Right now, I should be preparing to harvest our rooster (male chicken) Zebra Z. Instea I’m looking at holiday photos, and writing drafts about our time at Isle of Pines. If you want to plan a holiday there click here. In true procrastination form, I’m thinking that I need a cup of tea.

My emotions as we prepare to harvest Zebra Z are very different to the first rooster harvest with Frizzle. Frizzle was a sweet chicken from the very beginning, who always liked cuddles.

Zebra Z has always been an obnoxious, aggressive bird. You would think that this would make taking its life much easier. It has for the girls, they haven’t felt the need to hug Zebra Z, and I’m not going to miss him.

Harvest Concerns

I am concerned that I won’t be strong enough to use the swinging technique to harvest this rooster. He is a huge bird. I’ve voiced this to Mark, and he has volunteered to do the slaughter. I don’t think he has really thought about what he is taking on, it isn’t easy. So with this, comes another uneasiness, that this bird won’t be in a meditative relaxed state when it is harvested, like Frizzle was. He doesn’t like a cuddle. Then there’s the awful, selfish part of me that thinks the meat won’t taste as good because the chicken isn’t as relaxed.

This is also a nine month old rooster, so I think we might need a good recipe.

I’m going to go and get ready for the harvest, and come back to this post once we have Zebra Z prepped for a meal. Yes, this is farming. For all of those people who wonder how we can eat our pet, I challenge you to go vegetarian for the rest of your life. Because knowing where your food comes from is important. It makes you appreciate it and respect it, more than going to the supermarket and picking up a plastic packet ever could.

After The Rooster Harvest

So, Mark did the kill for the first time. Now he understands what it feels like to take the life of a chicken. It really isn’t easy. To be fair, I still did all the other challenging parts, like feathering and gutting. I was better at it than last time, but it is still very confronting. Yet again, I was perplexed as to how we can buy a butchered and cooked chicken for $10. That is so wrong on so many platforms.

Mark and I were both concerned about what a nine month old rooster would taste like. At first we were just going to follow the masses and cook coq au vin. But we felt that this wasn’t how to show our chicken respect. So Mark cooked a super simple chicken noodle soup. Then the four of us thanked Zebra Z for the delicious meal.

The dark, delicious chicken meat was the shining star of this dish. It was lifted by super clean, gelatinous stock that even made use of the chicken feet. This is how food should be eaten and appreciated, especially meat.

It’s the way our great grandparents lived. If you wanted to have a Sunday night roast, then you had to harvest your own chicken. Sure, I can be heard saying this often, particularly to friends who want to talk about our chicken harvests. But I won’t for a second try and pretend that this is how my family eats everyday. I do aspire to it though…….sssshhhh, don’t tell Mark and Olivia.

For a short cut home click the link.