Farm to Table: The Emotional Journey of Eating Animals We Raise

In our daily lives, the animals we raise by hand are at the center of everything we do. While we are currently butchering for our family's needs, we are diligently working to build a processing area to offer a limited number of Thanksgiving turkeys for 2024. In the meantime, our commitment to humane and respectful practices remains unwavering. This post delves into our emotional journey and ethical considerations as we navigate the challenges and rewards of raising and eating our own animals, embodying our deeply held farm-to-table philosophy.

One of the most challenging aspects of farm life is reconciling the love and care we pour into our animals with the reality that many of them will eventually become food. At Nerdy Bird Farm, we raise our animals by hand, often from the day they hatch or are born. This journey begins with the excitement and anticipation of new life.

We love watching the eggs pip in the incubator, anxiously awaiting each hatching. We cheer on baby birds as their beaks just break through and warmly welcome them to the farm when they finally emerge from their eggs. Seeing them fumble out, feathers wet and disheveled, confused about their new world, is a moment of joy and wonder. Similarly, we have the opportunity to observe lambs being born, encouraging our ewes quietly from a non-invasive distance, sharing in the miracle of their arrival.

Our daily interactions with the animals are the heartbeat of our farm life. We spend time with them every day, offering treats and paying attention to their individual quirks and preferences.

This close relationship makes the prospect of butchering them for food a difficult and emotional experience. The love and care we provide are not diminished by their eventual role in our diet. On the contrary, it deepens our respect for them and underscores our commitment to ensuring their lives are as natural and enriched as possible.

When it comes to butchering our animals, a lot of research has gone into how to be quick and accurate, making the process as stress-free and painless as possible for the animals. Despite multiple years of experience and dozens of processing sessions, it is never easy. It's not routine, but it is essential to us, and it can be done well and respectfully. We always say a calm goodbye to our animals and thank them for what they are giving us. Then we do our job as quickly and carefully as possible because emotional, drawn-out snuggles are not part of the animals' typical routine, and this process isn't about us.

We recently faced a new challenge as we prepared to process our first large animals this fall, including a cow, two pigs, and a sheep. To ready ourselves, we researched all we could about the process and purchased a goat. I thought it might be easier to start with an animal I hadn’t formed a personal bond with. And while that was true to some extent, it was still difficult.

In preparation, I ensured we had all the necessary tools and a clear understanding of the best practices for controlling, calming, and holding the goat. The knife had to be sharp, well-fitted to my hand, and easy and safe to maneuver. Our children were aware of what we were doing and knew that goat dinners were in our future. They also understood the importance of properly culling and butchering the animal.

The process involved catching the goat's back legs to prevent kicking, quickly grasping the back legs in one hand and the front legs in the other, then turning the goat on its side, kneeling over it, and covering its eyes with its ears to calm it down. Although the process seemed possible, it was extremely daunting. I needed to determine if I was strong enough to still a nearly 90-pound confused animal. I told the kids I needed to find out but didn’t explain exactly how.

The opportunity arose when our daughter, Gwyn, was relaxing on the couch. Calmly, I approached her and quickly grabbed her legs, wrangling both into my right hand. The confusion set in for Gwyn. Perfect! Wide-eyed and annoyed, she started to flail. I wrangled her hands together into my left hand, rolled her toward me, and slid her without too much effort onto the floor. Now understanding what I was doing, Gwyn laughed hysterically. I flipped her quickly, knelt over her, and pretended to flip her ears over her eyes. To my surprise, she calmed down quite fast. With this practice, I gained enough confidence in my strength to cleanly dispatch our goat.

Eating animals we have raised by hand requires confronting the cycle of life and death with honesty and respect. It’s a bittersweet process, filled with both gratitude and sorrow. By eating our animals, we are not condoning factory farming practices or supporting the people involved in that institution, either financially or ethically. We honor these animals' lives, acknowledging the gift they provide in sustaining us. This emotional journey is at the core of our farm-to-table philosophy, reminding us to value and respect the food we consume and the lives that make it possible.

