Just a few corrections I always heard the expression "To bleed like a stuck pig" If someone had a bad cut. THE object of sticking a pig is to get the blood out of the animal before it dies. If not the meat will spoil faster. Or not keep. THe object is to stun the animal so it can be stuck yet allow the heart to keep beating to force to blood out. THe actual process is to sever the Aorta and not th jugular vien. Viens carry blood back to the heart and it moves rather slowly. The Aorta carries the blood from the heart to the arteries to the rest of the body. THus severing the Aorta will caust the animal to bleed out rapidly. As soon as the incision is made the animwl is hoisted up with a block and tackle by the hind legs allowing gravity to aid in the bleeding process. In many cultures the blood is saved to make Blood pudding or blood sausage

So the meaning of the line is probably that the children died from loss of blood