From the suburbs and struggling internally with making the plunge into keeping (and slaughtering) meat birds. Need advice!

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HenriettaPizzaNolan

Raising Layers and Meat Birds in the City
Premium Feather Member
Apr 22, 2022
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Northern Ohio
Hello all. I am new to chickens in general but have fallen in love with them since getting my 4 layers. I live in the city but am very connected with nature and love doing things that make me feel more self-sufficient, so between these birds and my garden, I've started to feel that way and I'm really happy.

I recently have started browsing the Meat Birds ETC threads and it seems like raising a few meat birds (just 4-5 is all I have room for) would be a great way to be more self-sufficient, more educated about the food source, and would help me feed my family.

However, I come from the suburbs - a place where 99% of the people have never had a farm animal, and where the people are very adamate about animal rights and such. Just to put things in perspective, my sister is a vegan, and every person I've brought up raising meat birds to has said something like, "I can't believe you would actually kill and eat a chicken you raised!"

My reasoning for wanting to do this is the same as most of yours. It's fresh food and you know the source. You can know the animal was treated with respect throughout its life. But with that said, I'm still internally struggling with the idea of killing the birds. It's just really different from the way I was raised to treat animals, but at the same time, if I keep buying my meat from grocery stores I'm likely supporting much worse treatment of chickens.

So, how have any of you who didn't grow up slaughtering animals deal with making the leap? Or, if any of you have struggled with having to slaughter chickens, how did you get over it? How do you rationalize it with yourself internally?
 
Well I know this isn’t chickens, but I remember the first time I figured out I was eating my pig named Penny Sue. I brought mine to the butcher, but we had a really nice one that would feed it treats and pet it before it’s head was chopped off. I knew she was in good hands. My tip is to just love them while they are there, feed the good, healthy food and help them know they are loved by holding them and petting them. I know it’s hard but there’s no good way to make it easy. Giving your chickens to die is hard, you’ve raised them and you love them. God created animals for humans. He created them so that we can eat. God knows it’s hard, and he doesn’t like to always see animals die, but he created them for us. Something to love and enjoy, and something to gain from as well. We give our animals so much food, time, money, and love. They give us happy life, and life (food is what gives us life!) we give, they give. I’m glad you are feeling more happy and self-sufficient! Enjoy those chickens, I know you can do it!
 
Hello all. I am new to chickens in general but have fallen in love with them since getting my 4 layers. I live in the city but am very connected with nature and love doing things that make me feel more self-sufficient, so between these birds and my garden, I've started to feel that way and I'm really happy.

I recently have started browsing the Meat Birds ETC threads and it seems like raising a few meat birds (just 4-5 is all I have room for) would be a great way to be more self-sufficient, more educated about the food source, and would help me feed my family.

However, I come from the suburbs - a place where 99% of the people have never had a farm animal, and where the people are very adamate about animal rights and such. Just to put things in perspective, my sister is a vegan, and every person I've brought up raising meat birds to has said something like, "I can't believe you would actually kill and eat a chicken you raised!"

My reasoning for wanting to do this is the same as most of yours. It's fresh food and you know the source. You can know the animal was treated with respect throughout its life. But with that said, I'm still internally struggling with the idea of killing the birds. It's just really different from the way I was raised to treat animals, but at the same time, if I keep buying my meat from grocery stores I'm likely supporting much worse treatment of chickens.

So, how have any of you who didn't grow up slaughtering animals deal with making the leap? Or, if any of you have struggled with having to slaughter chickens, how did you get over it? How do you rationalize it with yourself internally?
For me there was nothing to rationalize. If people eat meat from the store, it comes from somewhere more cruel than you raising it yourself and processing it yourself. Factory animals have terrible miserable short lives.
If people have not grown up around other people slaughtering their own animals for consumption or doing it themselves, it can be a bit of a shock to the system at first. I did grow up on a farm with many animals but we didn't really process our own chickens. We just had them for eggs.
If it's something you're going to do, you have to decide in advance not to worry about what other people are going to think / say to you. You're an adult (presumably! 🤭) And can make your own decisions and stick by them.
I would get a few meat birds and take care of them well but keep yourself at a distance. There's no need to get overly attached and get all emotional with them if you know they're going to end up in your freezer.
When it comes time to actually do the butchering, pick a method that you know you can handle. For me it was an ax chop to completely sever the head. Yes, the bird flails but I know that they are dead instantly and feel no pain. The first animal I ever killed was a guinea that had perosis that I attempted to treat but couldn't fix. I knew he wasn't going to have a good life if I let him just hobble around so I decided to end it. Yes, it was hard and definitely a shock to my system to actually kill him, but I took a lot of comfort in the fact that he was no longer in pain and that his death was swift and not painful.
My husband and I raised over 300 meat birds last year and this year are doing just under 200. When you are working around that many, you get desensitized to the killing pretty quick. I think it will be a little bit of a slower process for you, but you can definitely do it.
We're all here for you if you have questions and need moral support.
 
