Now where did I leave those big girl panties...?

[kcsunshine]

Wifey, I'm really proud of you. I knew you could do it!

 

[Wifezilla]

Awwwww shucks!

 

[miss_thenorth]

So, ..... How was it? As difficult as you thought?

Great job, btw

 

[Wifezilla]

The only thing that made it difficult was a crappy knife. Other than that it was pretty quick.

Having the duck be totally delicious will make the next one easier

 

[justusnak]

Congrats!!! Ohhh, I just set 33 duck eggs in the bator.....mixed ducks. So, whatever doesn't sell....will definately go in the freezer. I have to say, I have never eaten duck. When the time comes to cook it, I will need help, I am sure. :/

 

[LovinLife]

The only thing that made it difficult was a crappy knife. Other than that it was pretty quick.

Having the duck be totally delicious will make the next one easier

Looks like we both learned a lesson about the importance of a SHARP knife! :/

 

[Icu4dzs]

Not in the freezer yet. Actually the duck carcass is in the fridge in a sea salt & water brine.

It was the smallest of the 3 drakes and part indian runner so there isn't a lot of meat...but meat is meat and there are bones in there for broth too

And a heart...and a liver. Mmmmm

So yeah..it was a little gruesome, but not horrible. I can do it again..after I get a better knife.

So I did end up skinning just because Max was hogging the kitchen and I couldn't get a pot of water on. I managed to cover myself in feathers. As I was starting to butcher him out on the picnic table and noticed the "keeper" ducks could still see me. So I had to scootch it over a little further so they couldn't see

Then the cat walks outside to see what is going on and he got spooked! I swear he was thinking "boy what did that duck do to piss her off? I do not want to be near her if she is in that bad of a mood!"

WZ,
Now that you have made the change and found that you can do it, my suggestion may not have as much value to you personally but for the sake of others who are going to have that initial difficulty I would recommend to them to a movie with Jude Law and Nicole Kidman called "Cold Mountain". Unfortunately, there is quite a bit of heinous violence related to the Civil War and some gratuitous sex in the movie but there is one particularly good scene that will help you with your feelings about the slaughter of an animal.

This particular scene opens with an old woodswoman finding the main character (played by Jude Law) in rather poor condition due to the wound he suffered on his neck. She lives deep in the woods; keeps goats and other animals and in this scene this woodswoman very gently begins petting a little white goat and talking to it very quietly. As she does this you see her hand with an obviously very sharp knife quickly but gently and methodically cut the blood vessels of the neck of the goat all the time talking to the animal. There is no fear in the goat and apparently little pain is experienced because the animal does not shutter or jump hardly at all. The old woman then holds the neck of the goat over a bowl and collects the blood as it is pumped all the time petting it and talking gently to the animal in a very soothing manner. I am assuming she is thanking the animal for their body in order that she can eat and feed the stranger she found in order to save his life. The animal loses consciousness; the spirit leaves the body and dies peacefully.

Never before had I ever seen as sensitive and humane approach to the subject of converting meat from the "hoof to the table" as I did in that film. It is a moving scene and one that may give you some solace when you think about what is required to harvest meat.

There is no need for anxiety or guilt here. Some people equate the act of slaughtering an animal quite personally as a sin and have difficulty thinking of it as anything but murder. It is NOT and if done with the right frame of mind in the animal as well as the human, it is less anxiety provoking and actually allows both of you to accept the situation for what it is. It becomes a form of sacrifice of the animal which might otherwise be useful to man in some other way and live its full days.

If you raise the animal from birth to eventual death by you, it is a good thing to talk to them and tell them what their purpose will be and that you honor their life and will honor their death. They will understand when it is time. Just because they do not speak English to you, they do understand the vibrations of your spirit when you communicate with them. Ever notice how some folks get along with animals and others are chased and hurt by them? Ever consider why that is the case?

If the animal does not sense anger or cruelty from humans especially when this is done, it will not secrete huge amounts of adrenalin into the blood stream in the "fight or flight" mode. All too often the taking of an animals life is treated poorly and with cruelty. This need not be the case. In the situation of chickens, the placing of the chicken upside down in the cone actually puts the chicken to sleep and makes the entire business less anxiety provoking for both. I've never done a duck but I imagine the same thing is probably true.

During survival training in the special forces, we were taught to do this without the benefit of a knife; just your teeth. Yes, that sounds a bit strange, but in such a situation as starve to death or kill a bird/chicken etc. it is the only way and once you have done it, the anxiety of it goes away rapidly and you are able to get on with removing the feathers and cleaning the body cavity in preparation for cooking it.

Killing should be reserved and strictly confined to the necessity to survive/preserve human life only and the taking of that life should be done with respect and honor. Unfortunately this is NOT always the case in places where animals are routinely "processed" for human consumption.

All living things can tell if you mean to kill it. They sense the killing spirit in you and immediately feel fear unless you don't show them the killing spirit. You will easily recognize this if you let them see the knife and feel your vibrations of anxiety when about to kill. It is obvious to them especially if you have anger in your spirit.

No waste of whatever is killed should be considered or tolerated. Some use for every part should be found, although in our society it has become more difficult due to our needs being met by synthetic materials.

If done properly and with the right spirit, you can learn to do what you need to do to live without anxiety or guilt.

