BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[holm25]

I feel some what responsible for my family. I wouldnt want them to starve. I am young and dont have kids( I am to young to say my age on BYC or I will be on probation according to the rules). Even though I am still young I feel responsible for them. I have butchered many chickens and I feel bad for each one but each animal was put on the earth for a purpose and many of them were put on the earth so we could survive. Something has to die for us to live. Whether its plants or animals. I personally would rather eat something that I butchered cuz I know what it ate, how it was raised and that it had a good life right up to the end.

 

[DesertChic]

Well they can live with the thought then that they killed my animals and then I will starve to death and they can eat me but I would never kill my animals to survive I would rather die a slow painful death than put my animals through that

You sound like my son. He insists he would feed our dogs before taking a bite of food himself, just to keep them alive. (He's 16.) A few years back he even struggled with having to flush one of his fish when it developed tumors. It was still alive and he wholeheartedly believed it was his responsibility to continue caring for it even though my husband and I insisted that the fish was probably suffering. You have a big heart like he has. That's a good thing. It's taken a while for my son to recognize and accept my decision to raise chickens not (only) at pets, but as a source of food. He was fine with collecting and eating the eggs, but when I told him I'd be butchering chickens he found the idea so revolting that I wasn't even sure he would eat the dinner I'd prepared. Now he merely 'advises' me as to which ones I'm 'allowed' to kill, and which ones I must leave alone. He's completely okay with me butchering any rooster that proves mean, and especially any that attack him, but if he had his way I'd still be completely overwhelmed with roosters right now...or more overwhelmed than I am.

I truly wish you the luxury of never being forced to make any of the hard decisions we've discussed here because I know from experience that when you've felt any affection for an animal, and then have to butcher it, it IS hard...maybe not for everyone, but certainly for me. I know plenty of people who keep chickens only as pets. There's nothing wrong with that, especially since this land is still plentiful enough to allow it. Some of us just have a more practical, utilitarian perspective on the matter and have learned to never say never.

 

[Kusanar]

Quote:
See, with the fish, I would have frozen it, fish go into a stupor when they get cold and don't feel anything, but they can't live past a certain point, so putting him in a Tupperware of water and putting him in a freezer would be kinder than flushing him where he could conceivably live in your septic tank or sewer for a while.

I also know how much money and food it takes to feed my animals, if it got to the point where one of us was going to go hungry, I know that it would be a very short time between my starting to starve and the animals quality of life going down, even if I wasn't going to eat the animals, if it was life or death and giving them away wasn't an option, then I would kill the animals even if I wasn't going to eat them simply so they would have a quick death, no point in my starving and then them starving anyway if I can save them that suffering. A bullet through the head is much quicker and painless than slowly starving.

 

[Chicken Egg 17]

Well ya I never do want to kill an animal I will be the one swerving to save a squirrel or a bird about to hit my windshield heck I was the one asking if the deer was ok after he got hit by a motorcycle in the paper but then it said the deer was dead but that doesn't mean it wasn't left to suffer along he road I am not the only animal person as my paps friend there was a bird laying on the side of the road suffering he took the bird to the vet i think it was ok but I don't know what I would do I a situation like that Except put it out of its misery as much as I hate to it is what would be best the only animal I have ever killed was an accident I was putting there feeder in there pen and one of the chickens stepped infront of me and I stepped on her she was one of my favorites but things happen and u learn from ur mistakes I am 5.5 tall and I wear 10.5 size men's shoes so my clodhoppers must have stepped on her may she rest in peace

 

[Mini Meat]

Well ya I never do want to kill an animal I will be the one swerving to save a squirrel or a bird about to hit my windshield heck I was the one asking if the deer was ok after he got hit by a motorcycle in the paper but then it said the deer was dead but that doesn't mean it wasn't left to suffer along he road I am not the only animal person as my paps friend there was a bird laying on the side of the road suffering he took the bird to the vet i think it was ok but I don't know what I would do I a situation like that Except put it out of its misery as much as I hate to it is what would be best the only animal I have ever killed was an accident I was putting there feeder in there pen and one of the chickens stepped infront of me and I stepped on her she was one of my favorites but things happen and u learn from ur mistakes I am 5.5 tall and I wear 10.5 size men's shoes so my clodhoppers must have stepped on her may she rest in peace

When we put our pets down it is hard. Basically what you are doing is trading their suffering (physical) for your own (in the form of grief) and that is good stewardship. That is the last gift to our pets.

When it comes to harvesting animals for food... I think if everyone processed their own meat there would be so much less suffering in the world.
Keep an open mind. You have every right to to keep livestock as pets and to chose not to eat them, just don't close your mind to raising your own meat. It is not meant to be easy, but there is much good in it.

 

[Chicken Egg 17]

I am actually trying to stop eating meat all together

 

[bnjrob]

I am actually trying to stop eating meat all together

It sounds like you would be more comfortable chatting on a pet chicken thread versus a thread that is about breeding poultry in order to produce food.

 

[Chicken Egg 17]

I am already in one well two of them

 

[bnjrob]

I am already in one well two of them

Then I will suggest that you move over to those threads and leave this one. You seem to be mistaking the courtesy of the posters on this thread for meaning that they wish to continue conversing with you. My patience with your posts is at an end and I would wager there are others here that are just being courteous and not wanting to tell you that they also don't care for your posts when you have made it abundantly clear that you are not interested in the topics discussed on this thread.

Since your arrival to this thread, you have shown no interest in learning about production of food products from poultry. Neither have you offered anything useful to help others on this thread in regards to their desires to discuss the production of food products. Your posts sound like you are in need of friends and using this thread to fulfill your need for interaction with others. However you have failed to realize that it is rude to continue to post on a thread when the only information you offer is to tell other people that you don't agree with them. It is one thing to disagree and let others know your viewpoints, but you have moved beyond that point and are just being obnoxious with your frequent posts which do nothing to enhance the discussion of the topic of this thread.

 

[Beer can]

I take no joy in processing my chickens. I take even less joy in spending the $$ feeding them though. I have bills to pay, kids to raise (little money pits, and I can't eat them). I can't afford to have 'pet' chickens, 'kids need new shoes'...
I'd rather process my own chickens then eat the ones from a store raised in filth, processed in gross ways, 'mechanically separated chicken' yumm...