One of the things we have decided to do is include the boys more in our decisions. One of the big decisions we have is whether to bring the pigs to the abattoir for slaughter, or just use the meat ourselves. We hate the idea of transporting a stressed pig two hours away, and we don't like giving over these lives we've raised at the final part of their life. And it's pricey.
On the other hand, although we have an empty, industrial fridge/freezer, and it could probably hold a pig for chilling, it probably couldn't hold a second pig, with the processed meat of the first pig in it. And then it couldn't hold a third pig, and a fourth. And four pigs might be a bit much for Lykoshes to consume: we may need to sell some meat, and that requires an abattoir. And if we're going to drive two hours, we might as well drive four pigs, rather than two, and save ourselves the job of killing and processing.
The older boys talked all this through with Phil and I. They had good ideas about the pros and cons of where to process; they had good insight into the strongest arguments for and against.
And at this point, we have four pigs scheduled to go to the abattoir.
Phil and the boys moved the June chicks to the outdoor pen. They were all dripping by the time they got back. In the afternoon, Phil and the boys did laundry here. It didn't sound like much fun to me, but they seemed cheerful every time I'd go past.
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