I really appreciate my animals. They provide companionship, therapy, and food. In order to return the 
favor, I do what I can to make sure they live good lives. Unlimited fresh water, protective shade, quality food, and human interaction. I make little edible toys for the rabbits to play with and chew on, I pet and scratch my chickens as well as sneak out tasty bits for them to enjoy, and I talk with them.
Does it make a difference to them? I don’t know. I like to think they appreciate it, or at least come to accept it as part of their “normal” lives. To me, it is the “right” thing to do. They are here because of my actions, therefore they are my responsibility. I won’t say that I love them, or personify them and treat them as though they were like the animals portrayed in a Disney movie. But I do care about their well-being, and their comfort.
I once heard another homesteader speaking about heir animals, and I realized I too felt the same way. She stated that all her animals live a good life, they only have one bad day.
Unfortunately, today three of my rabbits had their one bad day.
Leading up to that point, I’ve spent countless hours researching methods to dispatch them with the least amount of trauma to both them and myself (in that order I might add). Since they will be providing me with wholesome nourishment from their sacrifice, I find that I must do whatever I can to make it as quick and painless as I can manage, without compromising the integrity of the final product.
I’m writing this, not for shock value, but to illustrate how far most of us have been removed from our source of food. Today I looked an animal in the eyes as it looked at me in what I considered a trusting gaze, and I snuffed out its life with the knowledge that it would become food for me. This is not the first time I’ve ever killed something for food, and it will probably not be the last.
I shall continue to do so in order to keep the reality of where my food originates close to me, and to insure that what I consume is of the highest quality. No feedlots, or cramped living quarters, or being processed, chopped up, and converted into a breaded nugget for my food. My food lives a good life, and only has one bad day.
Does yours?
So, does Little Bunny Foo Foo get a boppin’ on the head?
We refer to it as “getting shipped off to freezer camp”
I don’t think that I could dispatch a rabbit or chicken, myself. I would have to leave that job up to Tim. Using a bow or gun would be much easier for me (not on a chicken or rabbit!). But, I see first hand the respect Tim has for each animal that he dispatches through his trapping. Hunting and fishing for our own food is very rewarding and we value the sacrifice that these creatures give. There’s nothing better than coming down here into our basement, pulling out some fish or meat that we caught/hunted ourselves from the freezer, and opening up some canned veggies from last year’s garden! We talked about raising chickens this year, but with Jaime soon on her way, it didn’t happen. I bet it’ll happen next year, though!
Love all these stories, Darrell! Keep them coming 🙂
I too appreciate the reality that if you eat meat an animal had to die to provide you with that meat. Now-a-days people are so far removed and isolated from this fact that they rarely ever give it a thought. It’s like that meat was man-made or something. Just like our Native Americans practiced I have always given thanks to any animal that I killed and I have rarely killed an animal that I did not intend to eat or make use of in another way.
Just so everyone reading this post knows, Darrell had already asked and I had already agreed to take those rabbits hides which I will tan and turn into something useful to be used for many years.
Hank
I always take some time to think about where what I am about to eat came from. I even surprise myself on sometimes on what I pass up, but I have never passed on something that I have raised or killed myself.
Hans, from my experience, anything you provide for yourself tastes better, plus gives you peace of mind in what is NOT in it.
Good to hear from you, keep living my life…
DB
It makes a huge difference…treating ANYTHING cruel is WRONG, period, there is NO excuse, people who tolerate, allow or partake, they are ill, there is something wrong, that scares me to know these people are loose in society who would for a living go to a place every day where animals are murdered with no respect or dignity every day of the week, the whole process is wrong, and there can never be a reason strong enough to do that. If the price of meat goes up, oh well, in this country so many people suffer from obesity, a little less food in their diet would serve them well. In the end, grow a little garden, I see “city” gardens all the time, only a few small rules, one, don’t ever live in a place where you have no sunshine, it’s bad for you and you can’t grow if all you have is a norther exposure, and next, get good seed, take care of it, enjoy the fruit of your labor…pure, fresh, healthy and TASTY home grown food!!!! Why did we get so lazy, so disconnected from our food? It clearly has NOT served us well, we should learn from our mistakes and return to the soil…
This is a very late comment (I linked in a from an article on butchering rabbits), but I have a question. Do you have a recipe or advice for edible rabbit toys? I’m not finding many searching on Google that you can make yourself, and I’m unclear on what they are exactly from your description. Nearly all links are for buying rabbit toys. Thank you for your time!
I take grape wines, loop them around each other to make a circle. Rotate 90 degrees on one axis then weave a second loop over/under that. Then rotate 90 degrees across the other axis and weave another loop in/under/through, forming a ball.
It looks similar to this:
http://amzn.to/1nNjhgf
Only without the price tag 🙂 You can also stuff hay or treats inside it. I have lots of grape vines available, so this is a regular item with me. Cheap and easy….
Another option I use is to take a large piece of bamboo, cut into a 2-4 inch length, and stuff it with grass or hay. It is sort of like a large napkin ring with hay in it.
Sticks, logs, wooden blocks (all from rabbit-safe types of trees of course) also make good toys.
Hope that helps!
That’s exactly what I needed to know! Thank you. 😀