For me, one of the most difficult parts of homesteading has been slaughtering and butchering our own animals. I was certainly not raised as a vegan, or vegetarian. In fact I grew up eating meat quite often. However, I was taught to value life. Hunting was very common and normal in the culture I grew up in. My grandparents and some of my aunts/uncles hunted for deer and elk and used venison for a large portion of their food source. However, I didn’t ever have that experience growing up. With the exception of fish, I had never killed an animal until I was an adult. At this point in my life I have I have both hunted, and slaughtered many animals for food. Now we are veggie lovers in my family and don’t eat a ton of meat, but we do value good quality meat. Also, I can’t forget bone broth! We LOVE having bone broth on hand! Meat can be a very valuable food source and we don’t ignore that.
Now that I have I have slaughtered and butchered my own animals for several years, I would like to share some thoughts and experience to hopefully help