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[Egluntyne]

Further update!!

 

Alison has put the course on her website. Book now!

 

Saturday 25th April

 

We are very pleased to announce that we will run a Kill, Pluck, Gut and Bone Course in Sheffield on 25 April. There will be hourly start times from 11am to 3pm and each session lasts about 2 hours. The cost will be £45 per person and £50 if a couple shares a place. See the Courses page for details of the course itself, but be sure to email us from the Contact tab at the bottom of the page to reserve your place.

 

Note the discounted rate for couples....but you only get the two chickens.

 

Book early, via the website, and tell her that you are an Omleteer and she will try to put us all on the same time slot.

 

Maybe we could all go for lunch afterwards...or for a walk as the venue...Whirlow Hall Farm.... is in a beautiful location.

 

PS...the farm shop is open on a Saturday...so bring some dosh.

 

If this date is tricky....I am pretty sure that there will be other courses later in the year.

[Redwing]

I have phoned and left a message to reserve my place - hopefully we can all get the same time slot it would be really lovely to be with people who love chickens and can support each other if things get a bit I know we dont get the chance to meet up often if at all but it feels like you are all friends

 

Moochoo - I will pm you my full name so you can try to get on the same one because of the travelling too

 

really looking forward to it - thanks for organising it Egluntine

[Egluntyne]

You are welcome...it was only a case of a few emails a couple of phonecalls and a visit to Whirlow Hall Farm, which is always a pleasure.

 

I look forward to seeing you there.

[laurmurf]

I've reserved a place by email contact from her website.

 

Mostin - I am prepared to go in any case, if you'd like to be my OH for the course it would only cost you £5 so hopefully you could afford to go, given financial pressures on you and Shaun at the moment. I have to confess, I'd be glad of the company as I don't expect I'll find this easy. We could even travel down together (do you get the impression I'm kinda begging? )

 

thanks for organising this, Egluntine!

[Lesley]

Glad it's all working out nicely! I've been having quite an email chat with Alison as we're booked in Hook on one of the April courses.....and we're buying some hens from her as well

 

We've booked separately so that we both have to do all that is involved - and we take home 4 chickens

[redhotchick]

I can't go in April. I'll miss meeting other Omleteers again!

I was worrying a bit about what is involved.

If someone wants to buddy up another time I'd be quite happy to share the duties, and the cost. I've plucked plenty of turkeys in the past, but never killed, gutted or dressed.

[moochoo]

I've just e-mailed my reservation for me and OH!

[mostin]

I've reserved a place by email contact from her website.

 

Mostin - I am prepared to go in any case, if you'd like to be my OH for the course it would only cost you £5 so hopefully you could afford to go, given financial pressures on you and Shaun at the moment. I have to confess, I'd be glad of the company as I don't expect I'll find this easy. We could even travel down together (do you get the impression I'm kinda begging? )

 

thanks for organising this, Egluntine!

 

I am humbly going to take you up on your very kind offer, thankyou. I have pm'd you to find out if you think it's best if you book me on the course, as i'll be your OH for the day , or if i should email her myself. People in the chicken world are so kind

[HENthusiastic]

I just couldn't do it. Fair play to you all. I agree that morally and ethically if you are going to eat meat its a good way to do it. I just know I couldnt. I couldn't even watch somebody else doing it. Id rather give up meat.

 

Laurmurf and Mostin you made me and OH chuckle....... we like the idea of you two pretending to be each others OH's No homophobia there then Good on ya.

[mostin]

I just couldn't do it. Fair play to you all. I agree that morally and ethically if you are going to eat meat its a good way to do it. I just know I couldnt. I couldn't even watch somebody else doing it. Id rather give up meat.

 

Laurmurf and Mostin you made me and OH chuckle....... we like the idea of you two pretending to be each others OH's No homophobia there then Good on ya.

 

We I'm going on the course but shaun says he'll bet good money I can't do the deed. He may be right . Hope i won't embarass myself.

[Ms Marple]

Thank you very much for the link but I am just not very sure I could do it. We recently bought a rarebreed pig for the freezer and the farmer asked if I would like to go into the field and select my pig - but I couldn't. I like the idea of knowing where my meat comes from and that it has been well cared for and had a good life etc etc but the idea of killing I don't think I am ready for just yet (and I am no vege either).

 

Perhaps after you have been some of you might be able to convince me. I am fairly pathetic on issues like this. I couldn't dissect my rat during A level biology. It was ok once I was given the innards to sort out as it didn't look like an animal.

 

If anyone has some good advice please let me know.

[Lesley]

I just couldn't do it. Fair play to you all. I agree that morally and ethically if you are going to eat meat its a good way to do it. I just know I couldnt. I couldn't even watch somebody else doing it. Id rather give up meat.

 

Laurmurf and Mostin you made me and OH chuckle....... we like the idea of you two pretending to be each others OH's No homophobia there then Good on ya.

 

After being Veggie for 25 years I couldn't go back to eating meat unless I could do it myself - I started with chicken and we were shown how to despatch our first few table birds by a local man. I then progressed to pork after we'd moved to the smallholding and raised the pigs - we took them to the abattoir though.......and then lamb.....and, finally, beef. I only eat our own meat or meat cooked for us as guests as long as I know its provenance, and the rest of the time I still choose veggie food.

 

I wouldn't think Alison will mind how the couples are made up

[Egluntyne]

I don't eat meat, but could possibly force a morsel down if I had reared it myself, and knew exactly how it had lived and died.

