Girl holding wild birds, from the tomb of Menna TT69.

Only wealthy households could afford livestock, be it cows or goats, but there was another way of getting animal protein: Fowling.

Initially it was done by throwing sticks at flying birds, and until the 5th dynasty it was mostly practiced as a sport by the elite. Later, everyone could get in on the action, just grab a stick, head out into the papyrus thickets (beware of the crocodiles), and shoot down some birdies.

New Kingdom love poems describe (Pap. Harries 500) how young women returned from fowling. The point of view in those poems are usually young men, and as such they can’t be taken as literal sources, but we also have the above depiction from the tomb of Menna TT69 (also NK) as a source.

Birds were taken home, fattened up (and their eggs eaten), and then butchered for their meat.