Please be respectful in the comments and to all individuals who's comments were shown here. I did not blur usernames because those comments were made on very public videos that everyone can see, regardless. Be kind and constructive always.
Im 20 years old, me and my girlfriend are into rabbits and a lot of our friend or family member find it cruel… At the end of the day, I think that the most important thing is to mind your own business😅🤷♂️
Hi, I know this is not the topic of the video but I'd really appreciate it if someone could help me solve a mystery. Namely, an older male rabbit that appeared perfectly healthy this morning was later found laying lethargic in the afternoon, wouldn't get up and was dead by evening. Had a little coagulated blood in each ear. That's it. Someone told me the rabbit had a brain stroke, but I'm not convinced. Any ideas?
@@chickenlover657 I am SO sorry. The thing I would try to do is a necropsy to try to determine what went wrong. Wear gloves if you ever do this..some rabbits can carry disease that is transmissable to humans. Sometimes crusted blood can be from ear mites. I had a rabbit die with blood coming from her mouth and I never did find out what happened. SO sad and I'm so sorry.
@@SageandStoneHomestead Why you so sad? I eat those critters, they're not pets. I'm not a vet, we already dumped the rabbit in the bin, no necropsy happening. As for your rabbit bleeding from the mouth, well THAT I know what it is. It's a calicivirus called RHDV-2, or more plainly "Rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus". It's pretty common in the US and canada, but we don't have it where I live (across the planet, lol)
My steer had an AWESOME life while he was here. He was allowed to run with the goats, he got neck scratches whenever he wanted them. I took him to a processor that treated him with patience and respect. He never knew anything but kindness. You are 1,000% correct! Over the years I have watched many animals experience the death of a herd mate, an off spring, etc. The horses watched the dead horse get buried and then ran around leaping and bucking, and then went back to grazing. Cattle are like goats, they continue to chew their cud. A couple of weeks ago I had to put down a kid. She had a deformity that was terminal and could not be corrected. The morning I put her down she could no longer get up to go out with the herd, she could not stand, even though her mother stood over her trying to encourage her to get up. Once the mother moved on, I did what needed to be done. The mother weakly called a couple times from the hill, but when there was no response she went on with her life and never called for her again. Here is another scripture reference, Genesis 9:3, God tells Noah that they are now to eat animals for nourishment. Don't know if they ate meat between the Garden of Eden and the Flood or not, but after the Flood God was clear we were to eat meat.
I told my husband that someone would reference that about Noah!!! Thanks so much. I'm so sorry about the deformed doeling. You did the right thing. ❤️❤️
Im sorry you have been treated poorly. You're a kind and considerate person. Unfortunately, we have to share spaces with some who lack dignity, civility and respect. I mowed my cat accidently once and didnt even know it till the next pass, broke my heart. We raise our own food too. We provide our animals a good life and very humane dispatch. Animals in the wild and kept as pets are not always so lucky.
You have helped to convince me to start my own homestead. I’m starting with rabbits but I want chickens and goats. Please don’t stop helping those of us that want to learn. I am sorry you are being treated this way, we are in the same boat. Prayers for you. 🙏🏼
Food ethics. Such a big conversation. There were many things in this video I agree with and other things I disagree with, and some things I think often go unaddressed. In the end if you don’t know where your food comes from, you don’t know what it cost. That includes plants. As a plant based eater, I follow a lot of homesteaders because I enjoy their content. I find them to be good people. It costs me nothing to skip over posts/videos that don’t further me on my personal mission of service. I have grown so much as a gardener in the past 8 years with the help of RUclips. I even grew soybeans this year.
Heather, I have watched your entire rabbit series. We have already been raising our own meat rabbits for 3 years now and I found helpful information and ideas in this series and in many of your videos. Thank you for the time and effort you put into your channel my family and I very much appreciate it
When I had just started my homestead with chickens for eggs and goats for milk, I saw a peta video on how chickens were raised for the grocery store. I was HORRIFIED and thought this was edited and can’t be that bad. There are people in charge of animal cruelty RIGHT?!? It’s in all the movies that all animals were treated humanely. Doing my research I realized that their idea of humane and mine is opposite. After that we started raising our own meat and there is a sense of peace knowing my animals live a good and loved life and they only had one bad moment where they were more confused than hurting. And peace knowing my children are eating pure clean meat in their diet.
PETA is a known terrorist organization. Of course it's heavily edited. It's propaganda. These people lied to get jobs on farms in order to create propaganda. They set up cameras, abused animals, then edited and released videos to cause all kinds of problems. And people have bought it. And they abuse other people for not believing the propaganda. Yes there are bad people out there, they are members of PETA.
I find PETA makes incredibly dramatic and misaligned videos, I *personally* have no respect for them or their content. That said? I saw something horrible in real life myself. I knew a small farmer that raised their own meat chickens. Nice space, they were always clean, nice fluffy feathers. Then I saw some chickens being transported. They were featherless and looked greasy. All stacked on top of each other in tiny cages. They looked unwell and couldn’t have been comfortable in those cages. I felt more gratefulness for that small farmer in that moment, and his nice, clean, comfortable chickens. The life they were living was way different to the ones I saw being shipped.
Your meat rabbit series helped me breed, grow and harvest my first batch of meat rabbits this year. I am very grateful for you and your videos. Also, this was an excellent response. God Bless you and Your Family Thank you!
One problem is we teach kids that animals are just like us from a very early age. Look at books and movies like Bambi, the Lion King, Jungle Book, etc.
Society now seems to have free range to hate and act on that hate. It is like they are a heat seeking missile. They have lost any filter they ever had. I am so sorry you and your family were the focus. Your content is extremely well balanced and presented with respect. Your rebuttal was logical and compassionate to us who are not those hate-filled people and serve as a reminder to watch our backs. Please be careful and also continue to love your farm and your way of life. Hugs
Your channel is an incredible resource and you should be so proud of it! This video was so respectful and well said. Thank you for continuing to share your wealth of knowledge, and please know it is greatly appreciated!
It's so interesting how people think their own ideology can be applied to everyone. I appriciate your detailed series on raising meat rabbits. I'm considering it myself this fall after I spend the summer building the space for them.
Raising meat rabbits has been one of the most rewarding ventures for us! Our sincere hope is that others get that same satisfaction and security! Thanks for being here.
We found your rabbit series very helpful when we were planning to process our first meat rabbits. Thank you. It amazes me how disconnected we are as a society when it comes to our food. I am proud of our lifestyle now raising our own meat. I know our animals have a happy life living off the land and hopefully have just one bad day. It is sad for us because we do love them and we appreciate their sacrifice. But we wouldn’t have it any other way now.
Your page has inspired me to grow my homestead from a small garden and a few chickens to now having pigs,rabbits,chickens,quail, turkeys, and a much larger growing space to grow more vegetables! You have been the most valuable asset to my growth as a homesteader. Your knowledge and willingness to share that with us is leaps and bounds more influential and important than I’m sure you ever could imagine. We love you and your family 🖤
We have a homestead out in Arizona with dairy goats and such and have strongly considered raising meat rabbits as well. Seeing your channel has truly inspired us to be able to have enough confidence to do so. We thank you!!❤
1. Using a quote from Tolkien, A+ 2. God made the world and everything in it, then He gave us dominion over it. That’s literally page 1. That word “dominion” carries a lot weight but it means stewardship and care. It’s not some abstract ideal but a duty. There are plenty of people out there who don’t share that same Biblical perspective and that’s fine, but it is our perspective and we take it seriously. 3. Absolutely correct that animals don’t perceive death like we do. Those of us who hunt can see that first hand in the way deer interact with deceased deer.
I didn't mention the mother rabbits that kill and eat their babies if they sense a problem with it. Out of instinct. Good grief that's pretty brutal! Thanks so much for being here so early!
I just want to say thank you. Your channel has inspired me to raise my own meat animals. I'm sorry for all the hate people have given you. I much appreciate the effort you are putting in to make a difference in the sustainably and ethical production of your own meat.
I've never experienced so much hate as I did from raising rabbits and selling their meat. I was called a baby murderer and told I would rot in hell several times. Very nice job addressing this, and I'm sorry you had to experience that too.
So I have three comments... 1. This is probably the best response to irrational criticism relating to meat that I've seen. I'll bookmark it. Remember the advice, "Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?" 2. Bonded animals can experience strong emotions when a mate dies. This is especially noticeable in animals that mate for life. 3. I suggest you do something to relieve your rabbits' boredom. Toys, music, whatever.
Awesome video Heather, you're amazing, I love what you do. My comment is people act like plants aren't also very alive, no argument. They are alive, they feel pain, and just because they don't scream, or move like we do "doesn't justify eating them" The very best we can do while still being alive is to have a homestead or buy from local farmers that treat all of their creatures well, plants and animals. This is coming from a human who feels terrible for walking on grass. Thank your food, think about where it comes from.
@SageandStoneHomestead exactly, another one is if you play sounds of a plant being eaten to a plant (the example I saw was a caterpillar) it will produce the chemicals it needs to heal itself, and that's without even being damaged. Plants are amazing and I really believe we should treat them as such.
Have people looked up the studies on plants and how they react to words? Vegans wouldn't have anything to eat! I am actually going to have my girls do an experiment with plants and speaking words to them.
