eating your pet open discussion

[WindyHillFarm]

I guess I'm over the top I love my dogs, cats, horse. I can't say I love my chickens I do like and enjoy having them although it's only been a month.

I'm with you. Over the top. I love my animals and would be lost without them. Of course my chickens do more than just lay eggs...I also use them to keep the weeds out from between rows in the garden, aerate the soil in the pasture, and entertain me with their antics. To each their own though.

 

[Exactly]

None of this would be an issue if chickens weren't deliscious.


We can't eat our pets, but we can kidnap and fry their embryonic children and that's not taboo at all.


Every egg you eat, you're consuming and aborted baby chick.


Never got to grow up, never got to be cool.

 

[Cearbhael]

None of this would be an issue if chickens weren't deliscious.


We can't eat our pets, but we can kidnap and fry their embryonic children and that's not taboo at all.


Every egg you eat, you're consuming and aborted baby chick.


Never got to grow up, never got to be cool.

;o) isn't that soo true. However, keep in mind that at the rate hens lay eggs, if they were not delicious and eaten by us and every varmint out there, the world would be over run with chickens. I personally feel they produce tons of eggs for us to eat in the hope we will allow a few to hatch out... And we go to great lengths to make that happen and dote on the little ones. Fair trade I figure? Otherwise, like most wild fowl they would nest seasonally and produce only enough eggs for 1 or 2 generations a year!

 

[ImNotYogi]

I just received my first chicks yesterday and I'm not sure if I'd be able to cull them when they're older. I don't judge anyone who does. I get it. They know how these birds have been raised and its far healthier than anything store bought. I've just never processed an animal. I think the title of he thread can be phrased better though.

 

[Oliver Douglas]

Seems a few folks got all worked up over the subject. For the record, I will probably watch MY hens die of old age before I would consider doing them in for dinner. Did the execution duty more than once on my uncle's place in Massachusetts during my summer visits. Turkeys, chickens, even got to watch my cousin turn his male piglets, into sopranos. More than once, a deer carcass was hanging in the garage, gutted. So I'm familiar with the process. Been there, done that. Bleeding them out was the worst part for me. I named my birds because they are pets, with benefits. I will try to give my roo a good home, but if he is to be breaded and fried, I would rather not know about it. He is living the life of Riley....unlimited food and water, treats, fresh air, no battery cage. I can afford feed and have enough space for my hens to live out their lives. No difference to me between my dog and them. I will keep an empty bucket of KFC within their sight, might motivate them to lay longer. Too bad they can't collect social security when they hit the big 5.

 

[sophiaw00]

I didn't read the whole thread, but I read the first few pages, and lets just say it was a very interesting discussion. This is a long post, but it all relates to the subject of eating chickens.

I'm only 14 years old - I'm a freshmen in high school who got my first flock of chickens for an agriculture project. I spent over $350 of my own money on start up, most of it went towards building the coop, the rest to buying the chicks ($50 for 8 four week olds) and buying feeders, waterers, feed, etc. I also spent many hours preparing for their arrival - finding a good brooder, setting it up, finding someone with bales of straw I could have for bedding, hanging the heat lamp from different heights and measuring the temperature, and much more. I'm sure you all know how much start up costs when getting chickens. I've only had my girls for a few days now, but I've already cleaned the brooder three times (I'm a bit of a neat freak) and spent many hours socializing them. They still have a few weeks of living inside before they go out to the brooder, and I'm completely prepared to take care of them for that long, and the rest of their lives. All 8 also have their own individual identities, names, and personalities. I don't think these girls are going to end up on the table, partly because my brother (who would do the butchering) leaves for the Air Force in August and won't be home to do it, and partly because I would have invested so much of my time and money in them at that point and would feel like it was all going to a waste.

That said, I have zero problem with others butchering their chickens and believe that they should all have humane lives, even if they are going to be killed at a young age. I eat chicken multiple times a week, and so I think if I'm gonna tell people to not kill their flock, I shouldn't be eating meat (even if it came from an industrial setting).

I'm suspicious of one of my chicks now and believe she might be a he. If that's the case, I won't think twice about finding someone to butcher him (unless he doesn't cause a problem). I have elderly neighbors on one side of my house and a family with a young baby that they wouldn't want waking up to the loud crowing of a rooster. If it came down to it, I think I could learn how to butcher and prepare the roo myself. Yes, I would cry. Yes, I would feel horribly guilty. Yes, I would swear to never eating chicken again (and then probably eat chicken the next night because chicken is soooo good). Yes, it would be a terribly unpleasant experience for me. The bad feelings would only last for a short while though, because shortly I'd be enjoying his yummy meat and I'm sure everyone whos had to butcher an animal feels some sort of sadness but I think that if someone bought a chicken with the intention of killing it, but still took care of it until the time came, it's ok to kill and eat it. You provided that chicken with food for however long and now the chicken is providing you with the same thing.

