Letting Kids Watch While Skinning an Animal

[eriknemily]

I almost forgot. Since I killed the rooster on Halloween I wanted to hang him from our front porch to scare off the trick-or-treaters but my wife wouldn't let me.

 

[RallySoob]

this question is comical to me. Native American children probably used to field dress their own animals by 7

 

[Inspector]

It never hurt me any... Honest!

I do have a funny story though.. Wasn't funny at the time. I must have been about 8 (1972 or so)... The neighbor was skinning out a nice buck. He handed me an eyeball and I walked around with it for a few minutes. I finally got an idea in my head and strolled on over to dad's chopping block. I took a swing with a hatchet and my aim was dead on! Unfortunately the goop from the inside eyeball squirted all over my face! Dad laughed so hard he was crying.

 

[bigNtall]

I agree let them watch if they want to. To me it is there choice

2 Years ago was skinning out a nice 5 point elk. Had my freinds son there. Shot it right at dark. I am going away with the knife the boy was holding a small flashlight for me and I had my small one in my mouth. Well I dropped my flashlight right into the middle of the cavity. Dug it out and wiped it off on the pants and shoved right back in my mouth. Well the boy lost it puked all over the back of the truck then went and sat in cab of the truck. I think I scared him for life.

 

[clearconscience]

I agree with most everyone else. I would rather have my kids watch me skin an animal than be inside killing people and stealing cars on the newest video game.
That's how kids learn and if you shelter them now they will be afraid to do it later. And let's face it, we all may need to learn that trade to eat sooner or later.

Good luck, and tell the old lady your teaching them to be men and how they can provide for their family.

Then again they might grow up freaked out of blood and guts, and become PETA loving, tree hugging, leaf eaters.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

 

[mommabronco79]

Hi, I had to put in my 2 cents. My dad when I was very young taught me this way. First get a chicken, turkey, rabbit, duck, ect. or any small game. He put it on the kitchen counter and proceeded to show me. He used a rabbit he had shot with a 22. He went slow, showing me as he went, asking me what I thought, told me about the different parts as he cleaned the rabbit. After that I had to clean anything I shot or caught. Quail, pheasant, fish, rabbits, you name it, as a kid I cleaned it. It gave me an opportunity to learn, and it was better than my moms attitude of go to your room and don't come out until we are done and I tell you to come out and making me feel like I had done something wrong.

So there is my 2 cents. It did not make me warped. Just self sufficient. I still clean my own game...some 35 years later...and still not warped...and yes I taught my son, and now daughter in law the same way...and they are not warped either...

 

[eriknemily]

I know this is an old thread but I thought I'd revive it. I just shot my first blacktail yesterday. When I got him home to hang him and skin him my four kids were enamored. My four year old won't stop saying, "I can't believe you actually shot a deer, Dad. I believed you though." My two girls were far more interested than the boys. My seven year old just found a bucket in the shed and sat on that while I was skinning him. It was a good evening. She now thinks that she has meat on her body since muscle is meat. Next year I'll take her along to help me do the field dressing.

 

[teflon6string]

As abstract as this might seem...

Have your kids handled raw chicken, beef or pork? It's a long leap from a frozen 1 lb tube of lean ground at Fred Meyers to seeing wide-eyed Bambi's skin open up and a pile of steaming organs on the ground. Nothing wrong with a little frank discussion before the big event regarding what's really in those tidy little packages of meat we buy at the store. A clear understanding of what part of a critter they're touching, and the steps taken from field to fridge, may help them think ahead about what they're going to see. With that done, I might say, "That's all part of hunting and eating meat. Do you want to see it for reals?"

I know young kids who've been shooting and BBQing squirrels and birds for years. And I watched a grown man nearly toss his waffles the first time he saw a freshly dispatched armadillo. To me, a little prep might go a long way in how the reality is perceived when it actually happens.

You're a good dad for thinking about it first. They're only young once, and first experiences in any endeavor shape them profoundly.

My vote? Show 'em!

PS, If God didn't want us to eat animals, they wouldn't be made of meat.

