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>Can you guys share your first experience killing your first animal for a food and how you felt afterwards. Is it something you get over after a while?
Op, your question is not uncommon. I have talked about this very subject in /ck/, /an/ and /DIY/.
I raise and butcher my own chickens. It's not easy, but I feel it's the morally right thing to do if I'm going to eat chicken. Killing them is not a physically difficult act, but emotionally it IS difficult. I raise these birds from chicks. I feed, water a move them twice a day (they are in mobile pens on pasture). If they get injured or sick I treat them. And when it's time I slit their throats.
I gather a group of about 6-8 birds in a pen not far from where I do the actual processing (however, it's not where the chickens can see or hear what is going on). I bring out each bird one at a time and take a moment to appreciate the bird in my hands. I comment how beautiful and brave the chicken is. Then I gently turn them upside down and place them head first in an upside down traffic cone. I make sure the chicken is comfy (yes really, a twisted up bird will not bleed properly), then I say my little prayer, "God, thank you for the chicken. Chicken, thank you for your sacrifice. You feed my family and I will feed yours." . Then I take a VERY sharp knife and slit its throat. I gently pull down to keep the neck taut. It's over in 3-5 seconds. If done right, there is a large gush of blood right away and the birds suffer very little. (I chose to use the knife rather than chopping the head off because it keeps the heart beating to push all the blood out) I do this because I raise one or two batches a year and they all go into the freezer. They keep better this way.
The first time I raised meat birds I bought all male chicks. That way I couldn't 'chicken out' and not go thru with it. When it was time process the first batch I needed a bit of alcohol to calm my nerves.
