Any of you eat your chickens?

[dancingbear]

Quote:
Me too, and my DH can cook pretty well, too!

Once, we'd been planning a night out, for a couple of weeks. We went out to a movie, and after discussing where to eat, we went home instead. We had some maple smoked pork roast that we'd cooked in the smoker the day before, and couldn't think of any place to eat that had anything even close to that good.

For store bought food, I look for local first, if there's not any, then regional, like the surrounding states. Since I'm in KY, I'll choose Florida or Texas citrus over California citrus. I'll settle for just "somewhere in the U.S." rather than from another country. Once in a while I'll buy something from another country, if it's just not available from here, like coffee, tea, some spices, etc.

Avoiding fast foods, processed lunch meats, sodas, artificial sweeteners, high fructose corn syrup, and MSG, has made a big difference in how I feel, too.

 

[chooniecat]

if I want to eat animal flesh at ALL now I do my own as the commercial food animals are so horribly mistreated(FACT and its routine) It bothered me initially(actually I have not done it yet, my son has) but I like to eat and will do some processing of MY own doing this weekend. its kind of scarey but watching what happens at the commercial slaughter houses toughened me up.:/PS --I consider myself "tender hearted" and thats why I WON'T buy my meat now.

 

[acbear93]

Quote:
Same exact feelings here.

me too! I cant keep them forever...some you get attached to more then others which makes it hard to choose...but they sure do taste good....I have raised our own meat birds as well as the layers, and the meat birds are not around for very long, and all they do is eat and poop, and lots of both, and by the time it comes for them to go...I have been LONG ready!!

 

[catrocoberto]

What's the oldest chicken you've eaten? I figure I can make stocks and stews from the older ones, but I'm not sure how good (taste-wise) they will be.

 

[sandspoultry]

I think the taste gets better with age.

 

[Searsmom]

There is no way I could ever kill or possibly eat, the original ladies who started my flock. They come running to me and let me pet them.

Now their children are another story. Mean-spirited and wanting to peck me constantly. I think I'm going to try my first chicken on my own with the meanest one. I've had roosters done - but I watched while they did it. There's a difference between the thought of "eating a pet" and eating a mean bird that doesn't lay and won't let you have her sister's eggs without a fight and pecks at your child.

 

[Sagetown]

I processed some extra young cockerels this past year. No one will eat them but me. Even when my children were young, they fell in love with every animal on the farm. One Christmas, I processed one of the barnyard Geese, and Mom cooked it for a big family Christmas Dinner. No one but Dad and I ate of it. My daughter was very sad, as she raised them right from the egg. I didn't do that again.

 

[pound4pound]

i remember when i had 5 kabir chickens. i remember having a heartache bec i butchered them for table, and it made me sad.

 

[Mtn Margie]

Once you have eaten real, fresh chicken, you will be hard pressed not to gag on store bought.

 

[tadaen sylverma]

I certainly plan on eating them. I won't touch the 4 we already have as those are mom's pets but I plan on getting a handful strictly for meat purposes. Fairly certain I can do it, did it 15 years ago or so and it wasn't easy the first time. But now my perspective has changed, times have changed... you gotta be ready to do what you have to do. I am no vegetarian, none of my family is, and if they end up on the table so be it. I havn't done it recently but I do feel better knowing both what went into them, and that they had a decent life as opposed to some of those videos you see on youtube and stuff. That stuff is heartbreaking, it is a sad commentary on society the way we treat live creatures, regardless of their ultimate purpose. They deserve decency and respect, and slaughtered quick and humanely. Circle of life.

Should mention that since finding this site, as well as doing research specifically on processing the birds I already feel better about it. Price you pay if you want meat.