Chickens: Pets Or Food?

[ange]

we are running into the problem now, that our I THINK WELSUMMER hen is either done laying or slacking off, so am wondering what to do with her, I AM tthinking os trading her for a hen laying in the prime, chicks, feeder equiptment etc. any one interested

 

[samnsuey]

mine are pets!!! i will not and have not ever killed any of my animals. we still get eggs from our chickens though, so they do have a purpose. I don't even eat chicken, i love mine so much!
My oldest chicken right now is about 8 years old. I use her as my 4H showmanship bird. She is a crossbred bantam. we once had a mix breed that lived until she was about 13 0r 14

 

[CARS]

I had to chuckle at all of you who answered pets yet say you eat the eggs

Isn't that food????

Me. I treat them kindly (as you would a pet) while they are here but mmmm.... they taste good!

 

[Illia]

Quote:
Isn´t the question "Chickens: pets for food" - As in, are chickens just pets or food? The eggs I eat usually aren't fertile anyway.

 

[CARS]

Quote:
Isn´t the question "Chickens: pets for food" - As in, are chickens just pets or food? The eggs I eat usually aren't fertile anyway.

Right. just pets or food?

How can you not consider eating eggs using a chicken for food???

 

[Tala]

My chickens are pets with a purpose. Even the cows that my family has butchered had a name and were treated fairly pet-like up until the day. They might as well live the good life while they serve a purpose for us.

They are pets in that they come up to us for treats and/or petting, they are spoiled rather than being half-wild. To catch an Angus steer on this farm go out with a bucket - no roping horse required. To catch a rooster just walk calmly and try not to chase him, he'll get close enough to grab even. They are pets in that we stay up all night caring for a sick one, even if it dies on us, then we come to work late and carry around a coffee pot all day.

I do find it easier to eat a mean rooster than an old friendly hen.

 

[estpr13]

Quote:
This pretty much sums up my feelings, including the mean rooster. I think they call these attitudes "Husbandry"
I try to touch a few underneith each day. (a hand comming down towards their head sends them into a panic.)

 

[Bantimna]

Hopefully Future pets!
Although I would sell the culls as "meat birds".

 

[jojo54]

Pets so far but we eat the eggs. They are less than a year old so we haven't crossed the bridge of what to do when they stop laying. We'll see when that happens.

 

[CityChicker]

I don't see mine as pets at all (and that seems to be an unpopular view here). Now, again, let me preface this, AGAIN since it always seems to get misconstrued- "My" chickens are *not* pets. That doesn't mean that I don't think someone else *can* consider theirs to be pets. I think, "to each their own". I am *only* speaking for myself, not anyone else. I am not making assertions about "all" people or "all" chickens. LOL,

I cannot consider mine to be pets. I just can't do it. I adore our birds. We baby our birds. We have some very friendly and spoiled birds. Ours are still not pets. For me personally (and yet again, for my opinion of MY birds and pets), a pet meets certain criteria that my chickens do not now nor ever will likely meet.

A) We eat chicken. In fact, we eat our chickens. You don't eat a "pet" (again, in my opinion, my idea of what my pets are). Okay? My dogs are pets. I would never eat a dog because I was raised that dogs are pets, not food (although, anyone else can feel otherwise and that is fine by me). That right there, gives my pets a higher status than I would give my chickens.

B) If one of my chickens fell seriously ill, it would be culled. No, I'm not talking "euthanized" as in injection by a vet. It would be culled, more as in it's neck would be wrung (not literally, but you get the point). Again, I would never do this with one of my pets. If one of my true pets became ill, I would move heaven and earth trying to get it healed. I would take out loans in necessary and spend a fortune extending its' life as long as it would indeed have a decent quality of life. Would one of my chickens get the same royal treatment? Not on your life.

C) We also eat the chicken's eggs because, again, I was socialized to do that. Would I drink my dog's milk? Um, no...

There you have it. My chickens are not pets to me personally and never will be. It is a shame that a lot of times people that consider them pets find people like me to be callous. I think all animals deserve respect and proper treatment. I care about all of our animals and their welfare. I think they deserve "the best" in care and humane treatment. That said, they do not have nearly the status in my heart that my dogs and pet birds (parrots) do.