Don't get me wrong though, I love animals. Ever since I can remember I've been rescuing animals. When I was 5, there are pictures of me with a baby squirrel that I found with a broken leg on the sidewalk. I brought it home and called a wildlife rehab center myself (can you imagine them answering the phone to a five year old?). I did the same thing with a baby chipmunk my cat brought me. I mended her to health and released her when she was 9 weeks old. Me and my mom take in countless abandoned pregnant cats. We find the kittens homes at 8 weeks old, spay mama cat, and re-home her as well. Our most recent rescue, Ellie, had 7 babies and then a week later, she got a really bad infection, couldn't feed her babies, got a fever so high she ended up with brain damage, and was probably hours away from death. We spent $3000 on vet bills for her, bottle fed the babies for 6 weeks, and because of Ellie's brain damage and special care, we will continue to care for her until she dies. I would do the same thing for a chicken that needed help but I also don't think it's wrong to kill and eat a chicken, even if it was your "pet" for it's short life.

Right now, my flock is for eggs, but in the future when I decided I want to get meat as well, I will probably buy older chicks so I wouldn't get so attached and wouldn't spend so much time/money in them before they end up dinner.

That's just my opinion - sorry for the long speech

 

[Blooie]

@sophiaw00 I wish we could clone you! Such a level head for one so young. Oh, not about whether to eat or not to eat pet chickens - that's secondary and purely a personal choice for all of us. No, it's your attitude. You will keep a rooster if you get one and see that he has a happy, healthy life unless he starts bothering your neighbors. Your thoughtful consideration of the elderly neighbors on the side of you and for the young family with the baby, and your ability to rationalize eating meat from commercial sources vs eating your home raised chickens is refreshing! You get it! You really get it! No hypocrisy here - if you had to butcher you could. And you acknowledge that you'd feel it emotionally, but would then be ready to move on.

Do me a favor - go find your folks and let them know that an old lady on BYC says "Thank you for raising such a level headed, articulate and compassionate young lady." Then look in the mirror and tell yourself, "I am wise beyond my years."

It's an honor to know you, young lady. If you are the future of backyard chicken owners, the future is in good hands.

 

[sophiaw00]

@sophiaw00 I wish we could clone you! Such a level head for one so young. Oh, not about whether to eat or not to eat pet chickens - that's secondary and purely a personal choice for all of us. No, it's your attitude. You will keep a rooster if you get one and see that he has a happy, healthy life unless he starts bothering your neighbors. Your thoughtful consideration of the elderly neighbors on the side of you and for the young family with the baby, and your ability to rationalize eating meat from commercial sources vs eating your home raised chickens is refreshing! You get it! You really get it! No hypocrisy here - if you had to butcher you could. And you acknowledge that you'd feel it emotionally, but would then be ready to move on.

Do me a favor - go find your folks and let them know that an old lady on BYC says "Thank you for raising such a level headed, articulate and compassionate young lady." Then look in the mirror and tell yourself, "I am wise beyond my years."

It's an honor to know you, young lady. If you are the future of backyard chicken owners, the future is in good hands.

Thank you! My mom raised us to be open minded but also state our opinions. I am so grateful that I'm not shy about making myself heard (even thought some of my friends get a bit annoyed). I try to think about all sides of an argument (and research it thoroughly) before going one way or another. When I decided to raise chickens, I didn't know that the argument on whether to eat "pet" chickens or not was such a big controversy until I began my research, and this thread just proves that it's something that most backyard chicken owners think about going into it and must decide. My mom again gets all the credit for me being compassionate - she gave me the gene!

 

[ImNotYogi]

@Blooie: I was thinking the same as I read her post.

 

[Cearbhael]

Thank you! My mom raised us to be open minded but also state our opinions. I am so grateful that I'm not shy about making myself heard (even thought some of my friends get a bit annoyed). I try to think about all sides of an argument (and research it thoroughly) before going one way or another. When I decided to raise chickens, I didn't know that the argument on whether to eat "pet" chickens or not was such a big controversy until I began my research, and this thread just proves that it's something that most backyard chicken owners think about going into it and must decide. My mom again gets all the credit for me being compassionate - she gave me the gene! 

Here Here! (Or is it Hear Hear?) anyway, Blooie said it all and I would have said what she said, and I am delighted to see good genes coming down the Pike! Your also very modest and generous by giving your mother all the credit! Let's Hear it for Great Moms!!