Killing Chickens At Home: Would You Do It? (PHOTOS)

Guest post by Makenna Goodman, Chelsea Green Publishing

Last night, we had fourteen people over for dinner. And they wanted chicken. Good thing we had some...but they were running around. And so it was--all in the name of well balanced meals--farm life came down to its grittiest.

I live and work on a farm in central Vermont, and there's always family around. That means a lot of emotional turmoil (and joy, ehem), a lot of secretly chugging whiskey in the closet (not really, but really), and best of all--extra hands. No one visits without pitching in. And now that it's late August, the farm work is at its peak. Harvesting, preserving food for winter, and chicken killing.

While some may balk (bawwwk) at the idea of taking a life on the grounds of a homestead, we do it for the sake of food--not sport--and when it comes down to it, for the sake of the chicken itself. It's not indulging in sadism, nor for power over an animal, nor an image of something hardcore and awesome to impress the neighbors. It's about being connected to the very foundations of self sufficiency, and understanding that meat does not simply fall from the sky, packaged on a shelf in a supermarket; it comes from a living, breathing being. Chicken killing at home is deep. Emotional. Ethical. As Joel Salatin says in his book Pastured Poultry Profit$, it's necessary:

"Animal rights activists, for all their misdirection, are right on target when pushing for animal slaughter as close to the point of production as possible. Not only does it relieve [the chicken's] stress, a direct cause of tough meat, but is far more environmentally sensible."

Joel Salatin is at the forefront of the farming movement. His name is becoming household, and his practices are emulated across the country. He's the farmer who changed Michael Pollan's life, in The Omnivore's Dilemma, remember? He's the farmer young farmers want to be; he makes money farming, but he does it right--his animals live according to their "ness", which means closest to their nature. And while most chicken producers send their birds long distances to slaughter houses (which really stresses out the chickens in their final days), like us--and many other small farmers in Vermont--Salatin supports the at-home processing method. To him, it represents the very foundation of his respect for his animals. He says:

"We have customers who occasionally like to come out and 'get connected' to their food...If one of our ultimate goals is to reconnect the urban and rural sectors of our culture, on-farm processing affords us a technique to accomplish that goal."

My fella's stepmom was intent on killing one of the two broilers for last night's dinner. She's a foodie from Brooklyn, and wanted to honor this chicken by taking its life as sweetly and quickly as possible. She wanted to get more connected to her food. She was nervous, but determined. We all gathered to watch, including Clara, the seven year-old aspiring artist/farmer, whose eyes were glued to the scene. It's not an easy thing to watch a chicken slaughter. While it may be common knowledge there's post-mortem thrashing--ever heard of "like a chicken with it's head cut off"?--seeing it live can be a bit gruesome. But unlike a public prisoner execution, we were there to celebrate the chicken's life, and what it had to offer us. And what better way to experience death for the first time. There was no: "take that, you sucker!" No proving our cultural masculinity, nor prowess. Therese was as careful and as kind as could be as she cooed to the bird, and quick as a wink in her execution with the knife. There was no suffering or stress on the bird, and it died in a habitat it's come to know quite well, with familiar smells and familiar views. Frida the dog sat quietly through it all, and afterward buried her treat: the feet.

Were we traumatized? Did we feel sorry for the chicken? Are we dreading this weekend, where (without family around for help) we'll have to kill 150 more? Here's why not.

I've been feeding, pasturing, watering, and talking to these guys since the spring. They wander around all day in grass, pecking for bugs. So I know they've had a good life when they make it to that cone; as far as a chicken goes, they've seen the best there is to offer. Of course there's something to say for one being taking another being's life--and to be honest, I'll probably be dealing with that emotionally for the rest of my life. It's not easy.