Hope you feel kindly to the animals whose life you take in the preservation of your own. It is acceptable and the animal will know it too.

Best
Trim sends

 

[AnnaRaven]

Not in the freezer yet. Actually the duck carcass is in the fridge in a sea salt & water brine.

It was the smallest of the 3 drakes and part indian runner so there isn't a lot of meat...but meat is meat and there are bones in there for broth too

And a heart...and a liver. Mmmmm

So yeah..it was a little gruesome, but not horrible. I can do it again..after I get a better knife.

So I did end up skinning just because Max was hogging the kitchen and I couldn't get a pot of water on. I managed to cover myself in feathers. As I was starting to butcher him out on the picnic table and noticed the "keeper" ducks could still see me. So I had to scootch it over a little further so they couldn't see

Then the cat walks outside to see what is going on and he got spooked! I swear he was thinking "boy what did that duck do to piss her off? I do not want to be near her if she is in that bad of a mood!"

WZ,
Now that you have made the change and found that you can do it, my suggestion may not have as much value to you personally but for the sake of others who are going to have that initial difficulty I would recommend to them to a movie with Jude Law and Nicole Kidman called "Cold Mountain". Unfortunately, there is quite a bit of heinous violence related to the Civil War and some gratuitous sex in the movie but there is one particularly good scene that will help you with your feelings about the slaughter of an animal.

This particular scene opens with an old woodswoman finding the main character (played by Jude Law) in rather poor condition due to the wound he suffered on his neck. She lives deep in the woods; keeps goats and other animals and in this scene this woodswoman very gently begins petting a little white goat and talking to it very quietly. As she does this you see her hand with an obviously very sharp knife quickly but gently and methodically cut the blood vessels of the neck of the goat all the time talking to the animal. There is no fear in the goat and apparently little pain is experienced because the animal does not shutter or jump hardly at all. The old woman then holds the neck of the goat over a bowl and collects the blood as it is pumped all the time petting it and talking gently to the animal in a very soothing manner. I am assuming she is thanking the animal for their body in order that she can eat and feed the stranger she found in order to save his life. The animal loses consciousness; the spirit leaves the body and dies peacefully.

Never before had I ever seen as sensitive and humane approach to the subject of converting meat from the "hoof to the table" as I did in that film. It is a moving scene and one that may give you some solace when you think about what is required to harvest meat.

There is no need for anxiety or guilt here. Some people equate the act of slaughtering an animal quite personally as a sin and have difficulty thinking of it as anything but murder. It is NOT and if done with the right frame of mind in the animal as well as the human, it is less anxiety provoking and actually allows both of you to accept the situation for what it is. It becomes a form of sacrifice of the animal which might otherwise be useful to man in some other way and live its full days.

If you raise the animal from birth to eventual death by you, it is a good thing to talk to them and tell them what their purpose will be and that you honor their life and will honor their death. They will understand when it is time. Just because they do not speak English to you, they do understand the vibrations of your spirit when you communicate with them. Ever notice how some folks get along with animals and others are chased and hurt by them? Ever consider why that is the case?

If the animal does not sense anger or cruelty from humans especially when this is done, it will not secrete huge amounts of adrenalin into the blood stream in the "fight or flight" mode. All too often the taking of an animals life is treated poorly and with cruelty. This need not be the case. In the situation of chickens, the placing of the chicken upside down in the cone actually puts the chicken to sleep and makes the entire business less anxiety provoking for both. I've never done a duck but I imagine the same thing is probably true.

During survival training in the special forces, we were taught to do this without the benefit of a knife; just your teeth. Yes, that sounds a bit strange, but in such a situation as starve to death or kill a bird/chicken etc. it is the only way and once you have done it, the anxiety of it goes away rapidly and you are able to get on with removing the feathers and cleaning the body cavity in preparation for cooking it.

Killing should be reserved and strictly confined to the necessity to survive/preserve human life only and the taking of that life should be done with respect and honor. Unfortunately this is NOT always the case in places where animals are routinely "processed" for human consumption.

All living things can tell if you mean to kill it. They sense the killing spirit in you and immediately feel fear unless you don't show them the killing spirit. You will easily recognize this if you let them see the knife and feel your vibrations of anxiety when about to kill. It is obvious to them especially if you have anger in your spirit.

No waste of whatever is killed should be considered or tolerated. Some use for every part should be found, although in our society it has become more difficult due to our needs being met by synthetic materials.

If done properly and with the right spirit, you can learn to do what you need to do to live without anxiety or guilt.

Hope you feel kindly to the animals whose life you take in the preservation of your own. It is acceptable and the animal will know it too.

Best
Trim sends

What an awesome post. Thank you.

 

[savingdogs]

I was also going to thank Icu4dzs for that very thoughtful and sensitive post. I share many of those thoughts but would never have known how to express it so well. And the method of slaughter described will now be my goal, the calmness of spirit described.
I don't watch movies so would not have caught that scene you described. thank you for sharing that.

 

[TanksHill]

Great post Icu4dzs. I think Cold Mountain is one of my most favorite movies ever. I read the novel as well. A bit better as most books are, written more for the journey the young man travels. Not necessarily about the lead female, Nicole Kidman played.

Great reference. Very well put!!

g