Factory farming often subjects animals to overcrowded living conditions where they can barely move, leading to injuries and a higher susceptibility to diseases. These conditions are often countered with excessive antibiotics. Moreover, factory farms typically restrict animals from engaging in their natural behaviors, such as rooting, grazing, or perching. For instance, pigs are frequently confined in gestation crates where they cannot turn around, and chickens are kept in battery cages, limiting their ability to spread their wings.

The stressful conditions in factory farms can lead to aggressive behaviors among animals, managed by inhumane practices like beak trimming or tail docking without anesthesia. The methods used to kill animals in these environments are often swift, lacking the reverence every living being deserves. High-speed slaughter lines can result in animals being improperly stunned or killed.

At Nerdy Bird Farm, our animals truly get to be themselves. Let’s take a closer look at how we raise them:

• Chickens, Ducks, and Turkeys: These birds are free-range, spending their days roaming the farm, pecking, foraging, and interacting with their own flocks as well as other animals. Their ability to control damaging insect populations is quite impressive. Chickens will cower from heavy rain, roosting in their house and staring out the window until it’s safe to resume. Ducks, however, love the rain. It’s their favorite weather, and they’ll scatter through the farm, finding pools and puddles to splash and dabble through.

• Pigs: Our pigs are given pasture where they can root through the soil, finding grubs, eating vegetation, and wallowing. The rooting not only digs up many potentially crop- or field-damaging pests that both they and the birds enjoy, but also leaves behind places for water to pool. In our drought-prone, high prairie, any place where water pools rather than running over our clay soil and off the property is extremely beneficial.

• Sheep and Cow: These animals are grazed on rotation, getting new pasture every 1-3 days. As they graze, they fertilize the area and build up biomass that will improve the pasture over time.

Everyone has open space to be the animal they are, full fresh water, and plenty of natural forage. They can decide whether to bask in the sun or relax in the shade, and they're never forced to endure excessive heat or extreme cold without access to shelter. Whether they choose to use that shelter is up to each animal. At the end of the day, they go to secure pens—large and open with shelter options available—where they can relax safely for the night.

Butchering our animals ourselves is rooted in our belief that if an animal is to be used for food, its life and death should be dignified and humane. By handling the butchering process, we ensure the animals are not subjected to the high-stress and often inhumane conditions typical of factory farms. Our methods minimize pain and distress, honoring the animal's life and contribution to our sustenance.

How to Source Humanely Raised Meat

If you're looking to source humanely raised meat, consider these tips:

1. Look for Certifications: Certifications like Certified Humane, Animal Welfare Approved, and Global Animal Partnership (GAP) indicate high welfare standards.

2. Visit Local Farms: Whenever possible, visit local family farms to see firsthand how the animals are raised.

3. Ask Questions: When buying meat, inquire about the sourcing and raising practices of the animals.

4. Farmers' Markets: These markets often feature vendors who can provide detailed information about their farming practices.

Ethical Companies to Consider

Since we are not ready to offer meat for sale just yet, we recommend considering the following companies known for their ethical animal-raising practices:

• Vital Farms: Known for their humane egg production and ethically raised meat products. Visit Vital Farms

• Niman Ranch: A network of family farmers committed to sustainable and humane animal husbandry. Visit Niman Ranch

• Applegate Farms: Offers a range of humanely raised meat products. Visit Applegate

• White Oak Pastures: A family-owned farm practicing regenerative agriculture and humane animal treatment. Visit White Oak Pastures

• ButcherBox: Delivers grass-fed, humanely raised meat directly to your door. Visit ButcherBox

Our approach serves an educational purpose. We teach our children and community about the importance of ethical treatment of animals, fostering a deep respect for the life cycle and understanding where our food comes from. By involving our family in the farming and butchering processes, we pass down values of compassion, respect, and responsibility.

Choosing to butcher our animals for food at Nerdy Bird Farm is a conscious decision to prioritize humane and respectful treatment over the convenience of factory farming. It is a commitment to providing our animals with a life worth living and an end that honors their existence. This approach not only benefits the animals but also enriches our lives and community, fostering a deeper connection to the food we eat and the living beings that sustain us.