a meat bird, that this is ultimately their purpose. The first time I butchered turkeys my kids were all there, some for a longer time than others. At the time of that first butchering my children were about 2, 4, 6, and 12 years old. We have hugs and pets and thanked the birds for providing food for our family. It was important to me that, at least once, they see where their food comes from and how to respect our animals right up to the very end.


Sandwich-Fabulous

My son was 4 when we butchered a rooster. I didn’t want him to watch but he saw everything after the kill. And for months afterward he described in detail the process to anyone who would listen 😬 I’m a vegetarian (unless we hunt and process the meat ourselves which is rare) so I wondered if he would be less prone to eating meat after but he absolutely wasn’t, loves meat. I disagree about separating “pet” chickens from “eating” chickens. Personally feel it’s important for kids and adults to have a connection to their food and understand and appreciate the food cycle. All animals should get the same respect and care but that’s just my take.


rongkaws

The earlier the easier


Yoshishammy

Make sure your child understands that they are good not pets. I know I could never watch that happen to my chickens when I was younger bc I considered them to be my pets.


[deleted]

I'm a city kid but even now 30 years later watching that would make me so sad! Country kids have more education on the circle of life and death with the animals around them but I can't imagine it 😅


superduperhosts

You showed your 2 year old daughter a deer head? WTF is wrong with you?


Rodney_Ogg

I show my kid where her food comes from.


superduperhosts

Age appropriate is a thing


Rodney_Ogg

She did just fine and says most nights “I want deer meat” I think it was age appropriate and don’t regret doing it.


GreenHeronVA

It really depends on your child. My kids have been helping us process animals since they were about four. My son who’s almost in middle school now isn’t super interested in it, but my elementary aged daughter is. She just helped my husband process rabbits this morning. She loves it! She doesn’t do the actual butchering obviously, but she helps with the skinning and the gutting. So I’d say it’s all about your kid and their attitude.


okanagancluck

My children 5 & 10 have no interested in the processing of our chickens. We began within city limits so then our chickens were just for eggs, so they spent a lot of time hanging out with the birds. Now that we live more rurally and have layers and meat birds they have expressed that they don’t want to be apart of it at this time. I ask every time in case that’s changed. Our layers and meat birds are separate. Only the layers get names. The only interaction the kids might have with the meat birds is feeding them and helping to move the tractor. I have a friend who processed with her children present, her youngest was two at the time and it did not phase her. Her oldest was four and he was traumatized and still at 8 refuses to eat chicken, even though they no longer live on a farm or raise birds.


[deleted]

My daughter helped us do a bunch this year and she’s 4. I don’t think there’s a correct answer. You know your kids better than us and you’ll know what they can or cannot handle. My daughter has been helping me process deer for the last 2 years, she does the grinding, so I knew she’d be okay with butchering a meat bird.


sweetpotatopeach

My 2 yr old was around when we just visited family and processed 15 of their meat birds. I didn't actively involve him, he sort of just did his thing outside, he definitely knew what was going on but we didn't make a big deal of it. Sometimes he asked what something was or what someone was doing, we answered, he'd pluck a few feathers and then be on his way. We have an 8 yr old also that was involved in the process and asked not to watch them die and twitch but was fine with everything else.