don’t you feel bad?

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I'm still not exactly sure what you are asking? who is telling you to kill them and why are they saying that? This sounds like it may be a difference of opinion between you and family members who have different goals. When families have this type of disagreements it can get rough. But all that is your business and for you to manage. Good luck!

What are your goals? Why do you have ducks to start with? Lots of people keep them for things other than meat. I think you need to manage them in a way to keep the numbers where you can properly manage them, you do have responsibilities when you own animals, whether that is ducks, dogs, or cattle. For you that might mean don;t let any more hatch of or find a way to get rid of them.

One of my main goals is to raise chickens for meat. They would never have hatched and lived to start with if I were not planning on eating them. I try to raise them the best I can. Some I hatch in an incubator or buy from a hatchery and raise in a brooder. These are usually out scratching in dirt, eating grass and other vegetation, and chasing insects by 5 to 8 weeks of age. About half are raised by broody hens with the flock. I think mine get to live like chickens in a flock and have a pretty good life up to the point they have a very bad moment. I try to make that bad moment as quick as I can.

I don't feel good when I kill the chicken though the rest or the butchering isn't bad. I try to use as much of the chicken as I can so nothing is wasted. When I butcher I have two buckets. One bucket gets the stuff that I will bury in the garden or orchard to rot and be used by the plants. The other bucket gets stuff that will be fed back to the chickens. That upsets some people but the chickens enjoy it and it gets used. I cut off traditional parts of the carcass for the table. I feed the liver to the dogs. I keep the wings, back, neck, gizzard, heart, and feet to use in broth. I save the bones from the parts I eat directly for broth. I pick the meat out of the stuff I cook up as broth to use as cooked meat. The only thing that goes to the landfill is the bones after they have been used to make broth.

I don't feel good when I do the actual killing but I don't feel bad either. I'm going to be eating chicken anyway, even if I have to buy it from the store. I can buy it cheaper from the store than I can raise it and it would take a lot less work. But it is worth it to me to raise them myself, know where the meat comes from, and treat them the best I can and still meet my goals.

Very !

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

I've been raising poultry for a long time. It's never an enjoyable day when it's time. It is something that is often required in animal husbandry.

When you take nature out of the picture, you need to act as nature would to maintain the health of a flock. The Drakes are not going to be real happy living by themselves. I feel there is a difference between living and thriving when it comes to my birds. I do what i can to help them thrive. And that means being letting them be as chicken as possible, as Duck as possible, and culling.

Would those birds live 10+ years in the wild? Should they live 10+ years lonely in a cage? It's not easy and it's not a decision anyone else can make for you.

If drakes are anything like roosters, they do great in male-only flocks. Hens aren't needed to make them happy. However, if you're talking about single drakes, I agree that they might get lonely.

 

[FortCluck]

Do you eat meat at the grocery store?

Have you seen how they process those animals at the grocery store?

There are many people on BYC who raise their own meat and I think they deserve a lot of respect because they're not supporting big corporations that abuse and torture meat before they process it. If you can't process your own meat then in my opinion, you shouldn't be eating it. You have to respect the circle of life. It's the same thing with hunting, if the hunters weren't around, we wouldn't be here due to overpopulation.

I'm plant based, I eat zero animal products but my entire family eats meat. I raise meat birds for them because I want to see them eat food that we know has been humanely processed and we know exactly where it's coming from. It's not full of chemicals or oversized and mushy like you find at the grocery store with most meat.

I have a layer flock of ducks and chickens that will live their entire lives with us and will never have to worry about being processed. I use the eggs of my layer flock to make meat birds.

If you don't want to raise your birds for meat then you can choose not to. Many people have their backyard birds for pets. You cannot judge others who raise theirs for meat though because they're providing the best meat out there for their families. Many don't dump money into grocery store meat, which I believe is amazing. There's a lot of skill and art when it comes to raising and butchering your own meat, people should be applauded for that not judged.

