ELI5 Why do so many ppl treat chickens expendable??

[Pampered chicken girl]

You EAT them. We serve them, they serve us. I’m talking about just literally throwing them out with no thought or caring.





Idk maybe ppl become desensitized. All kinds of forums about chucking out a rooster with no thought, and yesterday I overheard a guy in a feed store talk about pulling out his roosters spurs with pliers.. and I’m just so confused why some cruel things are acceptable in chicken world.

That's pretty common and not bad, it helps with roosters that are injuring hens with spurs.

 

[Pampered chicken girl]

Imo:
It's not ok to kill or eat dogs, cats, such because they recognize you as their leader, they love their owners and see them as part if their pack and family. Chickens and most poultry (besides maybe imprinted poultry) do not see you as part of the flick and don't love you. They may come to you but it's probably because they think you have food. Not that their lives worry less but that is my definition of pet, an animal that recognizes and loves you like you are part of their pack or such

 

[z3lda3]

If the rooster is killed humanely, why would it care what happens to the body after it is dead?

And why would broilers get any exception? They are still chickens.

My personal view:
--any killing should be done in a humane fashion (preferably no pain and no fear for the bird, otherwise keep those as low as possible)
--what happens to the body afterward is personal preference. It can be eaten, used as dog food, buried, etc. Just don't put it somewhere that causes problems for you or anyone else (don't dig up someone's flower bed to bury it, don't put it in the garbage unless that is allowed in your area, don't leave it in plain sight to offend your neighbors, etc.)
--it usually does not make sense to have a person eat a chicken that is more than a certain amount small (example: day-old chicks that have health issues), or one that is sick (might not be safe for the person), or injured (meat quality may not be good, and depending on the injury it may not be safe for the person).

As you can see from the responses to this thread, people have many different views. So I am just adding mine to the collection


Would it be acceptable to buy chicken meat at the store and use that for bait? If it is acceptable to use chicken meat for that purpose, I don't see a reason to fuss about which way the person gets the meat.

And I'm curious: bait for what? A trap to catch a predator? Going fishing?

I’m not sure, it was on BYC topic of the week.
Maybe I’m just too emotionally attached to my chickens. I only have 16, so I know their personalities, yes they do have personalities. So when I hear ‘it’s just a chicken’ it sets wrong with me. But what do I know, I can’t even get my girls to use different laying boxes..I know nothing.

 

[aart]

Spur removal is common and necessary for they can cause damage to the hens and/or the bird growing them. The outer sheath is removed greatly reducing the size of the spurs, it doesn't leave a "hole".

I've hatched and dispatched many a male chicken, layer breeds not broilers, they were delicious. I'd let them get big enough to be more worthwhile and right about the time they started creating havoc with the females.

Poultry is food, both eggs and meat, but many people have forgotten that.
Anthropomorphism runs deep and wide(and illogically IMO).

 

[Pampered chicken girl]

I’m not sure, it was on BYC topic of the week.
Maybe I’m just too emotionally attached to my chickens. I only have 16, so I know their personalities, yes they do have personalities. So when I hear ‘it’s just a chicken’ it sets wrong with me. But what do I know, I can’t even get my girls to use different laying boxes..I know nothing.

I get that, I love my chooks, they are my pets and I don't eat them or cull them but I do understand that I eat chicken from the store and don't see anything wrong with culling chickens. I only don't do mine because I am attached to them

 

[Lazy Farmer]

Launch them into space.

Just kidding of course.

"Ground control to Major Tom. Ground control to Major Tom.
Take your protein pills and put your helmet on."

"This is Ground Control to Major Tom. You've really made the great, now the papers want to know who shirts you wear. Now it's time to leave the capsule... if you dare.."

​

 

[JacinLarkwell]

If the older bird is suffering the humane thing would be to end it, like any living creature.
From what I’ve been reading it’s ppl buying straight run or hatching without a plan for the roosters. It’s a callous attitude of ‘eh I’ll just kill it’.

I meant older birds that don't lay as often/at all

 

[z3lda3]

Spur removal is common and necessary for they can cause damage to the hens and/or the bird growing them. The outer sheath is removed greatly reducing the size of the spurs, it doesn't leave a "hole".

I've hatched and dispatched many a male chicken, layer breeds not broilers, they were delicious. I'd let them get big enough to be more worthwhile and right about the time they started creating havoc with the females.

Poultry is food, both eggs and meat, but many people have forgotten that.
Anthropomorphism runs deep and wide(and illogically IMO).

No. Yes. I have not forgotten that. I love eggs and chicken meat! If my figurative heart would let me, I’d have broiler birds too! And kudos to those that do. I just can’t. Idk why..childhood trauma? Too many Flipper episodes?? Who knows

 

[JacinLarkwell]

And I'm curious: bait for what? A trap to catch a predator? Going fishing?

Our area uses the bodies to draw in coyotes for shooting. I use them for feeding the predators away from my coop. They're coming near either way, at least with my kill pile they eat there and don't come closer

 

[Chicken_tiger_catt]

You EAT them. We serve them, they serve us. I’m talking about just literally throwing them out with no thought or caring.





Idk maybe ppl become desensitized. All kinds of forums about chucking out a rooster with no thought, and yesterday I overheard a guy in a feed store talk about pulling out his roosters spurs with pliers.. and I’m just so confused why some cruel things are acceptable in chicken world.

................ well said. my mom tells me that at the factory farm where she used to work( Trillium Farms in Ohio), they would cut the beaks on the egg layers, and the "free range" chickens were housed in a small concrete floored room, that looked like something out of a prison. unfortunately, her attitude towards roosters is "if it's not useful, kill it", but she likes the hens, and I've been able to convince her to re home most of our unwanted birds to a small local hatchery.