I have wanted to do that experiment as well! I don't know if my kids have the capacity to be truly hateful to the plant haha. They will probably giggle and make it grow bigger 🤣
When I started raising rabbits, the remarks that I got from friends and family were amazing to me. They were not nice. So yes, I totally understand what you're saying
Thank you for speaking on the subject with passion. I love your channel. Open mindedness is in such short supply. Education is the only way to open eyes and hearts. None of this warrants hate or intolerance. God, allow people to see things through your eyes. Clear and precise Amen
Very, very well presented Heather! None of us 'enjoy' the butchering process, we do it with God's provision & blessing. Your perspective is accurate & healthy, please don't let 'those other people' hurt you!! Your children are learning valuable lessons that nearly every young person 150 years ago learned as a matter of life! Skills that could mean that we survive or possibly not. Hold you head high, Heather!! The majority of us are firmly behind you!! God bless!
What the heck. OH, Heather. This comments are unkind and WRONG on so many levels. I appreciate you, I understand you, I among so many others and the vast, prevailing majority! 🤗🤗🤗
I just want to thank you. The grace and understanding you choose to show during these times is beyond contestation. 💚 thank you. In case you haven't heard it recently....I appreciate you.
It is amazing what gets posted. The haters are gonna hate. You're doing a great job of raising your animals in an incredible setting. You do everything to raise and dispatch the animal. We support you in how you raise your animals. Small farmers make a huge difference. Cheers Heather!
Excellent video Heather, so truthful and straight to the point. Some people think they are wholesome butter wouldn't melt in their mouths kind of people and yet show how close minded and uninformed they are with the stupid and downright hurtful/shameful things they say. The internet sort of allows that to be done super easily unfortunately. I think you also raised some wonderful points, that a lot of people wouldn't naturally consider, about how no method of eating is completely 100% clean and free of all harm to animals and/or the environment, etc. You are a treasure trove of solid information, which you openly provide in an honest and matter of fact fashion while also showing you do care and quite deeply. 💚 💚
@@SageandStoneHomestead You do a great job in my opinion, and I feel like people need to hear these things for many reasons. Just a couple are because we don't want to feel alone about our thoughts and you have helped affirm us in some way, or because it will help some people maybe learn and broaden their mental horizons.
I wish everyone everywhere would watch this. Seems most people won't take responsibility for their food. To harvest your own, will give an entire new view of food. It's a lot of hard emotional work. Every person should work at least one season on a farm. Thank you.
I am super busy again today but had to stop and sit so i could watch and listen. I know i say i cry or my heart drops or whatever emotion alot but thats me im an emotional person. When you talked about what someone had said about your kids my blood ran cold my heart stopped and not only did i cry out of sadness but out of anger, seriously wheres the real hate and violence at. It was once asked of us why raise your own meat and have dairy goats just get it from the store well i know how it was raised/treated and how it was harvested. And like jess from roots and refuge said we give them their best life with just one bad day. Which is more than what the animals raised commercially has. To be able to raise our own meat and collect our own eggs and milk is such a blessing and i thank everything single animal and always tell the goats when im done milking thank you and have a good day. If things keep getting the way they are whats the people that don't support farmers and depend solely on tofu or the store for food items gonna do. Its a beautiful thing to be a farmer and be able to provide for yourself and family. I'm not really sure i can say much diffrent than what you have so i will stop here but i just wanted to take time and give support. Also I'm making goat milk icecream for desert tonight so i would say a blessing indeed!🐐🥛🍦
@@SageandStoneHomestead i don't but its very cool and defiantly something i would like to at some point. We just have a mini electric icecream maker from walmart perfect size for my husband and i🍦
Beautifully said!!!! We need to let everyone live the way THEY want to. I do not understand the need of some to express their opinion so harshly. I LOVE YOUR HOMESTEADING LIFE!!!! Did I watch the butchering videos? No ma’am 🤣, but that’s just me and that’s ok. I would never feel the need to put anyone down for doing what they choose to feed their family. Keep doing what you’re doing? My daughter and I enjoyed this video so much, your approach to these horrible comments are great! 🥰
Heather, I can not thank you enough for doing this video. I don't think people see that life on a homestead is very intentional. It is with purpose, love, care, and the utmost thanks to those animals. Butcher day is never easy for us. But it is something that we give great thanks to our animals for sustaing our lives. I can say our animals have amazing lives. They get fed amazingly. We play all and I talk to all my rabbits at night when I go through and feed before bed. It's just such an intentional life. Our waste is so drastically down from before when we would just go to the store. As you stated, when you buy that meat in the package, you don't even think about the fact that that was a living animal that gave its life so you could sustain your own life. ❤
I’m a new subscriber and fairly new to “clean meat”. Loved raising cute chicks to egg-laying age.- then I was horrified at the idea of EATING those eggs! I gave 100% of the eggs away for the first few months. Not anymore, these eggs are delicious! ❤ I started meat rabbits and am now 💥past💥 the harvest time. Sigh. I need to get that in order and will invite a hunter friend or two to stand-by as support. Oddly, most of my friends are utterly repelled by the idea of my meat rabbits. Hmm, they eat meat as long as they never see the actual animal. 😱 Thank you for your inspiring videos.
That's another great thing about meat rabbits vs chickens. The big broiler chickens can't go too far outside the butcher window or they risk injury and death from their sheer weight and how fast they pack it on..but rabbits can go over indefinitely and no harm.done, just more meat by waiting! We can get 3lbs carcass if we hold out to 12 or so weeks.
We have a small homestead. We love and care for every single animal we raise. I have seen videos of how animals are raised for the supermarket. Well I have seen parts of the videos because I can’t make it through. I am crying and sick to my stomach within a few minutes. It’s not only horrible to see the treatment of the animals but to realize that a human being could do the things I’ve seen in factory farm footage. I have never “enjoyed” dispatching any animal, but I am so thankful for the blessing that we are ABLE to raise food.
Yes I saw one where they literally were tossing chickens into a truck. Those birds likely suffered broken bones on the way to the processing plant and likely were just tossed because of ruined meat from bruising. So sad and pointless
Very well said! I just watched your video on dispatching rabbits & was so surprised at how quick and humane it was. So much so, that I think I can do it. I don’t have rabbits, but I will be showing my husband the video later today. You really educated me & I’m very appreciative. Thank you ❤
Thank you for having the courage to make this video. We are just now starting our journey of raising our own and processing our own meat. We finally have the opportunity to do so, and we are very grateful and blessed to be able to do so as well. We have a deeper appreciation for our food for sure when you raise and process your own. There will always be Haters on the internet. Blessing to you and your family.😊
Heather, I would be very proud mom, if I had been the one who raised you. What a blessing you are. I just started with meat rabbits and we dispatched two males. Ate stewed rabbit, rabbit pot pie (thanks to a friend who made it❤) and next, rabbit and rice soup! I love sitting with my bunnies in peace and quiet. They have a sweet life, so far, in our colony setting. We’ll see how that goes…anyway, thank you for your logical discussion and your great teaching skills! Thanks to Levi, too! God Bless 🙏🏻❤️
Thank you so much ♥ There is something very human about understanding what it's like to be kind to an animal you will use as food. There's no reason not to. ♥ When the weather's nice I like to sit out by our animals too and watch them enjoy life.
Heather the simple fact that 'user' who left that ridiculous comment won't use their screen name, says it all. For someone to say you don't LOVE animal's simply does not watch your video's! You show love to all your animal's from birth to their death by caring for them everyday. You care for them after their death by not wasting any of their body. If ANYONE threatens you or your family make a police report and keep protection on you at all times! I LOVED this video! You pushed back so classy. You used their own information and flipped it, pushing it back in their face!😂
Oh Heather, you are so right on the fact animals do NOT have compassion. I have had to bury many goat kids and all of which the dams never noticed they were gone. Never.
Many years ago, on our little acreage, we raised meat rabbits and pet bunnies. One Easter season, we had a 150 total, counting the breeders. Rabbit meat, compared to beef, pork, and chicken, is said to have the least calories and cholesterol, most protein. One of my best customers used to tell her children it was "hop chicken!" I miss the entire rabbit process! They were raised with love and respect! Thank you for your words!!!
@@SageandStoneHomestead I love you and your family for doing things the way you do. Your animals know your love and respect, too. Thank you for demonstrating such a decent life!!!
You explained that very well, thank u Heather. Your rabbit series incouraged me to get back into raising rabbits. Also Now i have goats, 4 does and a buck! I have learned a lot from you. Cant wait to learn more.😊
I think you do a wonderful job of trying to educate people about this topic. Hatefulness has become some prevalent in our society. I’m sorry you had to deal with this type of behavior. I appreciate you for your time sharing.
