I still have not killed the chicken, Husband learned that today, but I did learn how to clean it. Husband and I went to Yellow House Farm for a hands on slaughter lesson. We worked on personal birds of a family member, which included chickens, guinea fowl and a Turkey. The larger the bird the easier to clean, because the smaller birds are harder to get in where you need to. I had never cleaned/butchered any animal before, except an occasional fish in my early teen years. The process would certainly be no fun at all, if doing it alone, and while the term "fun" is being used loosely and with respect to the animals we were processing, working side by side with someone, chatting while we worked, made thing move along pleasantly.
I'm not going to go into detail on how it's all done, but it was far less mysterious and difficult than I had, at one point, thought it to be. Once I received the bird, it had been dispatched, drained, scalded and plucked. I took off pin feathers, removed the extra bits that we don't eat, and the internal bits. Not bad for a girl that, only last year, learned how to quarter a whole bird.
The owner of the fowl sent us home with the turkey and a guinea. I'm excited to try the guinea, and after it rests in the fridge for a couple days we'll slow cook it for a few hours in the crock pot.
Husband did a great job with the actual dispatching and said that he felt confident to take care of our birds. I'm glad to know we could do this ourselves, at this point. Dad had agreed at the beginning of this experiment to handle that if we couldn't pull it off, but knowing we can is so empowering.
The knitting continues. I put the finishing touches on the sweater for Mini. She saw it before the embroidery was done and was very excited. I love that she has always appreciated handmade clothing. This was knit using Rowan Wool Cotton, which I love knitting with, and also think the finished garment, it creates, is wonderful to wear. The Pattern is by Lucinda Guy from the adorable Rowan Book, Handknits for Kids: 25 Original Designs for Girls and Boys
I started a pair of longies for the baby. I love a baby in woolie leggings. So cozy and so cute.