Hope your ducks live a long happy healthy life!

 

[Duckie doodle]

i have ducks, drakes, and everyone says to kill them. i’m not going to. my question is how do u kill at a few months old when it can live 10+ more years? not to upset anyone this just makes me so sad when i see my ducks playing and swimming...

So I would like to put my 2 cents in. I grew up on a farm so I was taught at a very young age about the circle of life. I also know where the animal came from and how it was going to be killed and what it was fed it's lifetime before being butchered. Now I have 13 ducks and I would never eat my ducks. Most of my ducks I hand raised myself and others I rescued from the Amish and Mennonite ( who eat duck). It is very sad to see a animal be killed for humans but there isn't much we can do about it, unfortanelty. I eat meat, but like I said I will not eat my animals, they are like a family member. I will also say that the way animals are killed in reality is not right. I don't want to argue with anyone about it, just my opinion . But if you go to McDonalds or Burger king, even KFC the animals are all killed inhumanly. You also don't know what the farmer or slaughter houses feed to those animals, so many by products and trash to get them fat to be killed and they also get abused. So what i suggest is maybe go to a local farmer who raises the cows, pigs, chicken and buy from them that way you know they had a good life before dying. Rant complete, sorry people.

 

[FortCluck]

So I would like to put my 2 cents in. I grew up on a farm so I was taught at a very young age about the circle of life. I also know where the animal came from and how it was going to be killed and what it was fed it's lifetime before being butchered. Now I have 13 ducks and I would never eat my ducks. Most of my ducks I hand raised myself and others I rescued from the Amish and Mennonite ( who eat duck). It is very sad to see a animal be killed for humans but there isn't much we can do about it, unfortanelty. I eat meat, but like I said I will not eat my animals, they are like a family member. I will also say that the way animals are killed in reality is not right. I don't want to argue with anyone about it, just my opinion . But if you go to McDonalds or Burger king, even KFC the animals are all killed inhumanly. You also don't know what the farmer or slaughter houses feed to those animals, so many by products and trash to get them fat to be killed and they also get abused. So what i suggest is maybe go to a local farmer who raises the cows, pigs, chicken and buy from them that way you know they had a good life before dying. Rant complete, sorry people.

I would rather raise my own than trust a farmer I don't know. Just because it comes off a farm doesn't mean it was treated humanely. I worked at a veterinary office and you wouldn't believe what I saw at local farms. No thanks...

 

[Duckie doodle]

I would rather raise my own than trust a farmer I don't know. Just because it comes off a farm doesn't mean it was treated humanely. I worked at a veterinary office and you wouldn't believe what I saw at local farms. No thanks...

Yes that is how my family and I do it. We have had cows, pigs. Now just cows. But they are all raised happy, healthy and organic, grass feed. So when I get meat I know it is safe and healthy and the animal wasn't tormented. The ducks are my hobby. They don't get eaten.

 

[chickens really]

I breed and raise Ducks. I sell all my Drakes and some have gone for meat. I'm not bothered by the use of them.

 

[FortCluck]

Yes that is how my family and I do it. We have had cows, pigs. Now just cows. But they are all raised happy, healthy and organic, grass feed. So when I get meat I know it is safe and healthy and the animal wasn't tormented. The ducks are my hobby. They don't get eaten.

Yeah, I have a pet flock (ducks and chickens) then I have my meat flock. I don't confuse the two. The meat ducks get no names, but get treated just the same with dried worms and eggs from my layer flock plus their organic meat bird feed. I'm keeping some out of my meat flock though.

This is Scotch, if it's a pullet... I'm keeping it Her parents are a BJG/RSL

 

[Miss Lydia]

Scotch is adorable.

 

[FortCluck]

Scotch is adorable.

I hatched a penguin too. I named her Gwen (sounds like the Guin in penguin.... Obviously keeping it if it's a pullet. She looks like a penguin. My oldest told me I incubated the wrong eggs.