Last Friday I had the opportunity to go out to Curtis Womach’s Ranch out in Wynola with Steph and Michael as we were all on the same deal, “come help, and you can buy a turkey”. We were all so excited on the drive up there as we were gonna get a chance to be such an integral part in the process of getting a turkey for our Thanksgiving dinners. None of us had any experience, but were definitely looking forward to it. As soon as we get there Curtis wastes no time and puts us right to work, Steph is in charge of chasing and catching them , Michael is all about reaching inside of them and taking out all their insides, and I’m on the “washing and packing up” job. It was a very grounded experience to actually be out there and participate on getting these turkeys from their home to other peoples homes.
Steph chasing the swift turkeys.
The turkey is placed in these cones and then their neck gets sliced.
After they are killed the turkeys are thrown into this scalder so the feathers can be pulled out easier.
This spinner gets the feathers out pretty quickly.
Michael at his post taking the insides out.
Curtis at his craft.
Caught uploading a pic on facebook as I take a break from rinsing, washing, stuffing, and bagging the turkeys for the lucky ones.
Michael proud of his days work.
Hey Jay,
Do you know if Curtis regularly sells turkeys for Thanksgiving? Probably couldn’t happen this year, but if he takes reservations for turkeys I’d love to know in advance of next year. Thanks.
-Andrew
He does sell them and is sold out for this year. Email him and let him know you are interested.
Thanks Juan.
Please don’t everyone groan in unison, but was it your opinion that this was a humane slaughter? I eat meat and accept that living things die to feed us, but am very interested in acknowledging appreciation of the animal’s gift and our obligation to provide a decent closure.
Hi Valerie,
I wasn’t at Curtis’ for this turkey slaughter, but I know how he does things and I’ve visited a decent number of slaughterhouses, and in my opinion even the most humane, well-run slaughterhouse doesn’t manifest the same respect for the animal and for the circle of life as does an on-farm kill. That’s my $0.02 on the general issue, but I’m also curious as to Michael, Steph, and Juan’s thoughts about this specific event.
Jay
Valerie, I can guarantee you that everyone present at the slaughter was cognizant of the supreme sacrifice these animals were making for our nourishment. In fact Shannon, who works at La Milpa Organica and was guiding us through the process as it was our first time, made it very clear to us that we were to take every precaution in limiting the animals’ suffering. This mostly involved quickly and completely severing the jugular veins on their necks, so they would bleed out quickly and completely.
Hi Valerie,
It is humane. The turkey chase was hilarious – quite a Darwinian moment – the faster turkeys lived a bit longer because we couldn’t catch them. Once caught, they became very still, silent. The head is plopped into the dark and with one slit the bird is dead. Scorching the turkey is done carefully so as not to tear the skin and Curtis even saved some feathers for his son’s crafts (I got some too). It was the second time I have witnessed a slaughter. Both times I went into it swearing I would become a vegetarian, both times I couldn’t resist tasting the meat. That turkey, and that goat were by far the best meat I have ever had