Free-range meat chickens in fenced city yard?

[newwestchick]

If they eat meat from the grocery store go right ahead and show them some lovely pictures of factory farming. Then explain how you can't abide by that kind of animal abuse and would prefer to take the hard road where you look your meat in the eye and give it the best life it can have before it dies. I would rather eat a happy animal who had a marginally sh** 20 seconds than one who lived a horrific existence before a machine killed and mechanically separated it.
This arguments seems to turn most people around to thinking you've got a good point in raising your own

 

[eleaserek]

If they eat meat from the grocery store go right ahead and show them some lovely pictures of factory farming. Then explain how you can't abide by that kind of animal abuse and would prefer to take the hard road where you look your meat in the eye and give it the best life it can have before it dies. I would rather eat a happy animal who had a marginally sh** 20 seconds than one who lived a horrific existence before a machine killed and mechanically separated it.
This arguments seems to turn most people around to thinking you've got a good point in raising your own

You nailed it! This is exactly why I'm choosing to raise my own! You seemed to have articulated it much better than I have, may have to steal your line "I would rather eat a happy animal who had a marginally sh** 20 seconds than one who lived a horrific existence before a machine killed and mechanically separated it. " that's my story and I'm sticking to it!! Argument over!

 

[IvanTsary]

Well and the sad thing is, one of the people giving me the hardest time, has her own flock of layers. If anything, they just can't wrap their minds around the killing. I've tried to explain to them that at least by doing it myself it will be done as humanely as I can, and that they will have lived happy little lives and so on, but to them it's like killing a pet I think. They can't separate food from friends.

You could offer to help then by doing the butchering for a cut. Guy I got my birds from didn't want to deal with the mess so he gave his friend 6 birds ready for the chop and said he wanted 3 cleaned ones back. You could probably ask for 2 out of 8. What will they do with a 4 year old former layer?

 

[eleaserek]

You could offer to help then by doing the butchering for a cut. Guy I got my birds from didn't want to deal with the mess so he gave his friend 6 birds ready for the chop and said he wanted 3 cleaned ones back. You could probably ask for 2 out of 8. What will they do with a 4 year old former layer?

I think she plans on just letting them live out their lives, laying or not. Which is fine by me, lucky chickens there Won't be an option for me since I live in town and am limited by space and city ordinance.

 

[ella&clara]

You may not truly believe it until you see it, (I didn't), but they seriously do stink a lot more and poop a lot more than "regular" chickens. If you have a small lot with close neighbors there will likely be problems you wouldn't have with the others.

 

[cottontail farm]

If you even think there *could* be an issue of a neighbor, passer-by, dog walker etc. seeing you process your chickens I would highly suggest you do it in your garage or basement. It's not THAT messy ( I have skinned and parted in my kitchen many times) .and I wouldn't want to risk someone who is just never gonna get it phoning in an animal cruelty charge . Especially if you're going to hear "oh, those poor chickens!" while they get themselves all worked up for the next 8 weeks.

 

[blucoondawg]

I would absolutely not do that. I would welcome them to be morons and call me in for animal cruelty, those sort of people need to put on their big boy/girl panties and see how the world really works. I refuse to hide my legal activities on my own property so I don't offend some liberal sensibilities.

Cutting up a chicken carcasses in the house is one thing but there is no way I would even consider killing or even plucking indoors not even in my garage.

 

[enola]

Agreed!

 

[cottontail farm]

Blucoondawg and enola, I agree with you in theory here, me being a woman who proudly hunts / fishes / butchers in her backyard, but eleaserek said they live in the city. I have NO idea what kind of zoning they fall under. I have no idea if it's actually legal where they live or not.
I'm just saying that if there's a chance of someone who has NO idea what they're talking about raising a miserable stink, and becoming a pain in your a** then you might want to act accordingly if only to save yourself the drama. Some people can't be reasoned with. I have butchered the random chicken in my garage and skinned many a chicken in my kitchen (out of convenience not a need to "hide" it) and it is no big deal. Put a plastic bag in the sink and the mess is totally contained.
And, hey, high five to anyone in a city wanting to try to be more self-sufficient for their household.

 

[blucoondawg]

Generally if they're in a city and have chickens there's a law stating they can have a certain number of birds. The people who have no idea what they are talking about are exactly the ones I'm talking about. I will not ever hide myself in the house or garage and make a mess I have to clean up to keep from offending a moron, period. I don't care how big a pain in the rear end they become because most likely their actions are illegal, harassment, filing false police reports,etc. I would set up a butcher station in my front yard for all of them to see before I hid in the basement so as not to offend a complete idiot. I have dealt with liars and morons before it's quite simple, the police can't enforce a law which doesn't exist, keep a copy of the ordinance allowing for raising chickens in town and if an ignorant cop shows up and threatens to ticket you then wave the ordinance in their face. The sad reality is many officers don't know the laws they are to enforce, you need to know and have it on a hard copy at hand and you will be fine, if not then it's grounds for a good lawsuit against a bunch of liberal a holes.