You are like my homestead soulmate 💕 I truly love the passion you have for your farm and your family. You've definitely inspired me 😊 I really love the way you educate, you give so much compassion and inspiration in your words. And I'm so sorry you lost your kitty 😢 I really wish I could give you a hug.. ❤️
Oh Heather, I am so sorry. People are so cruel while putting themselves unearnedly on a higher plain. I just recently found your channel and I have literally binge watched your channel, even the goats and rabbits. I am unable to raise goats, chickens, etc but I am living on the fringe by raising coturnix quail. I fully understand your care of your animals and your wanting to dispatch in the most humane way. I always say a prayer over my quail as I dispatch them and thank them for the sacrifice they are giving me and my family. I'm sorry you felt you have to defend yourself and how you care for your animals, people are just way out of touch with reality and honestly, they don't want to be because that intrudes on the preconceived ideas that they're not willing to give up. Keep up the good work, many more of us enjoy your content.
Thank you for sharing this... Spot on in my mindset as well. Great info on the framing industry and how it's harvested and the wildlife that pays the price. I respect vegans, vegetarians.. But it seems that many do not understand that a lot of what they use is derived from animal products including the fertiliser used to grow food. I am proud of our life change from the grocery store seven years ago to raising our own meat and vegetables.. We dispatch and process all on property knowing their care from birth to package.
Thank you for speaking on this. Our animals live a very good life. We take butchering our own animals very serious. It’s a very somber, thankful, and respectful day. I mourned deeply when one of our goats died. I tried everything I could to save her, to keep her from suffering. Between sprays and the heavy equipment, many things perish when those monoculture fields are planted or brought in. Go past any newly harvested field and you will see crows and, soon to follow, vultures and other scavengers. It seems to me that if we weren’t meant to consume meat, our bodies wouldn’t process it. I get that some people can’t, but most can. I appreciate your discussion about it being intimate and each person should live as they see fit. Hugs and keep it up! ❤
Great video today Heather. I been homeless living in my car since Dec. I have gone 2 to 3 days with out eating and have looked threw garbage to eat. I do have my dog living in the car with me and I am greatful for someone stranger noticed us sleeping in the car in the same place everynight and gave us a 50 lb bag of dry dog food. I almost was hungry enough to eat it myself. There are days I pray to God for help and salvation nightly. I lost my home to a fire and no insurance. That's why I am in my car. I will eat anything if I am hungry. I have lost over 25 lbs and look sickly..lol but I am hoping there is light at the end of my tunnel. I am sorry Heather is you get negative comments for the food you raise and eat. I look up to you and you have given me alot of inspiration. Keep doing what your doing for your family. Xoxo
I just binge watched your series on meat rabbits, and wanted to thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise. I am so impressed with your clear and direct information, especially in the dispatching video. Nothing but respect and appreciation for you!! Remember, "You can't talk sense to people who oppose it on principle"
Your family gives the animals on your farm love and respect every day and only 1 bad day for them. You are so correct in how veggies and grains are grown. Shame on the evil people who want to harm your family. They need to be reported.
Thank you for your honesty and clearly sharing what many of us feel as well. You have helped me tremendously with our small farm ideas of how to better feed my family. You care about your animals, family and friends, and even take the time to comment or write back to the rest of us with a kind word or idea. Blessings
Hi my lovely, I am so sorry you had to go through this. Its amazing what people that are, supously, compationable and caring can be so cruel to others to the point of threatening their kids and loved ones. I just recently started watching your videos and I love them, you are a kind and real person. I dream of having my own homestead one day and I love the idea of being in charge of my food lifes, make sure that while they are a live they are happy, loved and cared for. Now I can't at this point kill any animal my self, which is something I feel hipocritical about as I do eat them but I will try with time to learn and do it the more respectful and painless way. They deserv that for what they give us. Anyway a bit a long winded coment but just wanted to let you know you not alone and there is people out there that love what you and what you show, just keep up the good work and ignore these people as they not even worth your time. Lots of love from Portugal
Thank you so much!!! The butchering is really tough but if you can find someone to help who knows how or a good butcher, that mentoring is invaluable! ♥
This was Soooooo well said!! We are a small farm in Florida & also raise chickens for eggs & meat as well a goat for milk & meat & we used to do our own butchering of our pigs years ago. Kudos to you and your family for doing what you do so well & dealing with the trolls at the same time. I have learned so much from your channel & value your content immensely, Keep fighting the Good fight!!
You inspired me to grow my own rabbits. Don’t listen to the haters. There is no room for that noise. As we have seen all to clearly as of late, those screaming the loudest about “compassion” are those that have none. Keep up the good work.
Well I had a tick bite and got Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever 4 years ago and later developed Alpha-gal. This means I was unable to eat any mammalian product. No meat or dairy able to be consumed. I would get deathly ill if only 1 bite. Even the smell of meat cooking made me sick. After 3 years I was able to eat a few bites. My health greatly deteriorated. I became anemic, pale and sickly. Developed a broken dislocated right ankle with very slow healing. It negatively impacted my health. In January due to prices and food chain insecurity I made the choice to grow some of my own food again. In fact 25 yrs ago I was so self sufficient I only spent $20/month at grocery store. In January I ordered baby chicks not able to get until June. I bought Silver Fox rabbits for meat. With your encouragement Heather I found 2 milking goats and have my own milk supply. I will have eggs starting next month. My health is now improving and I have no regrets about my decision. My animals are treated very well as yours are.
OH no that is so scary and freaks me out, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Alpha-gal. What a battle that must have been for you! Sounds like you're able to eat mammal meat again though?
@@SageandStoneHomestead a little like last night I ate a 3 1/2 ounce pork chop and did fine. Making and eating yogurt daily.I can't eat very much meat. A small portion is fine. My anemia has improved and I know for me a vegan diet was not healthy. Everyone's body is different and going gluten-free helped me tremendously. Eating my own fresh food and organic items from Azure Standard has made my life much better. My point with the original comment was to point out that going vegan either by choice or health reasons may not be the healthiest choice for your body.
Thank you for sharing! I hope your perspective helps some people understand; however, their confirmation bias is likely going to take precedent over open-mindedness. I think this video will more likely be useful to people who feel the same way but now have an example of how to articulate it for themselves! Thank you very much for all you do and share ☺️
So several years ago we invested in meat rabbits and i ended up selling them bc i couldn't get myself to dispatch them, after watching your video on the hopper popper I've made the decision to try again. My issue was i didn't feel like any of the ways i was told was humane enough for me to feel comfortable. Your video completely changed that. Thank you so much for taking the time to educate others like this.
I would like to express my gratitude to you for that video. Without that video, I would have never been able to harvest the rabbits that I do raise. I watch that video I think eight times. one, to get the courage to process my rabbits, and understand the process. The last two times I watched that video was like you were standing with me on a step-by-step on how to process my rabbits. so, thank you for being you.
I am 68 years old and rabbits are my first livestock. I live in an HOA so they will likely be my only livestock. I got one buck and a pregnant doe who kindled six kits eight days ago. Found them thru the local farmer's market. Your raising rabbits series is a godsend. Thank you Heather - you are my cup of tea.
Quail are fairly easy and affordable once set up. There is a learning curve and the birds are quiet and even the male crowing can blend in with other birds in the neighbourhood. Eggs from the girls and meat from the boys, is a plentiful supply if you can breed your own. They don’t need much room, but they are messy a bit, but I find them fun.😊
I've seen so many headlines about animals having human characteristics. It is a weird element of our culture. We've always had stories with talking animals (Aesop's fables), but it hits different when the people consuming the stories aren't so intimate with the animals in the stories. Chicken Run is one of my favorite cartoons and will remain so. That story was done with so much ridiculously unbelievable characters as chickens that it can't be taken seriously. Or maybe its just me that could never take any chicken seriously 😅
LOL I was reading an article about the shift in society from rabbits as meat to rabbits as pets and they theorized it was during the time that Bugs Bunny appeared on TV that people decided they couldn't eat something resembling a character like that, with human mannerisms. Rabbits WERE first livestock before they were ever pets. You can make any animal a pet, and people do... so where does it end?
Thank you for sharing your perspective. Im so grateful for your videos. You are so full of knowledge and love, and its such a blessing to be able to learn from you. The awful words said to you came from a damaged space in them. Keep doing what you're doing. The majority is greatful the be here learning from your experience.
Take no notice of them, they don't have to watch your videos, I don't eat meat but I love all your videos, the respect you have for your choices in life are sympathetic to the planet, God Bless you and your family 😊
This was a wonderful respectful video. My daughter is living on what she calls a 'Plant Based diet'. Not the same as vegan. It has kept her out of a wheelchair and false diagnosis from doctors. She's happy healthy and physical top shape. Looks 25 and is over 50. Her recent eye exam showed that her vision has improved so much that eye glasses are not needed. The eye dr. told her he has seen this happen with people on plant based diets. She grows all her own food.
You know what is best for you and your family. We grew up growing most of our own food, and we hunted. We were so much healthier because of it. One thing in this life I have learned is to follow my gut instinct and moral compass. Lord knows if we followed everyone else's what shape we would be in. All you have to do is look at the world around us to know the answer.
I truly appreciate all the videos that experienced homesteaders share with those of us trying to learn new skills. We want to treat our animals with respect and give them a good life and a swift death. I don’t want to torture my animals-I want to learn the fastest and least painful way to proceed without having to experience all the ways NOT to proceed. So thank you for being willing to share your knowledge. Teachers like you make a lot of animals’ lives better!