 

I aslo I feel having the knowledge of how to despatch a chicken could be very useful in an emergency, so I decided to face my demons.

[Lewis]

I only eat chicken and turkey, and at Christmas as quite a few of you know I went to a turkey farm to do some work experience.

I saw them as day old's and watched them grow up, and then a few weeks before Christmas I went and helped dispatch them. I was quite excited to learn how it was all done, but didn't know how I'd feel when I actually had to do it. I was actually ok afterwards, it was just being scared of me causing too much unnecessary pain - I know I'm killing it.

If anyones interested that's the link to my work experience blog with the posts about the turkeys.

 

Egluntine made a really good point actually, it must be a good thing to know that should you ever need to you could dispatch a bird humanely without stressing it out and having to take it to a vets.

[TAJ]

Alison thought it was probably through the forum that someone had contacted her from Sheffield after she read my 'new meat birds' thread - I hope it all goes well.

 

Tracy

[Guest]

...Maybe we could all go for lunch afterwards...or for a walk as the venue...Whirlow Hall Farm.... is in a beautiful location.

 

.

 

dunno 'bout anyone else but I think I might need a stiff drink afterwards

[TAJ]

Glad it's all working out nicely! I've been having quite an email chat with Alison as we're booked in Hook on one of the April courses.....and we're buying some hens from her as well

 

 

So what hens are you getting from her?

 

Tracy

[Jules.]

Thanks for the invite Egluntine, but I won't be able to come along to the course.

[HENthusiastic]

We I'm going on the course but shaun says he'll bet good money I can't do the deed. He may be right . Hope i won't embarass myself.

 

Thats it Mostin......... You've got it ......... Your very own chicken of fate instead of killing it........... you can shove her in your bag and bring her home! Now that would be a true chicken of fate........... saved from the jaws of death and saved by the very executioner! Wotcha recon?

[HENthusiastic]

After being Veggie for 25 years I couldn't go back to eating meat unless I could do it myself - I started with chicken and we were shown how to despatch our first few table birds by a local man. I then progressed to pork after we'd moved to the smallholding and raised the pigs - we took them to the abattoir though.......and then lamb.....and, finally, beef. I only eat our own meat or meat cooked for us as guests as long as I know its provenance, and the rest of the time I still choose veggie food.

 

 

 

You have my utmost admiration. I would love to be able to keep some animals, raise them for meat, kill and eat/sell them. I'm fairly sure I couldn't though. I wish I could. I used to think I would be able to, but that was before I had the chickens. Did you always think you could, or was it kind of like you just built up to it gradually and made yourself do it?

[Egluntyne]

I think is is a realisation that you come to gradually. When I first got hens I could no more have imagined that I would consider attending a course such as this than I could have imagined myself flying to the moon.

 

Having given more and more thought to the provenance and fate of the food we eat, for me it is the next logical step.

[Redwing]

I think it was the eggs that got me thinking, I realised that eggs laid by my hens were tastier than those in the supermarket so began to wonder why that would be....

 

We have started to buy less meat but from known sources, making it go further and wasting less in order to balance out the higher cost

 

Raising our own birds for meat seemed logical

 

I saw a lot of animals killed on a farm when I was younger and am relatively calm so feel I can cope with the course but I don't know for sure how I will react and thats why a course full of Omleteers seemed a good idea as we are all chicken lovers and will at least understand if one of us has a hard time with it all

[Karen & co.]

I was hoping to be able to come on this, as it's the only way I can see myself eating meat again, having taken part in the preparation. Oh and a number of friends are going to do a bike ride around the velodrome, so I need to be wearing my best cheer leaders outfit

 

I will be looking out for other dates though

 

Karen x

[Muppet81]

Sounds interesting but I think I might be a bit too squeemish for this one .

[Lewis]

After being Veggie for 25 years I couldn't go back to eating meat unless I could do it myself - I started with chicken and we were shown how to despatch our first few table birds by a local man. I then progressed to pork after we'd moved to the smallholding and raised the pigs - we took them to the abattoir though.......and then lamb.....and, finally, beef. I only eat our own meat or meat cooked for us as guests as long as I know its provenance, and the rest of the time I still choose veggie food.

 

 

 

You have my utmost admiration. I would love to be able to keep some animals, raise them for meat, kill and eat/sell them. I'm fairly sure I couldn't though. I wish I could. I used to think I would be able to, but that was before I had the chickens. Did you always think you could, or was it kind of like you just built up to it gradually and made yourself do it?

The fact that you're thinking about it, and would want to do it obviously shows you're part of the way there. I definately think it would help if you got some meat birds, to get a completely different colour to your layers. Maybe you could start off with a couple and find somewhere to dispatch of them, then you get to know what went in them, without dispatching them yourself. Then maybe afterwards you could think about doing the course.

 

I would never be able to dispatch one on my own because I'd be scared of doing something wrong and hurting the animal - so maybe contact someone local to you and ask for a bit of help.

 

Wanting to be a vet in the long run, I've always thought about having to put animals down and everything that goes with it. I'm not a very squeamish person, and have seen operations in vet's practices, and I loved pulling lambs out of ewe's and things , but I can't imagine killing one of the chickens.

I would possibly consider killing one of the male quail I hatched, because I have 3 too many and they have started fighting and so are all in individual cages and no-one seems to want them .

Sorry for the essay! but I do think it's a gradual thing you have to build yourself up for.