Did we feel more connected to our dinner, because of the kill? Surprisingly, the guests' reaction varied. Clara was ravenous for the meat. Another young woman couldn't touch it: "Too soon!" And Therese didn't wind up feel a closer connection to her food, the opposite of what she thought would happen. Perhaps it was her adrenaline, or maybe the ambiance of "this happens every day" farms tend to have. But maybe feeling connected to her food, in the end, wasn't as important as being connected to the animal during its life and final moments. Which is the nobler goal for us local food eating, small-scale farm supporting folk? I know since moving to a farm, I'm much less concerned with labels like Organic, Local, and Farm-Fresh. I want to know how that animal lived, not just what it ate, or where it came from. Local chicken could come from next door, and been raised in a cage. Organic chicken could have been pumped with feed, and not a blade of grass. Foodie labels don't excite me anymore. I want to know the amount of sun, fresh air and forage that animal got during its life. Organic, shmorganic, in other words. Give me the backstory.

I ate up the meat just like any other dinner--I felt no urge to pat myself on the back. It was almost like being numbed, until I realized--farming gets you as close to death as one can get. We see the composting of bodies, of soil, and the process by which an animal is born and leaves the world. We facilitate their birth and their death. We offer our animals a good life, in exchange for their bodies. And in time (the amount of which we'll never know, for we will never be able to control it), we'll offer up our own to the earth. But, at the same time...what if robots descended upon earth and decided to farm us? I might not like it.

Here are some photos of our evening.

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Comments

[Gavin]

Where I grew up, there is no school on the first day of deer season, so killing for food is something I grew up with. I've been raising chickens since I started grad school, and it just isn't a big deal. I don't enjoy killing itself, but like any chore or job, there's a sense of accomplishment that comes from the work. When rats invade the hen house, it does feel good to see one of the little vermin bite the dust. Butchering a deer is an all night job, but packing all the meat into the freezer is a great feeling. When butchering day comes and these birds that I've raised are my responsibility to kill and process it looks daunting at first, and then at the end when all the birds are packed away for later, and everything is cleaned up, it feels like after any big job is done.

As to feeling bad about taking a life, I have spent my life out in nature. Animals kill each other all the time. I've seen hawks kill rabbits, osprey grabbing a fish, herons eating frogs, I've seen raccoons, hawks, and foxes all take chickens from me, and I even watched two foxes take down a fawn last spring. Generally the way I kill the animals I have to is faster less violent than any death they would face by another predator. As long as you keep that in mind, it isn't so bad.

[singermuse]

When I was a child I watched my "Abuelita" regularly kill chickens for our dinner. She did it quickly and cleanly and the chickens suffering was minimal. When she raised them she did it with kindness. They were free to run around the back yard, got plenty of fresh air and food. She always kept a few egg layers, that were never killed but allowed to live out their natural lives. It is important for people to know where their food comes from, and even though I am currently a vegan, I do not begrudge those who eat otherwise.

[lyingtruth]

I would if neccessary but I wouldn't kill Foghorn Leghorn!

[Tommygun264]

I am not an avid hunter and I abhor the mistreatment of animals, whether they be pets or farm animals raised for food. However, I was raised knowing where my food came from - my grandparents raised chickens, which my grandfather would kill and I knew from a young age that beef and pork were the muscle tissue of cows and pigs. It did not put me off meat, but it did give me a greater respect and appreciation for the food I ate. I also learned that causing the animals undue stress and pain was not only cruel and morally reprehensible, but unwise because it directly effects the quality of the meat. These days I am amazed at how many children are intentionally sheltered from the knowledge of where the food they eat comes from - I have seen 7 & 8 year old children oblivious to the fact that the hamburgers their parents feed to them nearly every day come from cows. When people are ignorant of the origin of the foods they eat, they have less appreciation for the true cost and value of those foods and it is easier for them to turn a blind eye to the mistreatment of farm animals when they are only an abstract idea. People should be free to eat what they want, but only if they understand where it comes from and what must be done to bring it to the table.

[hauruck]

I took a survival class in college where we HAD to kill a chicken with our bare hands. Once you resolve to do the deed, it's the easiest thing in the world.

[Paul108]

When I was a kid I remember seeing a cartoon depicting a hunter and a dead old lady outside a supermarket. He was picking up her bag of groceries, and the caption read, "I only kill for food."

