Insensitive Expert

Every time I kill and slaughter a chicken, I feel like I've become more of a farm women. One of our roosters had the privilege of being slaugthered by a first timer -uncle Josh.  Joe was still working, so we were on our own. I usually rely heavily on Joe's expertise and insensitiveness, but I had to have courage today. The only thing I have yet to ever do is cut the throat, and pull the insides out. 

I gave Josh the honors of cutting the neck. The only thing was, that the knife was pretty dull. Joe still does the job somehow, but for a first-timer it's tricky. After cutting the neck, and letting some blood drain out, we put the rooster down to let it have after-death spasms. Well, the rooster just got on its legs, and walked away. So much for killing it. We hunted it down in the bushes, and decided the knife was not the right tool. 

The shovel was our next choice. I held the neck out, and Josh placed the shovel on the neck. Then he made a quick little jump, and off was the body. Skinning, de-gutting, and washing it was surprisingly non-gross. I guess I'm just becoming insensitive. The kids usually attend these slaughter sessions too, and don't seem to be bothered by it much anymore.  At least if the grocery stores close, we'll still have meat to eat