Chickens become your life-has this happend to anyone??

[mnm]

Hi, i was just wondering whether this has happened to anyone other than me.
I was thinking about chickens an all, and i opened up the refrigerator, (time for dinner) and there was this

chicken we'd bought. That day, we had gone to this farm place to look at their chickens and stuff. So when i opened up the bag thing they put it in, i just thought
this chicken is no different from the ones we saw at the farm

I almost threw up! I've tried once before to be a vegetarian, but I couldn't give up the meat. I think I'm gonna start up again. I've never been so grossed out by meat before.

I even had to have cucumber sandwiches for dinner instead!!!
Has this happened to anyone? If there any vegetarians out there, please help me!!!

 

[chickenshadow]

If your feelings are stong on this than attempt to become a vegetarian.

I take a different approach. We produce our own chickens for food. Our roos
get culled after they have lived a good and pampered life. They even get to
play with the hens.

I know your aversion is probably based on looking at that piece of raw flesh
but:

THERE IS A HUGE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THAT CHICKEN IN YOUR FRIDGE THAN THE
CHICKENS YOU SAW ON A FARM.

 

[mnm]

I don't mean to bug you or anything, sorry if this comes out that way, but how are the two chickens different?

I mean, people aren't different, they each have their worth, so why would god (whichever one there is

) make chickens any different from each other?
I'm still trying to get my neck around this. I mean, i know all chickens are different. (personality, etc) But besides that, without the personal things, the only differance i can find between the one my family ate and the one I cuddled on the farm is that one is dead

(sorta because of us) and one is alive

.

 

[chickenshadow]

Oh you're not bugging me at all. This is always a good conversation.


Here is how it's different:

The store bought bird is a Cornish Cross which is packed into a box
at a poultry farm in horrible conditions. This breed dies at 8 weeks
from a heart attack or stroke. It's usualy processed at 6 weeks where
it's put on a truck, taken to a processor, has it's throat slit, then put in
scading water whether it's dead or not. It's processed in a facility where
it can pick up all kinds of nasty pathogens. Then it's shipped for days
until it reaches the market.

A true farm raised bird or backyard bird like ours is a standard breed
bird, capable of living for years if not harvested for food. They grow
up with lot's of other chicks in warm cozy brooders and nice big coops.
They are fed a diet of chicken food, scratch, people food, and whatever
they pick up while free ranging. At around 16 weeks if they are crowing
then we cull and process them.

Another consideration is that most store bought chickens are hens. The
roos are usually thrown in a dumpster as they have little value. So, when
you buy a store bought hen 2 birds have been killed horribly.

With our birds we only cull the roosters (sometimes crazy hens too) and
give away the hens or add them to our laying flock.


So... Are they the same??? Well they are both chickens but are they really?


This is a discussion among friends, not a debate.

 

[Vamp-A-Billy Princess]

I get very passionate about my rally for the Cornish x. I have one as a pet. People try to say that they are stupid and have no personalities...mine is the leader of my flock. I also really want to quit eating chicken. I've only done it twice in like 3 weeks. He is about 5 weeks and going strong! i take him for long walks so he can exercise and give him baths to help him stay clean. I love Bobo and I dont want to eat any of his poor genetically mutated relatives. I need help too. Maybe you and I could be each other's sponsors and email eachothher when we are tempted....

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

I'm not a true vegetarian, but I usually don't eat meat. I do sometimes eat chicken and maybe a little bit of beef jerkey here and there. I also eat turkey at thanksgiving.

However, I stopped eating meat when I was around four because I found a bone in a chicken nugget. I'm also not fond of the taste.

I would MUCH rather rasie my own meat, but I don't have the heart for killing birds either. We still buy store bought meat, but I'm hoping to change that with at least raising a few turkeys this summer for thanksgiving.

Anyways, if you feel you would like to start a vegetarian diet, that is fine! Many people do it. There are plenty alternatives out there. However, it may be more difficult to get the rest of your family to follow. I know my mom always had to make something for my brother because he liked meat, and something for me because I wouldn't eat the meat.

Good luck though.

(And I sort of have to agree that store bought chickens are very different than farm chickens (like the ones you and I own). Broilers are raised for a couple of months in cramped situations. They barely know life when they are killed. They are not loved, or cared for in a special way. Many ARE cared for, but nobody is there looking out for them or to see if they are sick. A home raised chicken has a VERY different life, many times better than their meat bird cousins.)

 

[Vamp-A-Billy Princess]

Thats why I'm glad I accidentally got one so he can live a happy life with lots of hugs even if his life ends up being short. My son loves him so much.

 

[mnm]

I know, that the life they have is different, and I'm thinking maybe the bird would rather be dead then be all sick and cramped and stuff, but how is the value of it's life differant? A chicken is a chicken. No matt er where it lives or what it does or how it acts, right? And a person (not to say we're chickens

) is a person no matter where it lives or what it does or how it acts, right?
mnm

 

[max13077]

Quote:
I'll totally second that! My grandmother always used to complain(in a good way) when we would go grocery shopping. We'd pass by the chicken bin and she'd do a tongue click and shake her head. “These chickens now don’t even get a chance to grow up!” “Give me an old stewin’ hen any day” she would say.

If you’re having trouble with the whole issue of eating something living think of it like this. Ever since the beginning of time, we and every other organism on this plant have had to eat. It’s an undeniable fact we evolved as omnivores. I know we’re “different” than most creatures that inhabit the earth, but we’re not that different. Just like domesticated dogs are a small step from wolves; we’re not all that far from our ancient ancestors either. If whatever evolves doesn’t work, they become extinct. Again, just cause they didn’t make it, doesn’t mean it was a waste. Valuable information was gained from that.

Is meat bad for you? No. We evolved to consume it in moderation. Think about how we used to get meat. We caught a squirrel, a bird, maybe once in a while killed a deer or whatever; we had to work to get our meat. We didn’t go to the store and have racks and racks of meat, it just wasn’t available like it is now. We supplemented by eating plants.

I have total confidence in mother nature. A lot of people say humans are a mistake and don‘t follow any rules. People weren’t suppose to be. I just don’t buy that. Humans are the next step. If you think about it, when the first slimy whatever crawled out of the ocean hundreds of millions of years ago, that was a pretty big step too. Mother nature doesn’t make mistakes. She might try something new once in awhile, but there’s no such thing as a mistake. Saying that sounds out and out arrogant to me. That’s like saying you’re so good at something you can’t learn anything new the rest of your life. That’s a total crock! If you don’t learn something new everyday, it’s because you’re ignorant and just don‘t pay attention. A great example. I love to fly fish. A professor friend of mine is quite possibly the best fly fisherman, if not the best all around angler and outdoorsman I’ve ever seen. If there was anybody who could claim they’d seen it all, it would have to be him. Yet, any chance he gets, he will listen to whatever somebody else has to say. He does this simply because he knows you can always learn something new.

So take from it what you will. If you don’t like the idea of killing and eating a chicken, don’t do it. That’s the nice thing, humans can. We’re incredibly adaptable. Use your adaptability and maybe you’ll get noticed!!

 

[sundance]

I really had not thought enough about it but I totally agree with chickenshadow. I love steak, but due to a medical condition I have to limit my red meat to very little (1) serving a week, but I do eat chicken. I buy it at the store so I don;t know how it was raised, I do know that when the time comes, and I have to cull my chickens I will do it.I take a great deal of pleasure from having my animals and cry for days when i have to have one of my dogs put to sleep due to old age or medical condition, but that is part of life, one dies and one is born.

marrie