I am still traumatized by my interaction with a rooster when I was 2 years old.
My brother and I were with our mother, me holding onto her skirt and my brother Robert holding onto me. Mom was walking to the barn to collect eggs. As she went onto the depths of the barn we explored the straw bales and playing in the loose kernels of loose corn.
For some reason, I climbed up into the empty corn crib where loose kernels lay about. Golden, they were so golden. Wiggling up into this amazing room was an adventure. Squatting down i grabbed handfuls of the golden treasure I giggled and called for Robert to join me. And then.
A rooster hopped up into the crib coming toward me, crowed and spread wings.
I was scared, began screaming, Mom appeared magically and rescued me. I can still recall the images, scents, and sounds of the barn. I was wearing a red gingham dress.
tg\
Now, for gentler expeiences:
As years went by, my experience with chickens was magnificent in its violence and images.
This happened when Dad brought a flat of live chickens. The large wash tub filled with nearly boiling water, ready for chicken baths. Dad chopped off the heads and then hung the carcasses on the clothes line, waiting for the carnage. I was the teenager with the old women, ready to do our job.
We were supposed to dunk them into hot water, which caused the feathers to be pulled out easily. I apparently was not fast enough so I took the still warm slippery dead chicken into the kitchen where I would washed them in salt water and then dress the chicken, pulling out the guts and such into another another tub.
It was brutal, which I still recall in detail. Enough about that for now.
It is impossible to eat chicken legs and chicken stuff to this day. KFC nuggets are okay, but nothing with bones. You can see the struggle. vibrant life changing even.
So there you have it.
I am one of those people who are able to remember things in detail. It is sometimes useful and sometimes not.
I know that if I'd had to do what you did with preparing chickens, I wouldn't be able to eat one either, Susan. I did enjoy the videos and can certainly understand why a rooster encounter would be terrifying whether you're young or old. Blessings!
ReplyDeleteThey defend their territory.
DeleteIf I had to kill and prepare my own meat, I'd be a vegetarian. And I can see how a chicken could be vicious!
ReplyDeleteOh, for sure, When we sent a hog to be slaughtered, it was processed by other people.
DeleteMy FIL worked on a chicken farm and because of that experience, never ate chicken. I can't imagine having to process them as you did. You found a lot of fun videos!
ReplyDelete"We raised hogs and I could not eat pork. Ham and bacon were okay, but not pork chops.
DeleteAnd I bet the rooster was about your size, too. We have Canadian geese that flap out their wings and chase. Those suckers are big. They're trying to be scary. I'm sure the rooster was, too.
ReplyDeleteHe must have been. Geese are sneaky creatures with territory disputes.
DeleteWe had chickens too. Mom sold "dressed" chickens to make a bit of extra money. As the oldest I always helped. She always gave ne the gizzards to clean because I seemed to have a knack for it.
ReplyDeleteMy dad loved the gizzards. We never ate them, unless he was not in the house when we fried them.
DeleteI remember chicken plucking times, geese too and ducks, always near Christmas. I didn't grow up with mum, but went to live there when I was 16-17 because there were no jobs for me in my home town, but at Mum's I got a job in a cheese factory. Anyway, mum raised poultry to sell for christmas and when the time came I was tasked to help with the plucking which I had never done before. Mum chopped off the heads and the boys did the gutting after the plucking was finished. Livers were set aside for a particular customer who made her own pate. It didn't put me off eating chicken at all. A hog was also raised each year and became the family's supply of roasts, chops and ham. I never liked the taste of pork so didn't eat meat on pork chops days but the ham was double smoked and I loved it.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the few and mighty, the bloggers who know the experience of chicken processors!
DeleteHere’s another reason I am vegetarian besides health. Since I couldn’t kill them, I won’t eat them!
ReplyDeleteMakes sense.
Deleteunlike the man laughing at the rooster, when my great granny's rooster attacked me at 2 years old, daddy dragged it off of me and wrung its neck. granny was really mad, but not as mad as daddy was the chicken spurred me.. some rooster are really mean.. I don't eat any chicken other than the white off the breast or turkey, also attacked by a turkey at 8, tore my dress to pieces. I can only eat the white if someone else cooks it. I am not a vegetarian, but I don't eat meat except hamburger and ham, and very little of that, I did eat dairy and eggs but ibs stopped that
ReplyDeleteCane's chicken is good, but I am very particular there. Ham, fish and hamburger (sometimes) are the meat of choice. Once you have been attached by an animal, your whole view changes.
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