Couldn't Do It

Last Saturday, the 5th, I visited the small, custom slaughterhouse in Rudy (near Alma) where several folks had said they take their livestock to be processed. I had called them a couple of weeks earlier and made an appointment to bring in two cows on December 6th (to be "processed" the following day). I wanted to see the place, talk to the folks who do the work, and take a tour of their facility. By the way, I have never seen so may deer carcasses -- seems during deer season, most folks in the area take them there. My neighbor said that 15 hours within opening of the season, 3,000 deer had already been killed.

They were very accommodating, giving me an extensive tour, answering all my questions, and were very nice when I told them sorry but I wasn't bringing in my cows the next day. Two things -- I can't sell the meat after they are slaughtered unless the slaughterhouse is certified USDA, which they aren't, (have to sell them live) and secondly, I just couldn't bear to do it.

I've posted them on Craigslist but have not gotten one inquiry . . . my steers are getting close to being too big . . . and I don't exactly know what I'm going to do. Had dinner with Kay and C.R. Thursday night and C.R. suggested I take them (and the goats that are ready) to the auction house and get a nice check for Christmas. I told him I didn't want to do that and would prefer to sell them off the place, so he tried painting a picture for me. . . let's see -- sell them off the place to be taken away, slaughtered and eaten as opposed to taking them off the place to sell, be slaughtered and eaten. Okay, I do get the point . . . but . . . wonder how much hay I'd need to feed everyone through the winter. . .