Very insightful video. I wish that you could share your knowledge with us without the verbal abuse. Usually people who argue or are hateful are just insecure about their own convictions and need everyone to think as they do for validation. Thank you for putting up with them and continuing your RUclips channel.❤
2 things #1 I stopped all the almond buying when I found out how much water it takes to get 1 single almond, I still eat beef,chicken and pork my farmers neighbors butcher, but I won’t touch an almond, sorry. #2 I was that person, the one that felt bad when Crystal removed the babies 24 hours later and didn’t believe the moms didn’t miss their babies. Oh boy was I wrong! My girls love them the first 24 hours like a new toy, then they thank me of I take them away for the night😂 Goats are like that, they are good mothers (sometimes better than humans😂) but can live without her babies! And enjoy life! Oh I miss watching content! And sharing some, but my computer is waiting for a new charger that’s in the mail! Clara was bred so we are expecting (if she took) babies at the end of January! I never bred this early in kind of hoping for no snowstorms around here 😂 Good to see you friend!
I am trying to have all my breeding done by early November! I didn't like kidding in the warmer months this season because the babies are too fragile and small for all the coccidia that is blooming at that time!
We raise our own meat chickens, and we make sure to give them the best life possible. They have a large coop, plenty of safe outdoor space (can’t free range because of hawks and coyotes), and tons of treats. And we try to dispatch them as quickly as possible. They feed our family and I respect them and treat them with dignity to the very end.
What great perspectives and examples of the difference between people and animals! I live in Los Angeles area, raising produce in my very small backyard and front yard. Had chickens when my kids were young., but now i trade eggs for produce. I am a Christian and you are spot on. If I could get a word in edgewise with my vegan friends, I will use your examples. Thanks so much for a great lesson!
Thankyou for all the informative videos you post, I have learned a lot. I am sorry for all the haters you get. Thankyou for touching on all the animals that die from combines and heavy machinery, pesticides kill tones of animals in those fields. You respect your animals and care and show them love. And show them respect in the way you dispatch them. You were fighting back tears talking about your lost goat, clearly you care immensely for them. Keep doing what you do, and please keep posting amazing videos.
I have gained value from your raising rabbits series and now this conversation too. We started homesteading a couple years ago and my friends mom, who eats meat from the grocery store, told me she hoped there was a special place in hell for humans to be butchered that have butchered animals. I saw there was no point in continuing a conversation with her because she didn’t see her own hypocrisy as a meat eater. Like you I value the lives of our animals and find value in raising our own food. Thank you for your content and teachings.
A lot of the time it comes from people who also eat meat. It's bizarre. It's like they don't understand where their meat comes from and are chastising people that take FULL responsibility as a meat eater. I'm so sorry you've had to deal with that. You're certainly not alone!
Your videos for the meat rabbits are one of the best series on RUclips. It has helped me to start my own meat rabbit setup. So, thank you for all the videos you have put out, and please keep them coming.
As a 4-H and FFA family, as well as a suburban homesteader here in Southern California, I feel you. I get you. I have had to have this very same conversation with family, friends and acquaintances. Our family is not particularly religious, but I don't think one needs to be to be able to have care and compassion. Keep doing what you're doing. I am learning SO MUCH from you, from Blue Cactus and Weed 'em and Reap. Without all of you, I would not be experiencing our first freshening with our Nigerian Dwarf herd with even a small amount of confidence. Thank you.
I'm wanting to start raising meat rabbits soon, and your series helped SO much and I really appreciate coming across it AND by extension your channel. I think raising your own meat brings you closer to the cycle of life in a very beautiful way. I am not Christian, I am a folk witch, but I think we can both agree that hunting for yourself and family, and raising your own meat brings us closer to nature and shows us to respect our food in a way most people don't. It's truly beautiful.
Well-spoken and thoughtful video, Heather! There is so much I could say on this... but I will try to keep it short. First, close-minded people can be shown things that will negate or refute their claims, but rarely will their mind change. And some people are miserable and want to knock others down to make themselves seem higher than those they degrade. There is a passage in the Bible that speaks of being cautious of throwing stones because of living in glass houses, and as you said - there is no part of industrial food that does not have accidental or intentional "blood on their hands". Remember the commercials about orangutans and palm oil? What about the rainforests that are cleared for coconut, palm, and other tropical fruit plantations?!? So. All that to say that we put our time, energy, and money to to what we feel is best for us and our communities. The fact that you can't easily tell the monocrop industries to stop their practices because of the runoff or overspray impacting your land, crops, animals, or health is frustrating. We can choose local farmers over the grocery stores. We can choose to grow and raise what we choose to eat. We can do our best to source in sustainable and humane ways. But obviously, not everyone takes the time to become a well-balanced learner. The negative comments you posted showed me two things - #1 - Most of the hateful comments came from insecure people who did not get (or accept) a good education AND #2 - They cannot see the forest when they are looking at only a handful of trees. Keep on doing your thing and try not to let those bad apples spoil your enthusiasm and zest for life and everything!
Thank you so much! I love the way you put it, not being able to see the forest because of the trees. I've heard that expression before and it makes a lot of sense in this situation!
Hi Heather, I. a relatively new sub but I'm absolutely loving your channel, I never thought of it like that with all the random Animals getting killed it the big farming fields absolutely spot on ,I can grow or keep Animals but we love meat in this house and I drum it into my kids where they're food comes from, lot of love from the Scottish Highlands ❤❤❤❤❤
Please be respectful in the comments and to all individuals who's comments were shown here. I did not blur usernames because those comments were made on very public videos that everyone can see, regardless. Be kind and constructive always.
You're so right!! Thank You ♥
Im 20 years old, me and my girlfriend are into rabbits and a lot of our friend or family member find it cruel…
At the end of the day, I think that the most important thing is to mind your own business😅🤷♂️
Hi, I know this is not the topic of the video but I'd really appreciate it if someone could help me solve a mystery. Namely, an older male rabbit that appeared perfectly healthy this morning was later found laying lethargic in the afternoon, wouldn't get up and was dead by evening. Had a little coagulated blood in each ear. That's it. Someone told me the rabbit had a brain stroke, but I'm not convinced. Any ideas?
@@chickenlover657 I am SO sorry. The thing I would try to do is a necropsy to try to determine what went wrong. Wear gloves if you ever do this..some rabbits can carry disease that is transmissable to humans. Sometimes crusted blood can be from ear mites. I had a rabbit die with blood coming from her mouth and I never did find out what happened. SO sad and I'm so sorry.
@@SageandStoneHomestead Why you so sad? I eat those critters, they're not pets.
I'm not a vet, we already dumped the rabbit in the bin, no necropsy happening.
As for your rabbit bleeding from the mouth, well THAT I know what it is. It's a calicivirus called RHDV-2, or more plainly "Rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus". It's pretty common in the US and canada, but we don't have it where I live (across the planet, lol)
Heather, you are MY cup of tea 😊!
Haha thanks!! ❤️🍵
Mine too!
My steer had an AWESOME life while he was here. He was allowed to run with the goats, he got neck scratches whenever he wanted them. I took him to a processor that treated him with patience and respect. He never knew anything but kindness.
You are 1,000% correct! Over the years I have watched many animals experience the death of a herd mate, an off spring, etc. The horses watched the dead horse get buried and then ran around leaping and bucking, and then went back to grazing. Cattle are like goats, they continue to chew their cud. A couple of weeks ago I had to put down a kid. She had a deformity that was terminal and could not be corrected. The morning I put her down she could no longer get up to go out with the herd, she could not stand, even though her mother stood over her trying to encourage her to get up. Once the mother moved on, I did what needed to be done. The mother weakly called a couple times from the hill, but when there was no response she went on with her life and never called for her again.
Here is another scripture reference, Genesis 9:3, God tells Noah that they are now to eat animals for nourishment. Don't know if they ate meat between the Garden of Eden and the Flood or not, but after the Flood God was clear we were to eat meat.
I told my husband that someone would reference that about Noah!!! Thanks so much. I'm so sorry about the deformed doeling. You did the right thing. ❤️❤️
Im sorry you have been treated poorly. You're a kind and considerate person. Unfortunately, we have to share spaces with some who lack dignity, civility and respect. I mowed my cat accidently once and didnt even know it till the next pass, broke my heart. We raise our own food too. We provide our animals a good life and very humane dispatch. Animals in the wild and kept as pets are not always so lucky.
Oh that's incredibly heartbreaking!!! I'm so sorry! 😭
You have helped to convince me to start my own homestead. I’m starting with rabbits but I want chickens and goats. Please don’t stop helping those of us that want to learn. I am sorry you are being treated this way, we are in the same boat. Prayers for you. 🙏🏼
We have no plans to quit! Congrats on your homestead, this life is the best !! ♥
I think animals understand the circle of life more than humans.
I think you're right!!
Me too
Mandy, beautifully said!
People think things over too much and cry if something hurts their feelings
@GhostRider-ce3eblol
Food ethics. Such a big conversation. There were many things in this video I agree with and other things I disagree with, and some things I think often go unaddressed. In the end if you don’t know where your food comes from, you don’t know what it cost. That includes plants. As a plant based eater, I follow a lot of homesteaders because I enjoy their content. I find them to be good people. It costs me nothing to skip over posts/videos that don’t further me on my personal mission of service. I have grown so much as a gardener in the past 8 years with the help of RUclips. I even grew soybeans this year.
