Chicken Pot Pie

We slaughtered the roosters yesterday. None of us looked forward to it and it wasn't fun but I think it was a good thing. I wanted the three oldest to kill at least one and sent everyone out to join Paul when they got home from school. Robin went out but cried until Paul sent her into the house. Whew! She was mad at me. Robin calmed down and came back out to help but wouldn’t kill anything. Paul and Dan toughed it out. Paul was happy to see them go. He kept saying as soon as the roosters were gone, his work was going to be cut in half. Dan was sad and didn’t want to do it but he killed one, I was proud of him. I even made myself stay out there and watch. Big Paul of course, was out there the whole time. He didn’t like it but he was much more matter of fact about the whole thing than I was. Sara was the only one who refused. She was not going out, no matter what I threatened her with. We are all so squeamish and wimpy, I could just see out pioneer ancestors, sitting up there making such fun of us.

Even though I like my meat wrapped in plastic in the meat department at the grocery store, I think there is something so important about understanding where our food comes from. I liked how Erin Stanley put it, "I liked that our kids saw the process of something living being cooked and eaten, instead of just coming in a package."

It was also interesting to me how little meat there was on these chickens. I take for granted that I can buy a 2 lb. chicken or a 4 lb. chicken at the grocery store. What if this was our only source of meat? How would I have fed them differently? Would we have slaughtered them so soon? How big would they have grown?

I am happy it is all over and that we have several freezer bags full of chicken in the fridge. It has given me lots to think about.