Am i the only one who has never ate a homegrown chicken?

[cheepchicks]

Nope, I could never eat my chickies !

 

[Rafter 7 Paint Horses]

Well, we do and we don't.

We have favorites...which we keep as breeders.

We keep about 200 laying hens, which we sell at 1 to 1 1/2 years old. We always have some babies coming up to replace them.

GD has her breeders as well.

We also raise rabbits, pets & for meat. GD has her breeders also.
She helps with the butchering of all the animals.

She acepts the fact that meat comes from a live animal somewhere. It might as well be from one that we know has not had any chemicals injested.
We don't make a big deal out it, and she responds well to that method.

I try not to pick a favorite of any thing anymore...that is always the one that a predator picks for it's attack.
I have lost several of "my pets" that way.
I'm beginning to think that the tamer they are, the easier the prey they are.

(Of course I sell a lot of chickens, cause people say they are the friendliest birds they ever had)

Just my opinion.

Jean

 

[George in NH]

I don't raise my chickens as pets, I raise them for eggs. I will butcher and eat extra roosters. I really like the flavor of home grown. My father raised poultry for food so I learned at an early age not to name what you might be eating. I think in all the years I have raised poultry that I have named only one chicken.

These days I am hearing more and more about what is added to meat that I buy from the store and the more I think about what is added the more I consider raising chickens not only for eggs but also for meat. The more I hear about the additives added to meat to add flovor, make it look better and last longer, the more my stomach turns and the more I realize that home grown might be the better choice for me.

 

[Dzzzyd]

I grew up on a farm where we raised animals for meat. I will probably raise chickens for meat as well as eggs as I go along. My husband and I have already discussed it in fact. He said I would have to do the butchering cause he couldn't do it. I did it when I was younger, guess I could do it now.

 

[SunChick]

Well the last time I had homegrown chicken I was 5 years old and it was my Great-Aunts chickens in good ole S.Carolina. We now have our own, and since we cannot get rid of the extra roos, they are affectionaly called: Dinner 1, Dinner 2, and Dinner 3. One of our neighbors is going to show us how to process, so we will trade her a chicken for the how-to.

 

[buc]

Quote:
Amen, to your statement.

I too, have been turned off by that kind of production line food production.

I raise a host of animals and plants to eat so I know where it comes from, the piece of mind of that fact is priceless

 

[Rafter 7 Paint Horses]

Well said in your signature buc!!!


Jean

 

[missrubysmom]

I eat my chickens. I don't get attached to them emotionally, so I don't think of them as living things when they are on the plate. Chicken is just food that breathes--once you take care of that breathing problem, they're just food. I'm not cruel to my chickens, they live a fine life, and die a swift death, but they are raised to be food. I don't eat my dogs, and I certainly wouldn't eat my mule, the devine Miss Ruby, but I don't fault cultures that eat dogs and horses. Doesn't make them evil, just different. And by the way, I've had some roosters that were clearly the spawn of the devil, but I didn't beat them to death even though they deserved it. And oh, God! they were tasty! My birds all have happy chicken lives--and one really bad day.

 

[chicksnducks]

This is Fatty Roo and the Mrs. Chickadee...I didn't want meat birds but they were cute as chicks and I didnt' know the difference. When I found out I was so sad. They are about 10 weeks now and I try to get them to exercise so that they will live longer....They really are sweet too!
but how could I eat them??? anyway since I have only eaten store bought chicken and love it ...why would I like the taste of my friends better????

I love em too much to eat em!!!

 

[AK-Bird-brain]

My wife keeps chickens, I keep turkeys. The chickens are for eggs, the turkeys are for unspecified holidays.

We have eaten 2 of the chickens now. The first was a year ago, speedy turned out to be a rooster and we didnt care for all the racket he was making. Yesterday we ate Big Bertha, she was pecking the rest of the hens bald and eating all their feathers. Removing her from the coupe has restored calm and hopefully ther rest of the girls will grow their feathers back.

Both were very tasty but a bit tough. Not sure if this is due to how much excersise they get. But were considering getting some broilers to try. We also dont like how commercial poultry is raised or the fact that its pumped full of chemicals to make it grow large fast and uniform. I swear kids are maturing quicker these days because of all the chemicals used in meat and poultry.

I'd better get off the soap box now.