Very well said! Thank you for watching and commenting! Congrats on the soybeans! Was it the edemame type?
Heather, I have watched your entire rabbit series. We have already been raising our own meat rabbits for 3 years now and I found helpful information and ideas in this series and in many of your videos. Thank you for the time and effort you put into your channel my family and I very much appreciate it
Thank you so much!!! I'm glad you're here ❤️❤️
When I had just started my homestead with chickens for eggs and goats for milk, I saw a peta video on how chickens were raised for the grocery store. I was HORRIFIED and thought this was edited and can’t be that bad. There are people in charge of animal cruelty RIGHT?!? It’s in all the movies that all animals were treated humanely. Doing my research I realized that their idea of humane and mine is opposite. After that we started raising our own meat and there is a sense of peace knowing my animals live a good and loved life and they only had one bad moment where they were more confused than hurting. And peace knowing my children are eating pure clean meat in their diet.
Well said! Yes especially the dairy and egg industry where they are jeotgarak for years in these conditions with this horrible treatment....
PETA is a known terrorist organization. Of course it's heavily edited. It's propaganda. These people lied to get jobs on farms in order to create propaganda. They set up cameras, abused animals, then edited and released videos to cause all kinds of problems. And people have bought it. And they abuse other people for not believing the propaganda. Yes there are bad people out there, they are members of PETA.
Betty I had no idea about that!!! How awful! I'm sure the corruption of organizations claiming to be and do good does not end with them!
Totally agree
I find PETA makes incredibly dramatic and misaligned videos, I *personally* have no respect for them or their content.
That said? I saw something horrible in real life myself. I knew a small farmer that raised their own meat chickens. Nice space, they were always clean, nice fluffy feathers.
Then I saw some chickens being transported. They were featherless and looked greasy. All stacked on top of each other in tiny cages. They looked unwell and couldn’t have been comfortable in those cages.
I felt more gratefulness for that small farmer in that moment, and his nice, clean, comfortable chickens. The life they were living was way different to the ones I saw being shipped.
Your meat rabbit series helped me breed, grow and harvest my first batch of meat rabbits this year. I am very grateful for you and your videos. Also, this was an excellent response. God Bless you and Your Family Thank you!
Mission accomplished! I'm so happy for you! ❤️
You’re such an inspiration ❤️❤️. You’re an amazing person! Thank you ❤️
Thank you SO much! Just trying to spread the joy of this life!
One problem is we teach kids that animals are just like us from a very early age. Look at books and movies like Bambi, the Lion King, Jungle Book, etc.
Society now seems to have free range to hate and act on that hate. It is like they are a heat seeking missile. They have lost any filter they ever had. I am so sorry you and your family were the focus. Your content is extremely well balanced and presented with respect. Your rebuttal was logical and compassionate to us who are not those hate-filled people and serve as a reminder to watch our backs. Please be careful and also continue to love your farm and your way of life. Hugs
Hugs!! Thank you ♥♥
Your channel is an incredible resource and you should be so proud of it! This video was so respectful and well said. Thank you for continuing to share your wealth of knowledge, and please know it is greatly appreciated!
Thank you so much! ❤️❤️
It's so interesting how people think their own ideology can be applied to everyone. I appriciate your detailed series on raising meat rabbits. I'm considering it myself this fall after I spend the summer building the space for them.
Raising meat rabbits has been one of the most rewarding ventures for us! Our sincere hope is that others get that same satisfaction and security! Thanks for being here.
Well said Heather. I know everything you said is 100% true and I 100% totally agree. ❤
Thanks so much! ❤️❤️
We found your rabbit series very helpful when we were planning to process our first meat rabbits. Thank you.
It amazes me how disconnected we are as a society when it comes to our food. I am proud of our lifestyle now raising our own meat. I know our animals have a happy life living off the land and hopefully have just one bad day. It is sad for us because we do love them and we appreciate their sacrifice. But we wouldn’t have it any other way now.
I'm so glad the series was helpful to you! Thanks for being here! ❤️
Very very good perspective! 👏
I am a farmer also and you articulated that sooo well. Thank you
Thank you!! Thanks for watching
Your page has inspired me to grow my homestead from a small garden and a few chickens to now having pigs,rabbits,chickens,quail, turkeys, and a much larger growing space to grow more vegetables! You have been the most valuable asset to my growth as a homesteader. Your knowledge and willingness to share that with us is leaps and bounds more influential and important than I’m sure you ever could imagine. We love you and your family 🖤
That means the world to me!! Thank you so much, I'm so grateful to have been so inspiring! ♥
We have a homestead out in Arizona with dairy goats and such and have strongly considered raising meat rabbits as well. Seeing your channel has truly inspired us to be able to have enough confidence to do so. We thank you!!❤
I'm so glad!! Thanks so much for being here! ❤️❤️
So very well said. My favorite points below:
1. Using a quote from Tolkien, A+
2. God made the world and everything in it, then He gave us dominion over it. That’s literally page 1. That word “dominion” carries a lot weight but it means stewardship and care. It’s not some abstract ideal but a duty. There are plenty of people out there who don’t share that same Biblical perspective and that’s fine, but it is our perspective and we take it seriously.
3. Absolutely correct that animals don’t perceive death like we do. Those of us who hunt can see that first hand in the way deer interact with deceased deer.
I didn't mention the mother rabbits that kill and eat their babies if they sense a problem with it. Out of instinct. Good grief that's pretty brutal! Thanks so much for being here so early!
I just want to say thank you. Your channel has inspired me to raise my own meat animals. I'm sorry for all the hate people have given you. I much appreciate the effort you are putting in to make a difference in the sustainably and ethical production of your own meat.
My pleasure, mission accomplished!! I'm so glad you're here! ❤️
I've never experienced so much hate as I did from raising rabbits and selling their meat. I was called a baby murderer and told I would rot in hell several times. Very nice job addressing this, and I'm sorry you had to experience that too.
Goodness I'm so sorry!!! We have gotten similar response. Not from locals and selling the meat but online. The locals here all eat goat and rabbit!
Yeah we’ve kept our rabbits to personal use and for friends, for that reason.
I clicked this the moment I got the notification, can’t wait to watch this 😃
I KNEW you would be here early!!!!
So I have three comments...
1. This is probably the best response to irrational criticism relating to meat that I've seen. I'll bookmark it. Remember the advice, "Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?"
2. Bonded animals can experience strong emotions when a mate dies. This is especially noticeable in animals that mate for life.
3. I suggest you do something to relieve your rabbits' boredom. Toys, music, whatever.
Awesome video Heather, you're amazing, I love what you do. My comment is people act like plants aren't also very alive, no argument. They are alive, they feel pain, and just because they don't scream, or move like we do "doesn't justify eating them" The very best we can do while still being alive is to have a homestead or buy from local farmers that treat all of their creatures well, plants and animals. This is coming from a human who feels terrible for walking on grass. Thank your food, think about where it comes from.
I saw the study about plant "screaming", or some kind of ultrasonic distress noise!
@SageandStoneHomestead exactly, another one is if you play sounds of a plant being eaten to a plant (the example I saw was a caterpillar) it will produce the chemicals it needs to heal itself, and that's without even being damaged. Plants are amazing and I really believe we should treat them as such.
Wow that's incredible!!!
Have people looked up the studies on plants and how they react to words? Vegans wouldn't have anything to eat! I am actually going to have my girls do an experiment with plants and speaking words to them.
I have wanted to do that experiment as well! I don't know if my kids have the capacity to be truly hateful to the plant haha. They will probably giggle and make it grow bigger 🤣
@@SageandStoneHomestead 😂🤣 same here! They are truly so precious and such a blessing aren't they! Teaching us so much about ourselves 😬🙌🏻💜
When I started raising rabbits, the remarks that I got from friends and family were amazing to me. They were not nice. So yes, I totally understand what you're saying
So sorry about that!!
Thank you for speaking on the subject with passion. I love your channel. Open mindedness is in such short supply. Education is the only way to open eyes and hearts. None of this warrants hate or intolerance. God, allow people to see things through your eyes. Clear and precise Amen
Thanks for being here! ❤️❤️
Very, very well presented Heather! None of us 'enjoy' the butchering process, we do it with God's provision & blessing. Your perspective is accurate & healthy, please don't let 'those other people' hurt you!! Your children are learning valuable lessons that nearly every young person 150 years ago learned as a matter of life! Skills that could mean that we survive or possibly not. Hold you head high, Heather!! The majority of us are firmly behind you!! God bless!
Thank you Merry Anne!! ❤️🐐❤️
What the heck. OH, Heather. This comments are unkind and WRONG on so many levels. I appreciate you, I understand you, I among so many others and the vast, prevailing majority! 🤗🤗🤗
One more thought. When your children smile, you can really see you in them. They just light up. Go, good Mom!
Awe, thank you!!! ❤️❤️❤️
I just want to thank you.
The grace and understanding you choose to show during these times is beyond contestation. 💚 thank you. In case you haven't heard it recently....I appreciate you.
