A man asked me for one of my chickens this morning........

[SpottedCrow]

If things ever got so bad that I'd had to eat one of my animals, the neighbour's GSP would be the first thing on the menu.

It's okay in some cultures to eat the animals we would consider pets.
The Aztecs ate Chihuahuas.
The Incas ate Guinea Pigs.
The Aborigines of Australia ate Parakeets. In fact the word, budgerigar means tastes good in Maori.
Another thing I have in common with the Cuban relatives...sigh...

 

[wegotchickens]

Amerindians ate dogs. And horses if they needed to. In many cultures there was a fine line between being a pet or being dinner. I think we'd have a lot less domestic livestock if humans hadn't wanted to keep their dinner close at hand...

 

[TxChiknRanchers]

It's a different culture, If he had the guts to ask I would have no problem saying no, That being said if I had many (not pets) and thought he needed one i would have given him some. Never be ashamed of saying no or defending your belongings or animals!

Hope no one offers my wife a million for me

 

[silkiechicken]

I think saying no was fine even if they weren't pets. They are yours but only you can put the value on the animals and he was respectful to ask you about them. If I was in that situation I would have asked what for and then depending on what he said, meat vs eggs, would make a recommendation for the type of bird and gave him a good deal on what he wanted it for. I do go through decent number of birds though so my outlook on them is much different than yours.

Now if he wanted one from my pet stock, wouldn't even consider it, they aren't leaving my place no matter what! I'd offer up some of the production stock instead.

 

[rufus]

Some cultures prefer to buy their poultry alive. Asians especially like to clean them theirselves. However, be aware that in some cultures they leave some of the innards still in.

Rufus

 

[rooster-red]

I would have said " NO, YOU CAN'T HAVE ONE OF MY CHICKENS! take my teenagers instead"

 

[nccountrygirl]

 

[TheKidAndDame]

I have a foreign coworker that salivates every time he sees a photo of my chickens. He keeps on asking me for the roo since "the feet look so big and yummy". However, I can't bear to part with him. He is too sweet, plus he has this identity crisis thing going on where he does not know that he is supposed to crow!

 

[rooster-red]

Quote:
Don't tell him that he is!

 

[PurpleChicken]

My wife works in a hospital with people from all over the world. She's
got a cut coworker from the Ukraine who loves chickens but says to
her all the time "You've got to eat them" with the cutest accent. Another
girl from Korea talks to her all the time about her Mom's chickens when
she was growing up. My father and grandfather(87) both love my chickens
because they bring them back to a time when most Italian Americans had
chickens. What's nice is whatever their view on chickens they still love
and respect the animals. It also makes my wife feel good since most regular
Americans think chickens are dirty creatures meant to be nuggets.

One of my neighbors is of Puerto Rican descent. He LOVES my chickens.
He says the roos crowing brings him back to being a child in Puerto Rico.

We need a thread or complete subject just to discuss the culture of chickens.

Don