Rachel has inspired me to share this story after reading her first experiences involving animal castration. Are you laughing yet? You should be.
Another lifetime ago, when I lived in Chicago and dated my first husband. Friends of my parents invited us all to attend their annual holiday party.
Mind you, my first husband did not have any rural living experiences at all. This could be one of the many hundred reasons why we are no longer married.
However, after several glasses of wine and mingling the conversation started flowing toward slightly surreal topics for those living in surburbia Illinois. Standing in a small crowd my parents regaled everyone with the details about how to castrate goats. Complete with hand gestures and snipping explanations people’s eyes quickly popped out.
Remember, I grew up in rural southwest Virginia. My parents raised goats, chickens, and a pig named Easter Ham. He certainly turned Easter into a scrumptious one that year.
I remember watching my first husband blanch. A moment of respect mingled with revulsion fluttered across his face before he laughed a little loudly with the rest of the audience.
Over a decade later, I’ve watched my husband, his brother, and their father castrate enough cattle at branding time to tell my own stories when visiting friends living in city suburbia.
There’s nothing like a little rural living to educate and scandalize people when talking about where their beef, pork, and chicken really comes from.
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Tags: bulls, castration, goats, rural, steers
Sometimes I tell those stories SPECIFICALLY to see the city folk blanch. They need to know these things.
I haven’t been around that particular part of ranching, I have heard the stories from our rancher friend and I’d be invited to share in the experience any time I like.
I talked on the phone yesterday with the owner/manager or Shurflo water pumps which you may or may not have heard of. We pleaded our case of running out of water being that we live off grid and our fairly new pump had failed, he was less than understanding about it, as he sat in in suit behind his desk. The thought occured to me what would people like he do if the lights went out and they didn’t have water for a few days. Happened in the south with Katrina. How soon city folks forget what really goes on! God help us if they ever really need to find out.
Stopping by from Once Upon a Miracle.
Amazing how that stuff just becomes second nature to you. Us city folk can only imagine. LOL
Oh my gosh. I can’t get past EasterHam. Bawahahahahahhaha!
Once I invited my parents to an office Christmas party. I worked at a law firm and my parents were newly retired. I thought it would be fun for them to experience a ‘fancy’ party. Of course, everyone was very interested in meeting my parents. A large crowd gathered and my parents proceeded to tell stories of their childhood hunting elk in the mountains… I’ll spare you all the details, but I literally looked over at my husband and mouthed ‘help me.’ He just laughed and I really thought I was going to die of embarrassment. That was the last time I invited them to any parties.
Haha… honestly, between the two (and I’ve experienced both), I think suburb and city living is often the scarier and more unbelievable lifestyle!
I’m guessing I would be one of those who blanch. I’ve never seen it done before!
It really is amazing how different everyday life can be.
Loved your story, and I agree with your hubby. I think a sharp edge works the best. but I have never experienced any thing quite as funny while castrating with a knife….LOL
Some of my favorite times are shocking people with real life experience’s, although it usually brands me as some kind of brute or subversive….ROFL
Every time this happens my mind goes to the scene in the movie (A Few Good Men) I think it was, Were Tom Cruise tells Jack Nicholson, that he wants the truth….and Jack fires back…
YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH!!!!!! LOL
I was momentarily confused, goat castration, photos of cows? lol I lvoe that second one! He’s adorable! When I was a kid my dad brought me home a pygmy goat and it had a rubber band around. . .well you get the idea, they dried up and fell off. I thought it so odd!
I’m so glad that you didn’t show close-ups of the action!
Yes we’re out in the country now, but I still can’t handle the truth sometimes – as Mr. Daddy says! I’d rather not know the intimate details of removing their reproductive ability!
But it sure is funny to talk about in front of people who have no clue, hee hee!
Glad Lisa mentioned about there being cow photos, while talking about goats, I was thinking the same.