Awe Brittany thank you so much!! Hugs! ♥♥
@@SageandStoneHomestead 💚🤗
It is amazing what gets posted. The haters are gonna hate. You're doing a great job of raising your animals in an incredible setting. You do everything to raise and dispatch the animal. We support you in how you raise your animals. Small farmers make a huge difference. Cheers Heather!
Thanks so much Rich and Holly!! Haters gonna hate, Taters gonna tate...
Excellent video Heather, so truthful and straight to the point. Some people think they are wholesome butter wouldn't melt in their mouths kind of people and yet show how close minded and uninformed they are with the stupid and downright hurtful/shameful things they say. The internet sort of allows that to be done super easily unfortunately. I think you also raised some wonderful points, that a lot of people wouldn't naturally consider, about how no method of eating is completely 100% clean and free of all harm to animals and/or the environment, etc. You are a treasure trove of solid information, which you openly provide in an honest and matter of fact fashion while also showing you do care and quite deeply. 💚 💚
Thank you misty!! I try really hard to be real while also being sensitive, but some of these conversations are tough! ♥
@@SageandStoneHomestead You do a great job in my opinion, and I feel like people need to hear these things for many reasons. Just a couple are because we don't want to feel alone about our thoughts and you have helped affirm us in some way, or because it will help some people maybe learn and broaden their mental horizons.
Well said, I agree 💯. I just found your channel and watched your rabbit series. I've learned some much, thank you.
Welcome to the channel!! ♥
I really really appreciate this video. Thank you❤
I wish everyone everywhere would watch this. Seems most people won't take responsibility for their food. To harvest your own, will give an entire new view of food. It's a lot of hard emotional work. Every person should work at least one season on a farm. Thank you.
I agree!! Thanks so much ❤️
Bravo! Very well said.
Thank you! ❤️
I am super busy again today but had to stop and sit so i could watch and listen. I know i say i cry or my heart drops or whatever emotion alot but thats me im an emotional person. When you talked about what someone had said about your kids my blood ran cold my heart stopped and not only did i cry out of sadness but out of anger, seriously wheres the real hate and violence at. It was once asked of us why raise your own meat and have dairy goats just get it from the store well i know how it was raised/treated and how it was harvested. And like jess from roots and refuge said we give them their best life with just one bad day. Which is more than what the animals raised commercially has. To be able to raise our own meat and collect our own eggs and milk is such a blessing and i thank everything single animal and always tell the goats when im done milking thank you and have a good day. If things keep getting the way they are whats the people that don't support farmers and depend solely on tofu or the store for food items gonna do. Its a beautiful thing to be a farmer and be able to provide for yourself and family. I'm not really sure i can say much diffrent than what you have so i will stop here but i just wanted to take time and give support. Also I'm making goat milk icecream for desert tonight so i would say a blessing indeed!🐐🥛🍦
Enjoy your ice cream!! We haven't gotten into making ice cream yet but we really should! ❤️❤️
@@SageandStoneHomestead I'm trying blue cactus dairy goats recipe, it seemed simple enough and looked really tasty!
Do you have the freezer bowl thingy? I almost bought it!
@@SageandStoneHomestead i don't but its very cool and defiantly something i would like to at some point. We just have a mini electric icecream maker from walmart perfect size for my husband and i🍦
Beautifully said!!!! We need to let everyone live the way THEY want to. I do not understand the need of some to express their opinion so harshly. I LOVE YOUR HOMESTEADING LIFE!!!! Did I watch the butchering videos? No ma’am 🤣, but that’s just me and that’s ok. I would never feel the need to put anyone down for doing what they choose to feed their family. Keep doing what you’re doing? My daughter and I enjoyed this video so much, your approach to these horrible comments are great! 🥰
Hugs, thank you for the support!! ♥
You hit the nail on the head in addressing so many different yet related topics in this video! All I can say, is "AMEN, SISTER!!" 👍❤
Thank you!
This is a great video, thank you for making all of us aware of the loss. A lot of us do not have a farm and do not get to see things first hand.
Thank you so much ❤️❤️
I love watching your videos im so glad i was able to click on it this fast.
Enjoy! ♥
Heather, I can not thank you enough for doing this video. I don't think people see that life on a homestead is very intentional. It is with purpose, love, care, and the utmost thanks to those animals. Butcher day is never easy for us. But it is something that we give great thanks to our animals for sustaing our lives. I can say our animals have amazing lives. They get fed amazingly. We play all and I talk to all my rabbits at night when I go through and feed before bed. It's just such an intentional life. Our waste is so drastically down from before when we would just go to the store. As you stated, when you buy that meat in the package, you don't even think about the fact that that was a living animal that gave its life so you could sustain your own life. ❤
Yes that is an excellent way to describe it. Intentional, that's exactly it!! ♥
I’m a new subscriber and fairly new to “clean meat”. Loved raising cute chicks to egg-laying age.- then I was horrified at the idea of EATING those eggs! I gave 100% of the eggs away for the first few months. Not anymore, these eggs are delicious! ❤ I started meat rabbits and am now 💥past💥 the harvest time. Sigh. I need to get that in order and will invite a hunter friend or two to stand-by as support. Oddly, most of my friends are utterly repelled by the idea of my meat rabbits. Hmm, they eat meat as long as they never see the actual animal. 😱 Thank you for your inspiring videos.
That's another great thing about meat rabbits vs chickens. The big broiler chickens can't go too far outside the butcher window or they risk injury and death from their sheer weight and how fast they pack it on..but rabbits can go over indefinitely and no harm.done, just more meat by waiting! We can get 3lbs carcass if we hold out to 12 or so weeks.
We have a small homestead. We love and care for every single animal we raise. I have seen videos of how animals are raised for the supermarket. Well I have seen parts of the videos because I can’t make it through. I am crying and sick to my stomach within a few minutes. It’s not only horrible to see the treatment of the animals but to realize that a human being could do the things I’ve seen in factory farm footage. I have never “enjoyed” dispatching any animal, but I am so thankful for the blessing that we are ABLE to raise food.
Yes I saw one where they literally were tossing chickens into a truck. Those birds likely suffered broken bones on the way to the processing plant and likely were just tossed because of ruined meat from bruising. So sad and pointless
Very well said! I just watched your video on dispatching rabbits & was so surprised at how quick and humane it was. So much so, that I think I can do it. I don’t have rabbits, but I will be showing my husband the video later today. You really educated me & I’m very appreciative. Thank you ❤
Glad it was helpful! That's the whole goal ♥
Thank you for having the courage to make this video. We are just now starting our journey of raising our own and processing our own meat. We finally have the opportunity to do so, and we are very grateful and blessed to be able to do so as well. We have a deeper appreciation for our food for sure when you raise and process your own. There will always be Haters on the internet. Blessing to you and your family.😊
Congratulations! To me there is not much more rewarding than meat on the plate that you raised. ❤️
Thank you for pointing this out to those who have no idea where and how their food comes from, be it plant or animal.
You're so welcome! Thanks for being here!
Heather, I would be very proud mom, if I had been the one who raised you. What a blessing you are. I just started with meat rabbits and we dispatched two males. Ate stewed rabbit, rabbit pot pie (thanks to a friend who made it❤) and next, rabbit and rice soup! I love sitting with my bunnies in peace and quiet. They have a sweet life, so far, in our colony setting. We’ll see how that goes…anyway, thank you for your logical discussion and your great teaching skills! Thanks to Levi, too! God Bless 🙏🏻❤️
Thank you so much ♥ There is something very human about understanding what it's like to be kind to an animal you will use as food. There's no reason not to. ♥ When the weather's nice I like to sit out by our animals too and watch them enjoy life.
Heather the simple fact that 'user' who left that ridiculous comment won't use their screen name, says it all. For someone to say you don't LOVE animal's simply does not watch your video's! You show love to all your animal's from birth to their death by caring for them everyday. You care for them after their death by not wasting any of their body. If ANYONE threatens you or your family make a police report and keep protection on you at all times!
I LOVED this video! You pushed back so classy. You used their own information and flipped it, pushing it back in their face!😂
Haha Thanks so much!! ♥
Oh Heather, you are so right on the fact animals do NOT have compassion. I have had to bury many goat kids and all of which the dams never noticed they were gone. Never.
Isn't that so bizarre? I know I cried way more than any of the goats with the deaths that have happened!
Many years ago, on our little acreage, we raised meat rabbits and pet bunnies. One Easter season, we had a 150 total, counting the breeders.
Rabbit meat, compared to beef, pork, and chicken, is said to have the least calories and cholesterol, most protein. One of my best customers used to tell her children it was "hop chicken!"
I miss the entire rabbit process! They were raised with love and respect! Thank you for your words!!!
Hop chicken! That's adorable!
@@SageandStoneHomestead I love you and your family for doing things the way you do. Your animals know your love and respect, too. Thank you for demonstrating such a decent life!!!
Awe thank you so much. We love sharing!!
This world is getting very very ugly and you are correct... Most definitely a spiritual battle!
♥♥
There's a Bible verse on that....
Scoffers have scales. I pray they're removed.
You explained that very well, thank u Heather. Your rabbit series incouraged me to get back into raising rabbits. Also Now i have goats, 4 does and a buck! I have learned a lot from you. Cant wait to learn more.😊
I'm so excited for you!!
