Could you raise, slaughter and process your own meat?

[Soubriquet]

I don’t know why, but I’ve been watching a lot of homestead field to plate videos

People rearing chickens and rabbits.

Whilst I think I could keep them, and maybe process at a push, I don’t think I could kill them.

If my survival and my child's survival depended on it. Otherwise, hell no.

I couldn’t do it. I’m a complete hypocrite because I do eat meat.

Nope.

Same here. But even then I’m a hypocrite cos I will eat chicken, cow and pig, but no other meat.

I don’t think I could kill them but could raise them if I had land.

Yes, if I had to. Most people faced with catching and slaughtering their own food or starvation would

Yes if I had to. I put their corpses in my actual mouth, after all.

My DH would genuinely do this if we had the land to keep animals. My cousin raises pigs and then eats them.

I could definitely do it. I wouldn’t like doing it but I could. I’ve killed pigs and sheep before and helped process cows. I worked in abattoirs on the line for about a year as part of my training. I wasn’t actually meant to kill any animals (as I wasn’t a licensed slaughter man) . This was a good few years ago when the industry wasn’t as well regulated.

I killed a cat that had been half run over as it was undoubtedly going to die and waiting for a vet was just going to prolong its pain. I didn’t like doing it but I knew it was the right thing to do. It didn’t upset me. I just did it quickly.

We had chickens a few years ago. The idea was to use their eggs and eat the meat.

They became part of the family. In and out of the house, sitting on our laps on the sofa…

We couldn’t kill them nor could I eat the eggs.

Hmm don't know .
I watched that series "Kill It , Cook It , Eat it" a while back , one of the most interesting ones was the slaughter of very young animals. In a way I found this easier to watch as they didn't struggle so much.

I have been a vegetarian for over 45 years .
When I carried the still warm body of one of my guinea-pigs down the garden ( to lay in state with his brother , they need time to grieve and accept) , I did think "In South America I could eat you "

If I kept chickens I might be tempted to eat the ones who died of natural causes .
But otherwise no .

Yes we would and have.

Yes - provided it didn’t involve any physical strength which I don’t have. Eg I don’t think I could make a cow go anywhere it didn’t want to.

Yes of course. People are so pathetically soft nowadays….

It was a very normal thing to do in previous generations but here in modern day Britain we are so so out of touch, most people would have no hope if the food supply chain failed long term.

Ironically it’s quite often those with no idea on producing food who lament our farmers at every opportunity

If I had to, yes. Would I want to? No.

I have done it.
I would do it again if necessary.
At least I knew how they lived and died.

I don’t like the idea of it and I would probably cry my eyes out many times until I got inured to it but yeah if I needed to do it for me and my family to survive absolutely I would.

No I wouldn't and couldn't. I literally struggle to even kill a fly!

Yep, no problem.

But it’s a lot of faff and I don’t have space for livestock, so I’ll just keep on getting it from Aldi.

No. Its why I don't eat meat or fish. I couldn't kill an animal.
Before anyone asks, I don't consume or wear animal derived products either.

Why couldn’t you eat the eggs? I mean…it’s perfectly normal for a chicken to lay an egg and eat it. No harm done

If I had the space, I would love to keep some chickens, and maybe a dairy cow. For food and milk. I would at least know my meat was raised well, treated well, fed well and killed humanely (in the case of the chickens), but I wouldn’t be able to do it…. I would help prep them though

I’ve done it, sort of. We raised geese for Christmas, the chickens are pets and are only for eggs. Also had two pigs, neighbour came over and shot them, then gutted them and took off heads. Took the carcasses down to butcher who made them into chops/ sausages,joints of meat. It was £250 so not cheap.

My dh works semi agriculturally (bee keeping) and those who raise beef and chicken have that aspect taken care of off site professionally. Grand parents had other farmers to assist.

Yes.

It's my dream to own a house with land and have cows, sheep, chickens, ducks, a huge vegetable/fruit/herb garden. Bake my own bread, make every meal from scratch and have a little homestead in the mountains somewhere