 

[pinecenega]

Let the kids watch and/or help if they want too. Best to get them on your side before some liberal teacher tells them that hunting and eating meat are evil. Happens all the time.

 

[ZigZagZeke]

We raise sheep in addition to hunting and fishing. The kids have no illusions about where meat comes from. My in-laws live back in the woods and we sometimes have to shoo the deer out of the driveway to get to the house. A couple years ago the youngest son pointed to a deer standing in the driveway and yelled, "Yum!"

 

[PBinWA]

When I slaughter chickens my older daughter(8) doesn't want to watch but the 7 year old is right in there for the full anatomy lesson. No need to force it on them but give them the option of participating and they will if they want to.

 

[civilian75]

If they want to watch, let them.
If while watching they get sick, let them go, and no one is allowed to poke fun of anybody.

My $0.02

 

[mjbskwim]

So a few years ago,a buddy wanted to pick up a local turkey in Enumclaw. You could order as big of turkey as you wanted.Just order early lol
And he raised rabbits,friers.
We go up there and look around.He shows us the butcher shop and all.The two little ,say,4-5 year olds come a runnin'
"Do the kids mind you butchering the rabbits?" "Naw they want to help"

I wasn't sure about kids that young getting involved in it.But I didn't write down their last name to see if they became serial killers or anything.

I think if kids are exposed to anything at a young age,it won't be a big deal later in life

 

[cowboygraphics]

Agree with comments of: let them. With the suggestion of checking them (look, ask) and always with the offer "you can leave/go back in the house at any time". Engage those wonderful little minds offering bits of science (this is the ...) and technique (we have to be careful to not cut that ...).
One important suggestion: don't involve them in skinning/dressing a bear if they are very young. Anyone that's been there knows what I mean and why.

 

[WhyteCheddar]

I am with a lot of the others here. WHile every kid is different, you should know your own kids well enough to know if it wont go over that well.
But my perspective is to not only let them watch (allowing them to turn away if they need to) but to also give them the option to help. My kids have watched several times and were more than happy to help cape the animal first time around. They were 12 and 7 at the time.

 

[mjbskwim]

I agree let them watch if they want to. To me it is there choice

2 Years ago was skinning out a nice 5 point elk. Had my freinds son there. Shot it right at dark. I am going away with the knife the boy was holding a small flashlight for me and I had my small one in my mouth. Well I dropped my flashlight right into the middle of the cavity. Dug it out and wiped it off on the pants and shoved right back in my mouth. Well the boy lost it puked all over the back of the truck then went and sat in cab of the truck. I think I scared him for life.

HAHAHAHA
You a pipe layer? Sounds like some of the guys I've worked with over the years.

 

[DieselScout]

I grew up with my Mom raising rabbits as food. So we'd have a new crop of bunnies for a while to name and pet, then we'd have dinner. Us kids would always be around while she was doing it, we use to carry the still warm kidneys up to feed to the cats. When I got my deer this year we brought it back to a buddy's house to skin. He brought his 6 year old daughter out to check it out before, during and after. She wasn't freaked out, more board then anything. When we hauled it up to Otto's Sausage Kitchen in Portland today, my 5 yo nephew wanted to go with us. He came right in and watched them drag in, weight and hang some bloody elk quarters. He commented once about smell of the smoker and that was it. Kids are much more resilient then people give them credit. They take their ques from the adults around them, if they are freaking out or uncomfortable, so will the kid.

 

[nwwoodsman]

Not quite as exciting as the time she got to carry the deer head around. She's 4 and her smile was even bigger when I cleaned it, and then she started singing about eating it. It was a good opportunity to explain respect for the animal and where food comes from. I don't think she was too traumatized and I don't think she'll be a serial killer. I do think that she will be hunting right beside me in a few years.

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

one of my old co workers just shot a 4point and his 5 year old daughter and 3 year old son helped him dress it out. he said they had no problem doing it and handled it just fine

 

[ragermack]

+1

If they want to watch, let them.
If while watching they get sick, let them go, and no one is allowed to poke fun of anybody.

My $0.02

as long as no one judges it a failure if they are not ready. You don't sound like that would be the case but I think that it is important to stress.