Got a Baby Lamb!!! what do I do??

suki1964

dannyjebb wrote: »

Do you think that letting your daughter help you rear this lamb and get attached to it and then eat it is not pretty sick?? I am not a vegetarian but I would never dream of taking on an animal to then slaughter and eat for my Sunday dinner.....

Why not?

I like to know where my meat comes from

So ok this poster is (to me) being OTT in having the lamb in the house, but here its very common for a family to buy a pair of lambs to rear and fatten for themselves - and the kids get involved in the rearing and they also get involved in the eating

foreign_correspondent

I have no problem with this from the lambs point of view - so long as he is cared for well, but I think the little girl may struggle with this emotionally - how old is she?

I have no problems with kids understanding the food chain, but emotionally it is very different for the child if she makes a pet of it than if it is one of half a dozen in the back garden - kids can develop strong bonds with animals (the species of which is pretty irrelevant to a child) and you will have to consider that she may well feel quite genuinely bereaved, hurt and angry at you, if/when he goes...

suki1964

foreign_correspondent wrote: »

I have no problem with this from the lambs point of view - so long as he is cared for well, but I think the little girl may struggle with this emotionally - how old is she?

I have no problems with kids understanding the food chain, but emotionally it is very different for the child if she makes a pet of it than if it is one of half a dozen in the back garden - kids can develop strong bonds with animals (the species of which is pretty irrelevant to a child) and you will have to consider that she may well feel quite genuinely bereaved, hurt and angry at you, if/when he goes...

Doesnt really matter if you do or dont have a problem with it does it?


Guess the next thing will be people crying out for farmers to be sterilised just in case their kiddies wise up to the fact that the lambs they petted go off to slaughter

foreign_correspondent

suki1964 wrote: »

Doesnt really matter if you do or dont have a problem with it does it?

... it does not matter any more, or any less, than your opinion or anyone else's.

Mutter_2

Who else would like to see a pic of Larry next to the swimming pool?

Kimberley

In all honesty I couldn't eat an animal that I looked after. Your looking after this Lamb like a pet dog. Why not contact the Sun newspaper and see if Paul O Grady will have him, he has sheep in his garden, i'm sure the lamb will have a long healthy life with him

Please don't kill him

Mutter_2

Is this the latest middle class craze a la Ramseys?

They raised something in their London garden before butchering it. I'm vague about it because I don't share the current trend for animals to be slaughtered on TV.

I just hope Larry doesn't bag the sun lounger before the family, or his death may be premature.

A Lamb and a swimming pool, how incongruous lol.

Juliepink26

Ok... well my daughter knows he is for eating, we have a house in cyprus and last year we spent a month out there we collected snails together that we then went and cooked, we bought rabbits that we petted then ate for dinner, we picked all our veg from the land outside our house and the meat is the same, we went out crab picking, food is a masive part of our lives. I dont want her to grow up thinking fruit and chicken comes in celophane packing from the supermarket, she really enjoys the whole process and helps me cook in the kitchen she is nearly 4.

In Cyprus in happens all the time the children help with the caring of the animals and have no problem as they know its to be consumed. I often make soup from lambs heads all the butches in this part of london sell them, we eat sweatbreads, lamb heads are roasted in the oven and they eat the checks brain and eyes. At first I thought it was barbaric but after 10 years I can see its a lifestyle if you growup with these things it dosent seem out of place, there are 13 grandchildren in the family all eat snails, lambs head, chicken feet, pigs ears it doesnt bother them at all as they have growen up with it.

I have never had any problem with my daughter regarding food there is nothing she wont eat, she loves salads, artichokes, crabs, shes has never said Iam not eating that!! I grew up with a mum and dad both working full time and nearly ever dinner I had went "PING" out of a microwave.. I refuse to let me daughter grow up like that I wont even have a microwave in the house, maby that explains a little about the food issues I have.

Iam not naming him, hes called lamby for now, Iam not hartless it just doesnt bother me ! I eat lamb all the time so at least I know what this ones been eating and has had a good life..

rita-rabbit

Thanks for making this thread. I personally do not each much meat but I would tend to agree that it's an excellent way for your daughter to learn. This part of the forum is for pets though so this could account for the responses you have had.

People raise chickens and eat them - I guess this is the same

Best wishes

fav77

Good on you Juliepink26 - I think that is a great way to teach kids about food