I think you do a wonderful job of trying to educate people about this topic. Hatefulness has become some prevalent in our society. I’m sorry you had to deal with this type of behavior. I appreciate you for your time sharing.
Thank you for being here! ❤️❤️
You are like my homestead soulmate 💕 I truly love the passion you have for your farm and your family. You've definitely inspired me 😊
I really love the way you educate, you give so much compassion and inspiration in your words.
And I'm so sorry you lost your kitty 😢 I really wish I could give you a hug.. ❤️
Virtual hugs!! Thank you so much. I'm so glad you're here!! ♥
Oh Heather, I am so sorry. People are so cruel while putting themselves unearnedly on a higher plain. I just recently found your channel and I have literally binge watched your channel, even the goats and rabbits. I am unable to raise goats, chickens, etc but I am living on the fringe by raising coturnix quail. I fully understand your care of your animals and your wanting to dispatch in the most humane way. I always say a prayer over my quail as I dispatch them and thank them for the sacrifice they are giving me and my family. I'm sorry you felt you have to defend yourself and how you care for your animals, people are just way out of touch with reality and honestly, they don't want to be because that intrudes on the preconceived ideas that they're not willing to give up. Keep up the good work, many more of us enjoy your content.
Thank you so much! I'm thrilled you love our channel. We have quail too but I haven't talked about them too much! ❤️
People have preconceived ideas they do not want to give up. I totally agree. 😊
Thank you for sharing this... Spot on in my mindset as well. Great info on the framing industry and how it's harvested and the wildlife that pays the price. I respect vegans, vegetarians.. But it seems that many do not understand that a lot of what they use is derived from animal products including the fertiliser used to grow food. I am proud of our life change from the grocery store seven years ago to raising our own meat and vegetables.. We dispatch and process all on property knowing their care from birth to package.
Isn't it so rewarding? There's nothing like it ♥
Thank you for speaking on this.
Our animals live a very good life. We take butchering our own animals very serious. It’s a very somber, thankful, and respectful day. I mourned deeply when one of our goats died. I tried everything I could to save her, to keep her from suffering.
Between sprays and the heavy equipment, many things perish when those monoculture fields are planted or brought in. Go past any newly harvested field and you will see crows and, soon to follow, vultures and other scavengers.
It seems to me that if we weren’t meant to consume meat, our bodies wouldn’t process it. I get that some people can’t, but most can.
I appreciate your discussion about it being intimate and each person should live as they see fit.
Hugs and keep it up! ❤
Hugs Elaine!! Thank you ♥♥
Great video today Heather. I been homeless living in my car since Dec. I have gone 2 to 3 days with out eating and have looked threw garbage to eat. I do have my dog living in the car with me and I am greatful for someone stranger noticed us sleeping in the car in the same place everynight and gave us a 50 lb bag of dry dog food. I almost was hungry enough to eat it myself. There are days I pray to God for help and salvation nightly. I lost my home to a fire and no insurance. That's why I am in my car. I will eat anything if I am hungry. I have lost over 25 lbs and look sickly..lol but I am hoping there is light at the end of my tunnel. I am sorry Heather is you get negative comments for the food you raise and eat. I look up to you and you have given me alot of inspiration. Keep doing what your doing for your family. Xoxo
Hugs Diana!!! You are such a great person!
I just binge watched your series on meat rabbits, and wanted to thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise. I am so impressed with your clear and direct information, especially in the dispatching video. Nothing but respect and appreciation for you!! Remember, "You can't talk sense to people who oppose it on principle"
You are so welcome! Thanks so much!
Your family gives the animals on your farm love and respect every day and only 1 bad day for them. You are so correct in how veggies and grains are grown. Shame on the evil people who want to harm your family. They need to be reported.
Thank you for your honesty and clearly sharing what many of us feel as well. You have helped me tremendously with our small farm ideas of how to better feed my family. You care about your animals, family and friends, and even take the time to comment or write back to the rest of us with a kind word or idea. Blessings
I try!! Thanks so much for being here ♥♥
This was wonderful. You go girl with the FACTS. 🥰
Thanks! ❤️❤️
Hi my lovely, I am so sorry you had to go through this. Its amazing what people that are, supously, compationable and caring can be so cruel to others to the point of threatening their kids and loved ones.
I just recently started watching your videos and I love them, you are a kind and real person.
I dream of having my own homestead one day and I love the idea of being in charge of my food lifes, make sure that while they are a live they are happy, loved and cared for. Now I can't at this point kill any animal my self, which is something I feel hipocritical about as I do eat them but I will try with time to learn and do it the more respectful and painless way. They deserv that for what they give us.
Anyway a bit a long winded coment but just wanted to let you know you not alone and there is people out there that love what you and what you show, just keep up the good work and ignore these people as they not even worth your time. Lots of love from Portugal
Thank you so much!!! The butchering is really tough but if you can find someone to help who knows how or a good butcher, that mentoring is invaluable! ♥
This was Soooooo well said!! We are a small farm in Florida & also raise chickens for eggs & meat as well a goat for milk & meat & we used to do our own butchering of our pigs years ago. Kudos to you and your family for doing what you do so well & dealing with the trolls at the same time. I have learned so much from your channel & value your content immensely, Keep fighting the Good fight!!
Thank you so much!!
You inspired me to grow my own rabbits. Don’t listen to the haters. There is no room for that noise. As we have seen all to clearly as of late, those screaming the loudest about “compassion” are those that have none. Keep up the good work.
Well I had a tick bite and got Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever 4 years ago and later developed Alpha-gal. This means I was unable to eat any mammalian product. No meat or dairy able to be consumed. I would get deathly ill if only 1 bite. Even the smell of meat cooking made me sick. After 3 years I was able to eat a few bites. My health greatly deteriorated. I became anemic, pale and sickly. Developed a broken dislocated right ankle with very slow healing. It negatively impacted my health. In January due to prices and food chain insecurity I made the choice to grow some of my own food again. In fact 25 yrs ago I was so self sufficient I only spent $20/month at grocery store. In January I ordered baby chicks not able to get until June. I bought Silver Fox rabbits for meat. With your encouragement Heather I found 2 milking goats and have my own milk supply. I will have eggs starting next month. My health is now improving and I have no regrets about my decision. My animals are treated very well as yours are.
OH no that is so scary and freaks me out, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Alpha-gal. What a battle that must have been for you! Sounds like you're able to eat mammal meat again though?
@@SageandStoneHomestead a little like last night I ate a 3 1/2 ounce pork chop and did fine. Making and eating yogurt daily.I can't eat very much meat. A small portion is fine. My anemia has improved and I know for me a vegan diet was not healthy. Everyone's body is different and going gluten-free helped me tremendously. Eating my own fresh food and organic items from Azure Standard has made my life much better. My point with the original comment was to point out that going vegan either by choice or health reasons may not be the healthiest choice for your body.
I agree!! I'm glad you're finding what works for you!!
So love you're heart and your honesty. Heather you are an inspiration to many of us out here. Thank you for being so vulnerable and transparent. ❤
thank you for being here and supporting us!!
Heather, you are so wise and eloquent, and you are so right.
Thank you!! ♥♥
Thank you for sharing! I hope your perspective helps some people understand; however, their confirmation bias is likely going to take precedent over open-mindedness. I think this video will more likely be useful to people who feel the same way but now have an example of how to articulate it for themselves! Thank you very much for all you do and share ☺️
I'm glad it could help at least someone! ❤️❤️
What was the spreader, spreading in the grilled across the street? Manure? Plant matter needs animals.... it's a cycle, folks.
Yeah it was fish emulsion according to the smell of it.
So several years ago we invested in meat rabbits and i ended up selling them bc i couldn't get myself to dispatch them, after watching your video on the hopper popper I've made the decision to try again. My issue was i didn't feel like any of the ways i was told was humane enough for me to feel comfortable. Your video completely changed that. Thank you so much for taking the time to educate others like this.
You can do it!! Happy to help make things easier ♥
I would like to express my gratitude to you for that video. Without that video, I would have never been able to harvest the rabbits that I do raise. I watch that video I think eight times. one, to get the courage to process my rabbits, and understand the process. The last two times I watched that video was like you were standing with me on a step-by-step on how to process my rabbits. so, thank you for being you.
That was exactly the hope. I'm so glad the video/series was so helpful! ♥♥
I am 68 years old and rabbits are my first livestock. I live in an HOA so they will likely be my only livestock. I got one buck and a pregnant doe who kindled six kits eight days ago. Found them thru the local farmer's market. Your raising rabbits series is a godsend. Thank you Heather - you are my cup of tea.
That is awesome! Congrats!! And thank you so much, I'm so happy the series is helping people
Quail are fairly easy and affordable once set up. There is a learning curve and the birds are quiet and even the male crowing can blend in with other birds in the neighbourhood. Eggs from the girls and meat from the boys, is a plentiful supply if you can breed your own. They don’t need much room, but they are messy a bit, but I find them fun.😊
I've seen so many headlines about animals having human characteristics. It is a weird element of our culture. We've always had stories with talking animals (Aesop's fables), but it hits different when the people consuming the stories aren't so intimate with the animals in the stories. Chicken Run is one of my favorite cartoons and will remain so. That story was done with so much ridiculously unbelievable characters as chickens that it can't be taken seriously. Or maybe its just me that could never take any chicken seriously 😅
LOL I was reading an article about the shift in society from rabbits as meat to rabbits as pets and they theorized it was during the time that Bugs Bunny appeared on TV that people decided they couldn't eat something resembling a character like that, with human mannerisms. Rabbits WERE first livestock before they were ever pets. You can make any animal a pet, and people do... so where does it end?
