I heard that women don't fart. I didn't believe it but I asked and they just said I was cheeky. I replied, "So are farts."
About livestock... Chickens are incredibly easy. If one gets sick, which is rare, they either get better with some minor care or they just crap out and die (at which point it's no longer a problem). But before you go jumping into large animals with both feet first... Perhaps read this, it's my experience with chickens.
TRIGGER WARNING - CONTAINS DETAILS OF SLAUGHTER
Some chickens are born lame with something called "splayed leg". They're in constant pain, you have to put them out of their misery and probably onto your table. Young chickens taste pretty good but they're not exactly big. We didn't know what his deal was, just thought he preferred to sit. Then we go to pick him up and his leg is pointing the wrong way and it's swollen. We called him "Gimpy". We tried to splint it, but he kept on removing the splint, so we ate him. It was the first time I ever killed an animal with whom I was acquainted. It was also the most difficult thing I've ever done. See, I had watched a lot of videos on how to do it, and heard a lot of people talk about how to do it. I'd killed plenty of snakes and fish before, but I didn't know them and theirs went quick. Gimpy survived having his neck broken. I had to hurredly fetch an axe and cut his head off. Then I had to get over the shock of how hot and slick the blood was and get on with the task of making sure none of him went to waste. It was a horrible ordeal for him, and for me. I had nightmares about it and was very depressed about the way it went for several weeks. Then we had to cull some roosters. I killed 3 in one day. It was faster and more methodical this time as I had done proper preparations and had procured a harvest cone and a very sharp knife. I would put them in the cone and they'd kinda go to sleep from the blood rushing to their heads, then I cut their throats and caught the blood in a bucket. It was a lot cleaner, more swift, more humane... It still felt very wrong. I seriously considered vegetarianism. I let the remaining roosters live until one day the dominant one clawed my leg very badly. I killed and ate him. I felt slightly less bad about him. I had 4 roosters left at this point, but one of them was in a separate flock. One of them started crowing at 3 am every morning, without fail. So I killed him when I figured out which one was doing it. One of the roosters I had no intention of killing ever, he was my favorite. He'd let you pet him and would eat out of your hand gingerly. But he attacked me several times. Well, tried to anyways. I was smart enough to wear jeans at that point. I thought nothing of it until he went after my Grandma. I tried to catch him, but he was too fast to be caught. He was also getting very violent. I was just going to lock him up temporarily at first to teach him a lesson. But he kept coming at me and my grandma over and over and he wouldn't stop. So I went in the house and got my gun. I shot him. It was a 12 gauge shotgun with 3 inch long shells meant for deer and blackbear, so his front half kind of ended up all over the yard. I was traumatized, and so were the rest of the chickens. I got rid of my guns. I did not immediately get over the depression. In fact I attempted suicide because I felt so bad. I electrocuted myself. Ended up hospitalized. Sold the chickens because i couldn't even look at them anymore and plus, Grandma fell trying to go through the gate to feed them while I was in the hospital. What's really weird about all of this is that I intend to do livestock again. I was woefully unprepared last time. I jumped in with both feet first and paid the price. But I learned from it. I will do it radically differently next time. And I won't do the slaughter myself. I'll haul in my stock to the local butcher and let him do it. I am not suited to it. And I know that very well now. I also now recognize that trying to do livestock like pigs in the first year when you aren't used to something as relatively easy as chickens will probably put you off of animals altogether. When it comes to animals, if you accept no other advice, then please don't just jump into it.
Topic: New to farming and new to the accidental smallholder (Read 6829 times)
