Butchering

Saturday we went to a friend's home to help with butchering and to learn.

This rooster is awaiting judgement.

Matthew is teaching Thomas how to cut the jugular. This method is more humane for the chicken than decapitation and results in a more tender meat as the bird is more relaxed.

Next the bird is scalded in 150 degrees for 30 seconds to loosen the feathers.

The next step is to pluck the feathers. Zoe and I liked this part. The feathers were soft and came out easily.

Then the feet are cut off and the insides are removed. Lauren did a lot of this work. After this, it is cleaned and processed as desired.

Ducks are processed similarly, except that the feathers are plucked without scalding, then it is dunked in hot water with wax and the wax/feathers are peeled. In just a few hours we butchered 9 chickens, 4 ducks, and a rabbit.

Matthew is demonstrating how to butcher a rabbit (Thomas killed this one).  Butchering this guy only took a few minutes.

Saturday evening meal: Rabbit with a Tomato-Wine Sauce.

We learned so much that day and feel confident about butchering poultry. This rabbit dish looks good, but turned out to be overcooked and rubbery. We were warned that it cooks very quickly and overcooked it anyway. Oops. (That's OK, Thomas and Pierce ended up eating the whole thing anyway.)

Our Field Trip to a Local Mohair Ranch

Thursday morning I took the kids on a field trip. Every time someone in town learned that Lauren had Angora goats, the first thing they would say is something like, "Oh have you heard of Mrs. S... ? She raises and breeds prize Angora goats. She's a really nice lady. You need to meet her." So yesterday I finally got around to giving her a call. She is currently shearing and was happy to have us spend the morning with her. So off we went bright and early to Kai Ranch.

We had difficulty finding her place. the roads were not really marked, but we knew we were close when we ran out of pavement. I was half-way expecting a nice sign, fancy barn, etc. but it was just an ordinary field with hand-made fences and old barns. We were greeted with a smile while Mrs. S did her morning feeding and showed us around. While she trimmed hooves and sheared two of the goats, we had a chance to get to know each other, share goat stories and learn. She told us stories of getting started, of losing goats to predators, of Pyranees guard dogs, of keeping the fleece free of sand burrs and many other things. Then she took us to her studio to show us where she spins and dyes the fiber and creates her fiber art. A few of the things that she taught us are that it is easier to lead a goat by the hair on its neck than his horns, that it saves time to skirt (pick through) the fleece just before shearing rather than afterwards and that it is easier to first corrall the goats and then pull out the ones that are needed. We learned so much from her and are so thankful for her graciousness in having us.

The Right to Own Property?

Given your explanation of Fascism above, how does that differ from our system in the US where we have property taxes that must be paid to retain ownership of our land? Where regulations on the work place policies must be maintained or the govt will seize the business?

Correct me if I am wrong but under that explanation we actually do not own our property, we only maintain title, for what that is worth.

Your Thoughts?
Benjamin Keisler


Thanks for your comments Benjamin. I believe that you are exactly right. We never fully own property (land, businesses, etc) due to taxation and regulation. Not only that, but as long as the "death tax" is in effect,  eventually all property will come under ownership of the State.


According to the 5th amendment:

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.


Today, property is being seized through the "death tax", through eminent domain, through regulations--none of which involve due process or just compensation.

For a more thorough treatment of this subject, click on the link below:
http://www.cato.org/pubs/handbook/hb111/hb111-34.pdf
http://www.thefreemanonline.org/featured/seizure-fever-the-war-on-property-rights/

Here are more links to articles documenting government seizure of private property:
http://www.fff.org/freedom/1093c.asp
http://www.farmtoconsumer.org/press/Background-Morningland-Estrella.pdf
http://saltspringnews.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=18578

"No other rights are safe where property is not safe." -- Daniel Webster