Anyway Dave and I have been prepping for a few decades and it has been a great benefit to us through the years. From being snow bound to having illness or and not much money and being able to feed us and our family with no problem. We garden, can, butcher our own meats and do the work around the place. We used to raise yaks but that was just plain to hard lol, and so are their horns, yoewwy.
sarawolf> If you're able to make it through being snow bound with little money while feeding your family with no problem.... I'd call you a role model (smile). We only started "prepping" last month.... I guess better late than never. I've got to get the butchering thing down pat myself. I went over to a neighbor when they were butchering chickens and made it through watching ok fine and one did take off without its head but when they wanted me to take a turn to "prove" to me I could do it.... that's when things didn't go so well. They told me to wait and try again the next time. I'll go back when they're butchering chickens again. I didn't come home with experience killing a chicken but I did come home with a nice fat chicken all wrapped in white paper for my freezer. How did you get over killing what ever you're butchering? I feel like a spineless wonder..... no guts.... no glory.
We place the chickens head down in some old slightly modified traffic cones this seems to keep the relatively calm... then cut their throats with a sharp knife They are dead in 2 minutes or so ... the cones allow you to process several at once and keep them from running around...
My neighbors are in their early 80's. I felt like such an idiot. They have a chopping block and they have two nails in it and they put the chicken's neck between the nails then off with its head in one motion with an axe. I think I might have tried it if I was more confident with my aim. It was the aim and fear of missing I think that did me in. I've run across killing cones in a You Tube video. They were attached to outside barn walls is all I remember. I can't imagine a chicken not freaking out being stuck head first into one but they seemed fine. I think the running around wasn't amusing but it happens I guess if a wood block and 2 nails are used. I'll have to get this behind me and just take aim. I doubt I'll ever get used to it. It was so nice having our chicken on white styro shrink wrapped.
