There is a dark spot in homesteading that writers like myself don’t want to tell you about. This lifestyle is amazing and freeing, but it comes with a cost when livestock come into the mix. Death. Most everyone has had a pet in their lives. Your pet may have passed naturally due to old age or maybe it died due to trauma. Maybe you had to put your pet down because it was sick or suffering. Making that decision sucks. Losing an animal sucks. That’s where the darkness of homesteading comes in. Death on the homestead.
We are able to keep our dogs and cats relatively safe. We bring them indoors at night so they are safe from predators. If our pet gets sick, we often can treat them with a trip to the veterinarian. Livestock is a different story. Livestock are exposed to predators day and night. We do what we can, but sometimes sh*t happens that is out of our hands.
If livestock gets sick, it can take over an entire herd or flock almost overnight. Often times a vet visit won’t fix things (not to mention the cost and effort of something like medicating 20 chickens). Homesteaders have to make the call. Often it means starting over.
The Reality of Homesteading
The reality is that you have to be strong when you become a homesteader. You have to make the tough calls and you have to be prepared to deal with the worst.
One of my friends recently came home from an evening out to discover that his livestock guardian dog killed his goat-herd. There was no way to prepare for something like that. My friend had to put the dog down, adding insult to emotional injury. Think you won’t bond with your livestock? Think again.
Another friend of mine packaged up her meat birds to bring to the butcher. She knew these animals were being raised to feed her family, yet she treated them with care and respect. Unfortunately she forgot to put air holes in the boxes and the birds had died before she made it to the butchers. She was devastated that they had died in such a horrible way.
I have had to deal with planned and unexpected loss on my own homestead as well. In just the last year, I had two hens die in my arms because they hid their illness/weakness. Chickens don’t let you know they are dying until they literally can’t go on anymore. I sold one of my ducks for meat because we had too many drakes in the flock. I had to euthanize two hens because of illness that I couldn’t afford to have run through my flock. We will be dispatching three more hens in the spring because we cannot afford to feed animals that no longer feed us.
If you don’t own chickens, this may not register with you. You may think “well, it’s just a chicken.” Trust me, even the strongest person cannot be callous when it comes to the death of a living creature, even a chicken. The chickens that will be dispatched in the spring have names and personalities. They are not our pets, but they are cared for and respected. They are living, breathing beings that are part of a flock, a family.
It’s Okay to Care
I think people have it set in their minds that if you raise animals for a specific purpose such as eggs, milk, or meat, that magically you disconnect from them. I’m not sure about you, but knowing that my livestock have expiration dates doesn’t change the way I care for them. I sit out there and visit with them, feed them treats, and spend hours watching them play.
Do you know why most homesteaders raise their own produce? Because they want that animal to live the best life possible before it’s time comes. They’ve seen the videos of cattle with no grazing space and chickens who spend their entire lives in wire cages. Animal activists may think raising animals only for it to end in death is horrible, but look at the alternative. The people in the world will never stop eating animal products. Wouldn’t it be better if these animals were being raised by farmers who actually care?
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Thank you.
My chickens don’t have names. When we began this journey one of my favorite dairy does was killed – by my husband’s dog. I recently had to put down a doe that had a stuck kid – and cut the kid out and try to save it, unsuccessfully. If you have a rough start, it’s easy to get discouraged and give up,
A week later I sat up with another doe, in the same pen I lost the last doe and kid. I helped deliver a huge, healthy buckling into the world to his healthy and very attentive first time mom. He will either be eaten or sold (I’m hoping for sold), but he will be loved and well cared for until that time. Its THOSE moments that keep me going and give me the strength to get through the had ones.
Thank you for this. As a lifelong city dweller who has become a homesteader within the last two years, it’s good to hear from an experienced keeper that things are not always unicorns and rainbows. I had done my research extremely well and took very careful care of my little flock. Despite this, my recent experience was similar to yours; I was forced to cull two pullets because of illness and had two others die suddenly from an upper respiratory infection. I tried everything I knew to make them well, but it just didn’t work. Add to that the fact that I live in the land of commercial chicken houses, yet can’t find an avian vet to save my soul. It’s heartbreaking, because you know each one as an individual. I’m toughening up, but it hurt and I still cried for each little pullet who never even got to lay one egg. Many sources give lots of practical info but seldom touch on the emotional part of animal keeping. Thanks for letting me (and other newbies) know that none of us can prevent everything, and that it’s important to remember that quality of life is what counts the most. At least I know my girls lived well.
Raising animals (or plants!) really puts a person in touch with the unpredictability of life. Life & death are everywhere on a farm or a homestead. I was a vegetarian until I was widowed and realized that all life ends in death and the issues are how an animal lives and how an animal dies, not whether they die. A good life and a quick death are really all we can ask for.
Oh my gosh, Bonnie…thanks for that. This is a great, thought-provoking post and you just put the cherry on top!
That was a beautifully simple but PROFOUND statement, thank you Bonnie
Thanks for a great post. I had to say goodbye to our mama goat last night. Even though we’ve only had her for a few months, she was a sweet girl and I’ll miss her.
I am so sorry for your loss. It never gets easier, does it.
Thank you for this tribute to the emotional-investment part of the homesteading experience. I love reading and learning from your blog.
“I think people have it set in their minds that if you raise animals for a specific purpose such as eggs, milk, or meat, that magically you disconnect from them. ” –This is so true. People seem to assume that being an animal lover and someone who kills and eats her own animals are mutually exclusive, but it’s the exact opposite. I want my food to have been loved and to have lived well. Thanks for tackling an important topic! Great points.
I have taken a lot of flack for using our retired animals for meat, especially since I am an animal lover. I’m also a vegetarian, but that doesn’t mean that I believe the lost life should be wasted.