So I'll tell you.
Mayberry Magpie asks . . .
How in the world do you keep from getting attached WHEN IT'S TIME TO SLAUGHTER?
I answer . . .
I'm a cold-hearted bitch and I hate fuzzy, adorable lambs, of course.
OH STOP. I'm just kidding. Only on the hating lambs part, though. Apparently, I AM a cold-hearted bitch, because this does not so much bother me. I can disconnect the image of the fuzzy, adorable lamb with the reality of the lamb shanks that are cooking on the woodstove at this very moment. By the time we get to the End of Days for the chosen ones, they are no longer adorable lambs. Which leads me to . . .
Country Midwife asks . . .
Kristin can you show us a pic of the size of a lamb when they... sniff... go to slaughter? I realize this is superfluous and dumb... but I just CAN'T eat cute or baby animals (lamb, veal, duck, rabbit, etc). But I think I'm thinking little white fuzzy wuzzys go to market... and am now wondering if they are bigger and ... less cute... than I assumed.
I answer . . .
That's not at all dumb, actually. I don't have a picture, but I can tell you that last year, the lambs were over 100 pounds each when they were dispatched. At that stage, they are no longer little white fuzzy wuzzys; they are loud, aggressive, horny, unpleasant rams. They butt each other and hump each other and are generally Not Cute. It's not at all like a calf/veal situation (which I also have a hard time with). These are basically full-grown rams. And by the time it's time for them to go, I kind of hate them and want them off the property. Bring on those lamb shanks!
Country Midwife also asks . . .
How often do you have to midwife a sheep? Do most plop out when you're not watching or are you hands-on?
I answer . . .
I am not an ovine midwife. THANK GOD. With our sheep, at least, we do pretty much nothing at all. I've never even seen the actual birth, just the immediate aftermath. Last year, when they lambed in mid-February and it was below zero, A. had to help dry and warm the lambs when they first came out so they wouldn't freeze, but other than that, we let the mothers do their thing. And they do that very, very well. I suspect this is somewhat dependent on breed. Some breeds have naturally easy births and are good mothers, some have more trouble. Also, some breeds have, like, four lambs at a time and the one mother CAN'T take care of all those lambs, so the shepherds have to help. We really do nothing other than watch to make sure the lambs start nursing properly and the milk ducts aren't blocked or whatever.
Eric asks . . .
What about the Wool? Aren't there any other vegetarians who read this?
I answer . . .
Second question first: Yes, there ARE other vegetarians who read this. Say hi to Sara and Constance! First question second: I'm not sure what the question IS. The wool is . . . there. We shear the sheep once a year and keep the wool to be spun and knit into things. Eventually. We haven't yet gotten to that stage. The MiL also wanted to keep the hides of the lambs we had slaughtered last fall. So we did, and they've been dried in preparation for tanning.
Are you actually asking why we don't just keep all the sheep for wool so we don't have to kill any? Well, for one thing, we like to raise our own food. We raise our vegetables in a huge vegetable garden, and because we are not vegetarians, we raise (some of) our own meat, too. We get plenty of wool from the ewes and one ram that stick around permanently. We're not wool producers, nor do we wish to be. For another thing, boy lambs are extraneous. We only need one ram, and we already have one. Nature just doesn't have much use for a bunch of males. Sorry, men.
Okay! I think that's it! Further questions should be directed to Mia. She's got all the answers.
And now, I think we should end this post on a pleasant note. How about a picture of some baby animals that are definitely not going to be eaten? Yes? Very good.
The fuzzy inmates of The Puppy Penitentiary
13 comments:
I wonder if it's time for Arlo to meet some puppies? He doesn't have too much exposure to fluffy things, seeing as we mostly keep him away from our dogs, who have most likely just eaten cow poop...
It's open season on the puppies--bring him on over. Though he may be too young yet to DO much with them, he'll probably like to look at them frisk about.
We always have lots more visitors when there are baby animals around here. We may as well just open a petting zoo and charge admission.
Great post, I think slaughter of animals probably bothers a lot of people. We're so detached from our food now. It doesn't bother us to buy meat in the grocery store where it no longer looks like the animal from which it came (as if it makes it better to buy it and not do it yourself). Coming from a hunting family we were regularly exposed to "fuzzy wuzzies" being slaughtered. As kids we loved to watch my dad skin rabbits & squirrels. I guess part if it is in how you grow up.
The slaughter of innocent children worldwide in ethnic violence and war and their deaths because of poverty and hunger are far more of a concern for me.
Thanks Kristin!
We used to raise German Shepherds and we used an old chicken house to keep them in at night to stay warm and safe.....it was promptly named 'the puppy palace' and we still call it that (we store stuff in it now). When we had them in the house when they were very young to keep them warm and safe we kept them in a corner and used two boards nailed together to make a box out of it and that was called the 'puppy corral'....so 'puppy penitentary ' was a good laugh for me.
We also 'work up' our own deer harvest and it is survival. Sure helps with the grocery bills.
And I have vegetarian friends and we don't preach to each other. They are lovely folks. ;)
Hi! I'm one of the vegetarians Kristin introduced! I normally skim over or don't read the slaughter posts. But I wouldn't tell other people what to do. I'd be glad to have a discussion about my beliefs and your beliefs, but my choices are mine; do what you want. Those puppies are cute, though! Are you keeping all of them? (Did I miss that somewhere?)
Those puppies are growing so fast! Are they eating lamb shanks?
Sara: No, we will not be keeping any of them. Unless the MiL can't find a buyer for one, and then we'll keep it until she can.
Susan: No, WE eat the shanks. They're delish. Too good for puppies.
Good job, Mrs. Q&A - you are my favorite kind of cold-hearted bitch, a self-sufficient and realistic one.
THANK YOU FOR THE PUPPY PHOTOS. I do love them, albeit from afar.
I don't like the flavor of lamb (unless you can recommend a recipe that might change my mind), but I do like the feel of lambskin under my toes on a cold winter morning. ;)
I need to find a place to buy some (local) lambskin rugs.
I just can't believe how fast those puppies are growing! They look like puppies and not guinea pigs.
It's funny, because in some ways I totally understand your sensibilities. My husband is -- at his core -- a carnivore. And, he hunts and kills his food. (Well, I eat it too, I have to admit.) And when you live "close" to your food, this lack of attachment makes sense. But raising your food rather than hunting it, that just seems to me to present different problems. I never see the cute baby fawns, just the grown dead carcasses.
Nice blog, nice polite answers.
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