[PatA]

Amber, Amber, Amber.....­..you are a very unenlightened girl. I grew up (as my parents and their parents did) on a farm/ranch and we raised almost all of our food. We had cattle, hogs and chickens. We also "harvested" the deer that grazed in our pastures. Only enough to eat..never for sport. My mother killed a chicken anytime we needed one for a meal. My dad killed hogs and cattle and it was butchered and frozen and we ate it all year long. My dad made sauage and smoked bacon for our breakfasts.

Guess what, Amber.....­none of my family has ever abused an animal, a human or killed anyone. Guess we missed that "killing urge" that comes with killing for food.

One day I asked my dad to please pass "Porky" and got sent to my room. Oh..yes, squirrels. We ate squirrels. We had a "squirrel dog" who hunted them down and treed them. Every animal that my family killed was killed instantly. No stray shots.

I am a vegetarian now. Why? I can't eat anything that has a face, whether I've looked at it or not.

[enveg01]

For all of you on here espousing the supposed benefits of eating meat, dairy, or eggs, please educate yourselves. Dr. Colin Campbell did the foremost study on human nutrition. Over 40 years of undisputed research is cataloged in his eye-opening book, The China Study. You know what he recommends for optimal human health? A vegan diet.

[horhay]

40 years of research by 1 doctor, compared to 100,000s of years of human evolution, will not be enough to prove your point. Why can't we accept diversity? Some of us will not change our diet no matter what anyone says.

I do believe that vegans are very enlightened people for the most part. But then some of you have to try to convert and chastise those that aren't vegan. Some of us need more protein than others, some of us have metabolisms that require more than a vegan diet has to offer. Besides vegan proteins are often manufactured in factories that require a lot of energy to process your soy isolates and faux protein substrates, so don't act like your carbon footprint is smaller.

We should also realize that crop failures happen too often for people to only rely on certain vegetable proteins. Climate change will make farming more of a challenge, and we should all thank our ancestors for surviving the Ice Ages because they resorted to eating animal flesh.

[pokemon]

We grow our own. Gotta say it stinks slaughter them though. We grew our own turkeys this past year, WOW they were great. Did not fit in the fryer or the oven:)

[JayMaeBee]

Yes, I could kill chickens.
I cannot catch fish or bear to watch them die. Forget about killing a cow or a pig or a lamb.

Yet, I sometimes eat some beef and pork, though rarely lamb. I am becoming more and more mindful of what the animals go through on the way to my table. It is not good for any system - the animals' of course, mine, or the planet's to partake of factory animal food. I am trying. It is hard to combine mindfulness with appetite and instinct.

[sit down tommy]

I think we as humans are more vegetarians than carnivores. Just look at our teeth.
I believe it's healthier to eat more vegetables than meat, so that's I organize my diet. Anyway I don't feel guilty when eating animals, no matter how cute they might be ( horses, rabbits, fawns) , as long as they are tasty.

[Vickster]

You need to look inside a cow's mouth. They have no upper-front teeth.

[hauruck]

"If we're not supposed to eat animals, why are they made out of meat?" --a bumpersticker

[tweeksmom]

I LOVE a good plate of chicken parmigiana or a ribeye steak as much as the next person....­However, I never eat anything that had a face, a face that I LOOKED INTO, anyway!!! I prefer my meat from the grocery store, pristinely wrapped in styrofoam and plastic film, reduced to it's lowest common denominator. I will only buy skinless, boneless chicken breasts. If I had to cut up a whole fryer, even one from the grocery store, I would hurl in the kitchen sink! I know the cruelty and suffering that these animals have had to endure but somehow I divorce myself from it and I sincerely wish that that aspect of meat consumption would change. If I had to kill an animal myself, in order to eat, I would become a vegetarian so fast it would make my head spin! Am I having others do my dirty work for me so that I can eat? Yes. Am I a coward? Yes. At least I can admit it.

[N0NDescript0]

In the most respectful way possible; you are the type of person that Joel Salatin wants to change.

Being brave enough to admit ones fault is honorable, even admirable. Knowing ones fault and embracing it as a crutch, when that fault comes at the cost of others (or animals) is not honorable. The purpose of this article, and Joel Salatin's work, is to help individuals connect with the animals that they are eating, to re-sensitize them to the gruesome acts involved in eating meat, but not turn them off from it.