Thank you for sharing your perspective. Im so grateful for your videos. You are so full of knowledge and love, and its such a blessing to be able to learn from you. The awful words said to you came from a damaged space in them. Keep doing what you're doing. The majority is greatful the be here learning from your experience.
Thank you so much! The vast majority of you are wonderful and kind. I so appreciate you! ❤️
Thank you heather! That was a very well put together video and I agree with you in every category 100%.
You're so welcome! Thanks so much for always being here ♥
Take no notice of them, they don't have to watch your videos, I don't eat meat but I love all your videos, the respect you have for your choices in life are sympathetic to the planet, God Bless you and your family 😊
I appreciate you!! Thanks so much! ♥♥
This was a wonderful respectful video.
My daughter is living on what she calls a 'Plant Based diet'. Not the same as vegan. It has kept her out of a wheelchair and false diagnosis from doctors. She's happy healthy and physical top shape. Looks 25 and is over 50. Her recent eye exam showed that her vision has improved so much that eye glasses are not needed. The eye dr. told her he has seen this happen with people on plant based diets. She grows all her own food.
That's so amazing!!! I'm so happy she has had such an awesome result ! ❤️
About 30% of humans have MTFHR gene mutation and need animal based foods to thrive. So, the above statement really does depend.
You know what is best for you and your family. We grew up growing most of our own food, and we hunted. We were so much healthier because of it. One thing in this life I have learned is to follow my gut instinct and moral compass. Lord knows if we followed everyone else's what shape we would be in. All you have to do is look at the world around us to know the answer.
Agreed!
I truly appreciate all the videos that experienced homesteaders share with those of us trying to learn new skills. We want to treat our animals with respect and give them a good life and a swift death. I don’t want to torture my animals-I want to learn the fastest and least painful way to proceed without having to experience all the ways NOT to proceed. So thank you for being willing to share your knowledge. Teachers like you make a lot of animals’ lives better!
That is the hope!! Thank you so much!! ♥♥
Very insightful video. I wish that you could share your knowledge with us without the verbal abuse. Usually people who argue or are hateful are just insecure about their own convictions and need everyone to think as they do for validation. Thank you for putting up with them and continuing your RUclips channel.❤
The encouragement of the 99% helps drown out that very loud 1%, to be sure! Thanks so much for being here ♥
2 things
#1 I stopped all the almond buying when I found out how much water it takes to get 1 single almond, I still eat beef,chicken and pork my farmers neighbors butcher, but I won’t touch an almond, sorry.
#2 I was that person, the one that felt bad when Crystal removed the babies 24 hours later and didn’t believe the moms didn’t miss their babies.
Oh boy was I wrong!
My girls love them the first 24 hours like a new toy, then they thank me of I take them away for the night😂
Goats are like that, they are good mothers (sometimes better than humans😂) but can live without her babies! And enjoy life!
Oh I miss watching content! And sharing some, but my computer is waiting for a new charger that’s in the mail!
Clara was bred so we are expecting (if she took) babies at the end of January!
I never bred this early in kind of hoping for no snowstorms around here 😂
Good to see you friend!
I am trying to have all my breeding done by early November! I didn't like kidding in the warmer months this season because the babies are too fragile and small for all the coccidia that is blooming at that time!
@@SageandStoneHomestead I agree!
We raise our own meat chickens, and we make sure to give them the best life possible. They have a large coop, plenty of safe outdoor space (can’t free range because of hawks and coyotes), and tons of treats. And we try to dispatch them as quickly as possible. They feed our family and I respect them and treat them with dignity to the very end.
You're doing awesome!!!
What great perspectives and examples of the difference between people and animals! I live in Los Angeles area, raising produce in my very small backyard and front yard. Had chickens when my kids were young., but now i trade eggs for produce. I am a Christian and you are spot on. If I could get a word in edgewise with my vegan friends, I will use your examples. Thanks so much for a great lesson!
You're so welcome! Thanks for being here!!
Heather, please continue making these videos. I appreciate you so very much!
I shall! Thank you so much!
Well spoken, bravo.
Blessing of peace to you and yours. 🙏🏻
Thank you! Blessings to you as well! ♥
So well said! So proud of you Heather. You inspire me!
Thank you so much!! ♥♥
Thankyou for all the informative videos you post, I have learned a lot. I am sorry for all the haters you get.
Thankyou for touching on all the animals that die from combines and heavy machinery, pesticides kill tones of animals in those fields.
You respect your animals and care and show them love. And show them respect in the way you dispatch them. You were fighting back tears talking about your lost goat, clearly you care immensely for them.
Keep doing what you do, and please keep posting amazing videos.
Thank you so much for the kind comment and your support!
I have gained value from your raising rabbits series and now this conversation too. We started homesteading a couple years ago and my friends mom, who eats meat from the grocery store, told me she hoped there was a special place in hell for humans to be butchered that have butchered animals. I saw there was no point in continuing a conversation with her because she didn’t see her own hypocrisy as a meat eater. Like you I value the lives of our animals and find value in raising our own food. Thank you for your content and teachings.
A lot of the time it comes from people who also eat meat. It's bizarre. It's like they don't understand where their meat comes from and are chastising people that take FULL responsibility as a meat eater. I'm so sorry you've had to deal with that. You're certainly not alone!
You said it perfectly! And I appreciate the fact that you give your animals a good life. ❤
Thank you!
Your videos for the meat rabbits are one of the best series on RUclips. It has helped me to start my own meat rabbit setup. So, thank you for all the videos you have put out, and please keep them coming.
This means so much to me! Thanks so much!!
As a 4-H and FFA family, as well as a suburban homesteader here in Southern California, I feel you. I get you. I have had to have this very same conversation with family, friends and acquaintances. Our family is not particularly religious, but I don't think one needs to be to be able to have care and compassion. Keep doing what you're doing. I am learning SO MUCH from you, from Blue Cactus and Weed 'em and Reap. Without all of you, I would not be experiencing our first freshening with our Nigerian Dwarf herd with even a small amount of confidence. Thank you.
You are so welcome! It honors me to be in that list of channels that have helped give you confidence! ❤️
Absolutely no where in Kentucky 😂
Most of here is nowhere 😅
@@GWPHomestead 😂🤣 sounds wonderful! I'm looking for that in Missouri! 💖
It exists! Try near Ava MO. I've driven out there and it's a lot like here but more hilly.
@@SageandStoneHomestead thank you! I will! Love me some hills! 💜
I'm wanting to start raising meat rabbits soon, and your series helped SO much and I really appreciate coming across it AND by extension your channel. I think raising your own meat brings you closer to the cycle of life in a very beautiful way. I am not Christian, I am a folk witch, but I think we can both agree that hunting for yourself and family, and raising your own meat brings us closer to nature and shows us to respect our food in a way most people don't. It's truly beautiful.
We absolutely agree, thanks so much for being here!
@@SageandStoneHomestead thank you for existing! I hope you have a blessed day!
Awe, you too! ♥
Such a wonderful video! Great message. Well done. ❤
Thanks so much!! ♥
Well-spoken and thoughtful video, Heather! There is so much I could say on this... but I will try to keep it short. First, close-minded people can be shown things that will negate or refute their claims, but rarely will their mind change. And some people are miserable and want to knock others down to make themselves seem higher than those they degrade. There is a passage in the Bible that speaks of being cautious of throwing stones because of living in glass houses, and as you said - there is no part of industrial food that does not have accidental or intentional "blood on their hands". Remember the commercials about orangutans and palm oil? What about the rainforests that are cleared for coconut, palm, and other tropical fruit plantations?!? So. All that to say that we put our time, energy, and money to to what we feel is best for us and our communities. The fact that you can't easily tell the monocrop industries to stop their practices because of the runoff or overspray impacting your land, crops, animals, or health is frustrating. We can choose local farmers over the grocery stores. We can choose to grow and raise what we choose to eat. We can do our best to source in sustainable and humane ways. But obviously, not everyone takes the time to become a well-balanced learner. The negative comments you posted showed me two things - #1 - Most of the hateful comments came from insecure people who did not get (or accept) a good education AND #2 - They cannot see the forest when they are looking at only a handful of trees.
Keep on doing your thing and try not to let those bad apples spoil your enthusiasm and zest for life and everything!
Thank you so much! I love the way you put it, not being able to see the forest because of the trees. I've heard that expression before and it makes a lot of sense in this situation!
Hi Heather, I. a relatively new sub but I'm absolutely loving your channel, I never thought of it like that with all the random Animals getting killed it the big farming fields absolutely spot on ,I can grow or keep Animals but we love meat in this house and I drum it into my kids where they're food comes from, lot of love from the Scottish Highlands ❤❤❤❤❤
Hello, I'm so glad you're here!! Thanks so much for your comment and support! ♥