I can't help to cry.. It's to be butchered first thing Wed. morning... I'll never do this again it hurts me so.. It was more of a pet.. I didn't think it would be though... Oh well I'll have to deal with it.. I don't even think I'll even eat it..Have a good night.. Hope I changed someone's mind to do thier's ... Maureen

-- maureen (onemaur@yahoo.com), September 11, 2001

Answers

You will eat it , it's fresh good meat .It was treated better than any poor animal you buy from the store .It get easier but always hurts a little.Think of its good life it lived .

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@slic.com), September 11, 2001.

Maureen, like Patty said the life that pig had with you was much better than any it would have had as a "market" pig. This is one reason that it will taste so much better than store pork. And it really does get easier the more you raise!!

-- Marcia (HrMr@webtv.net), September 11, 2001.

Maureen, I know how you feel. I've been going through the same thing for the last week. I've been raising a bunch of broilers. Feeding and watering three times a day for the last 6 weeks. When time came to decapitate my fist batch I had a big lump in my throat. I do a lot of squirrel hunting, deer hunting, fishing and it doesn't bother me. But I never had to tend to them everyday either. It might be several days before I eat my first chicken. Hoping time will remove that lump. But I've done all this when I was a kid and thought it was just a part of life and have to keep reminding myself the same now.

-- r.h. in okla. (rhays@sstelco.com), September 11, 2001.

When my oldest son (now 20) was about seven his grandmother and I had raised some white leghorns for slaughter. One had gotten it's leg hung in a crack and was unable to walk for several weeks. My son had dutifully fed it everyday and it became so tame he could hold it and stroke it's back. Well when execution day came we hung them all up side down and Grandma began decapitaing them. When she came to the tame chicken my son burst into tears. Needless to say the chicken was spared and went on to live a good long while. The truly amazing thing was that all the chickens looked identicle but my son knew his particular one out of the bunch.

-- monty (monty@bayou.com), September 11, 2001.

The secret is to raise three at once and then you won't know which one you are eating. Also, when you have three, they depend on each other and don't really become too tame. By the time they reach 250 pounds, you are ready to get rid of them. How did I decide on three? I made a self-feeder for four pigs. There was always an open door so no fighting. The two paid for raising, slaughter and butchering of the one in the freezer. It was just as easy to take care of the three as one. And it's true, it tastes so much better.

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), September 11, 2001.

earth nurtures nature, nature nourises life, life enjoys nature, life sustains life, life nourishes the earth, earth nurtures nature......

We all contribute to the circle of life - I am pleased that my animals contribute so much to me and waste nothing, I give thanks to that animal for sustaining my life and their contribution to the circle.

Another perspective on raising your own animals for slaughter.

-- Jenny Butler (heavenleigh2938@hotmail.com), September 12, 2001.

Maureen, I felt exactly the same way last year when we took our first steer to the butcher. You'll feel better about it, but it will take a little time. Try not to dwell on it. It took me a couple of months to be able to eat beef and not feel bad. I don't think it'll bother me so much when we butcher this year's steer. The meat is so much better tasting and better for us, it would be hard to give up now that we're used to having it. My husband has the same theory as other posters here in that you gave the animal a much better life than it could have had otherwise. Hang in there.

-- Paula (chipp89@bellsouth.net), September 12, 2001.

It's always tough to kill something you've allowed yourself to become attached to. This kind of situation is just one of the lessons that we must all learn if we are to produce our own food. Treat the animal humanely while you're raising it and when the time comes kill it quickly and cleanly. It helps to name them something Porkchops or somesuch so that you'll be constantly reminded of why it's there in the first place.

The pig eats the grass, I eat the pig, and in the fullness of time the grass will eat me and the circle will be closed.

={(Oak)-

-- Live Oak (oneliveoak@yahoo.com), September 12, 2001.

Boy, I must be the oddball here.As a city raised girl who moved to the country 5 years ago and began raising my own meat. I thought for sure that it would be awful to have them butchered. Did 2 pigs last year and by the time they were big enough to butcher I was so sick of them I was happy to see them go, same with chickens and turkeys. This next week our steer is going and I cant wait. He is getting to big and a pain in the but. And the meat is so much better.

-- tracy (murfette@stargate.net), September 12, 2001.

Maureen, Its a hard thing to send an animal. We never had animals growing up. But I married a farmer. We have raised beef, pigs, chickens, rabbits, turkeys and ducks. this year we had five pigs (sent to the butcher this past tuesday). Each pig knew his/her own name and we even had one that would roll over and beg for his tummy to be rubbed. Just remember to keep in the back of your mind that they are food. My friend cried as she helped load hers on the truck but she got through it and is enjoying fresh pork chops that have no growth hormones or other chemicals.

Lisa

-- (ldleonard@pennswoods.net), September 13, 2001.

Maureen, become a vegetarian.

-- kathy (squeakywheel2000@aol.com), September 14, 2001.