Admittedly, breaking down whole chickens, cutting through bone and flesh, and turning a recognizable organism into chunks of nondescript meat-flesh can be nauseating. Yet, if we consider ourselves more civilized and intelligent than our ancestors from thousands of years ago, why can't we handle looking our future meal in the living face?

[SamKnause]

You explained that perfectly.

[goafer]

For all you vegetarians and vegans out there who preach their way is the "best" way, chew on this: According to evolution, human beings did not start developing a complex concept of a structured society and did not develop the critical brain mass needed to get to where we are today until they started eating meat. If we had all stayed vegetarian, we would still be like the chimpanzees.

Also, animal fat/cholesterol is essential for brain development and health, because your brain is made up mostly of cholesterol. Very long term vegans are shown to have degenerating brain tissue, not to mention a severe lack of a certain vitamin B that can only be found in animal products.

I don't eat meat every day. I don't even eat it every week. I substitute meat with fish as often as I can, too. BUT, don't go around preaching that your diet choices are superior. There are flaws with it just as well. What's wrong with eating a chicken every now and then, especially if it was free range and free of antibiotics and hormones? I think organic meat is very healthy and essential to have occasionally.

[gulopartisan]

As it happens, chimpanzees eat meat. Of course, so do worms.

[ChumpChicken]

"For all you vegetarians and vegans out there who preach their way is the "best" way, chew on this: According to evolution, human beings did not start developing a complex concept of a structured society and did not develop the critical brain mass needed to get to where we are today until they started eating meat. If we had all stayed vegetarian, we would still be like the chimpanzees"

SOURCES??

That's a pretty lofty statement to make with no citation at all....

[pompous]

I wish you would ask that same question of vegetarians/vegans. I have heard some pretty lofty statements about eating meat presented as though they were truth. I am sure the truth lies somewhere in the middle. It is safe to say that humans evolved as ominvores. I love meat grilled, roasted or broiled depending on the cut and type but I don't eat it everyday or large quantities.

[Paul108]

Without commenting on your view of evolution, it's worth considering that humans also did not start out numbering almost 7 billion. Whatever may have been the effect of meat-eating in the past is irrelevant now. Currently the production of meat is the prime cause of soil erosion, deforestation, water consumption and pollution, greenhouse gas production, energy shortage (diverting resources from potential biofuels production) and acute suffering. As our population continues to grow and resources diminish, stopping the slaughterhouse culture appears to be the only way to avoid catastrophe.

[Michael Albright]

Brings back the memories..­..I recall the first time I chopped off the head of a hen, she jumped up out of the blood draining bucket and ran across the lawn headless. I'd heard that once in awhile they'd do that, but never believed it until it happened. The rooster, ole Bucky, thought it was so grand he had to jump on her one more time. I guess the blood and hormones filling the air were too much for him to resist. How I wish I had a camera handy that day to record Bucky's last fling with his hen. Anyway, she cooked up good.....n­othing like a free range hen or their eggs. The hen had a good life outdoors, and went out like we all wish...hav­ing a good time....

[Harvee Wallbanger]

Your comment is funny, but it does border somewhat on the perverse. I wouldn't mention that part about the rooster to just anyone if I were you. But thanks for sharing it with us - I think.

[MyVesta]

Yes, let's celebrate violence against animals. It's ever so green.

[walruswheedchick]

Yah, well I really love plants more than I love animals. This is why Im a carnivore. Plants are living beings too. If I happen to love plants more than animals, and if it hurts me to see people pluck hodes of Spinach and Chinese cabbages from their natural habitat would you blame me for killing and eating animals instead? Or is there a double standard here? In my eyes, vegetarians are cruel to vegetables and biased towards animals. Shame on you!

[SvrWx]

I'm a Carnival..­.I love ice cream cakes.

[Robert Ashley]

There's no celebration, or violence, anywhere in this article. Go troll somewhere else.

[amber15]

if you believe your own statement then I've got a bridge to nowhere I'd like to sell you!

[PWM]

This is an act of killing, it is what nature made us for. We are meat eaters.

[jsijason]

Pay attention.