Chickens: Pets Or Food?

[bmelanco]

Are your chickens pets or food? I feel chickens lay food and are food. It seems like many here not only view them as pets, but let them live in their house or think they have human like feelings.

Some thoughts I have: if you keep them as pets and don’t eat your own chickens – do you buy store bought chicken for food? What’s the oldest chicken anyone here has? 5 years old? 10?!?

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

PETS!!!! Yes, we buy store bought chicken for meat. ( I FEEL SO SORRY FOR THE POOR CHICKY, THOUGH! )
The oldest chicken I've had was 13 years old and was still laying eggs! She didn't die of old age, though something got her. She was a Buff Orpington hen.

 

[fordmommy]

Pets for us right now. We eat the eggs and I sell them to eat. I am going to be hatching soon and then I MAY eat some chickens. We'll see.

 

[b.hromada]

PETS!!! And we love their eggs!

 

[rittert3]

Mine will be pets and breeders and I will eat the eggs that I can't fit in my incubators. I may try and raise a few cornish rocks to eat but it's not at the top of my to do list.

 

[teach1rusl]

My chickens are pets. I guess I'm a bit guilty of attributing humanistic feelings to all of my pets (dogs and cats too). My dogs and cats have a pretty cushy life overall, and my chickens are treated similarly. Because I have five chickens, I would not have "house chickens," although my cats and dogs are both indoor/outdoor pets. However, I have made their coop as comfortable as my means allows (such as maintaining temps above freezing in there and keeping it clean). I've only had my chickens for 6 months, but they will stay with me until they die, same as my cats and dogs. I would put them down if they were severly injured or ill, just like my other animals.

I do buy store bought chicken. I guess if I lived in a country or was part of a culture that ate dog or cat meat, I'd have to buy mine store bought too...lol. Could I eat my own chickens? Probably (not my PET chickens though), if I'd gotten chickens for that purpose, although I'd probably toss my cookies trying to process one...lol.

 

[Katy]

Not pets.

 

[Illia]

Pets, but what isn't on our farm? Even our future beef yaks will still be treated as pets, (I don't believe in letting it sit out there without any proper love. . .) and our roosters to cull will be pets. But in general our chickens are pets, as we only eat their eggs and only eat the roos we don't want to breed and the hens, well, if we are to "cull" one, we'll probably sell it.

 

[gocrow77]

Some of mine that have really caught my eye, or that follow me around, or happen to show more personality are pets for sure - I have a handful that won't ever see a stewpot. But, while I do try to ensure that they have the best of everything that I can give..... when they stop laying well, decide to attack someone, etc they go to freezer camp. Some chickens have a lot of personality - some don't. I think they can be both pets and food. I have a 1 yr old Polish that has never laid an egg yet - yes I am certain it's a hen. Because of her blue legs/feet and sassy personality Elvis will not be sold eaten or gotten rid of. She's a hoot to have around and everyone loves her, although she's not really all that thrilled with being held, caught or cuddled, lol. I have others that are hateful that are still laying ok that I can't wait for a decently warm weekend so they can go into the freezer. Just depends on you and your flock I guess. I see nothing wrong with it either way.

 

[al6517]

Mine are by no means PET's but farm animals with a purpose, I don't process all of our birds by far and most are breeders and layers, I have a seperate meat bird flock. They don't have names, they never ever are allowed in the house ever, they prefer their own life of freedom and coop life and like being a chicken and treated as such and not like a human which they certainly aren't. they get fed, watered, and treated if sick or injured, they have a great life as a chicken as it should be. I do have some birds that I will feel bad if I lost but wouldn't go see a therapist if it passes one day, My DD and DW have their own small Foo-Foo flock of wierd looking hairdo birds, but these still do not have names or even a purpose, but they like them and that's good enough for me.

AL