I'm pretty much in the same boat as you right now, except maybe a couple steps ahead where I have some extra birds currently growing that will eventually become meat for my family.

My rationality for it all is pretty much the same as yours, my birds will live well, be dispatched quickly and used respectfully.

Live well - my birds will have room to move around, they will feel the earth under their feet, they will be generally allowed to do natural chicken things. This is in heavy contrast to the 1x1 wire cages of the industrial meat birds.

Dispatched quickly - I've put a decent amount of study into this and I believe I will be going with the stump and axe method. From my reading, there's no real wrong way to dispatch a chicken (except those involving suffocation), so pick the one that you can do with the least chance of hesitation. Hesitation will bring an unclean kill. So practice the motions many times before hand, chopping sticks, for example. This is in contrast to... I'd rather not know what happens at the factory farms here.

Used respectfully - NOTHING is to be thrown away. Every bit of the bird will find use somewhere on my property. This is in contrast where most of the bird just goes to a landfill. The meat goes to market and may or may not sell.
*Meat - freeze and eat
*Bones - bone broth, then burnt and the ashes given to the fruit trees
*Cookable organs - soup,
*Non-cookable organs/head - burnt and ashes given to the fruit trees
*Feathers - burnt and ashes given to the fruit trees
*Feet - Dehydrated and given to the dogs as treats
 
Hello all. I am new to chickens in general but have fallen in love with them since getting my 4 layers. I live in the city but am very connected with nature and love doing things that make me feel more self-sufficient, so between these birds and my garden, I've started to feel that way and I'm really happy.

I recently have started browsing the Meat Birds ETC threads and it seems like raising a few meat birds (just 4-5 is all I have room for) would be a great way to be more self-sufficient, more educated about the food source, and would help me feed my family.

However, I come from the suburbs - a place where 99% of the people have never had a farm animal, and where the people are very adamate about animal rights and such. Just to put things in perspective, my sister is a vegan, and every person I've brought up raising meat birds to has said something like, "I can't believe you would actually kill and eat a chicken you raised!"

My reasoning for wanting to do this is the same as most of yours. It's fresh food and you know the source. You can know the animal was treated with respect throughout its life. But with that said, I'm still internally struggling with the idea of killing the birds. It's just really different from the way I was raised to treat animals, but at the same time, if I keep buying my meat from grocery stores I'm likely supporting much worse treatment of chickens.

So, how have any of you who didn't grow up slaughtering animals deal with making the leap? Or, if any of you have struggled with having to slaughter chickens, how did you get over it? How do you rationalize it with yourself internally?
Many years ago, a friend introduced us to raising chickens. The first brood was layers. When the friend said it was time to get more and eat the others, my husband said "Amy will never eat Shirley!"🤣 As for the meat birds, they are not friends. They acted like I was the enemy every day when I fed and watered them. They grow to be so big that their legs can't support their weight. I reconciled myself with the fact that they are food but I cannot wield the ax. We sent them to a local butcher who sent back oven ready roasters.
 
They grow to be so big that their legs can't support their weight.
This is where I'm internally conflicted about ever raising Cornish X. It's like, yea, those are the most feed-efficient birds out there by a long shot, but at the cost of them being a genetic mess. When I start ordering chicks specifically for meat, I'll probably go the route of the Freedom Rangers or the Breese. For now, it's just the random assortment that my mutt chickens are giving me.
 
For me there was nothing to rationalize. If people eat meat from the store, it comes from somewhere more cruel than you raising it yourself and processing it yourself. Factory animals have terrible miserable short lives.
If people have not grown up around other people slaughtering their own animals for consumption or doing it themselves, it can be a bit of a shock to the system at first. I did grow up on a farm with many animals but we didn't really process our own chickens. We just had them for eggs.
If it's something you're going to do, you have to decide in advance not to worry about what other people are going to think / say to you. You're an adult (presumably! 🤭) And can make your own decisions and stick by them.
I would get a few meat birds and take care of them well but keep yourself at a distance. There's no need to get overly attached and get all emotional with them if you know they're going to end up in your freezer.
When it comes time to actually do the butchering, pick a method that you know you can handle. For me it was an ax chop to completely sever the head. Yes, the bird flails but I know that they are dead instantly and feel no pain. The first animal I ever killed was a guinea that had perosis that I attempted to treat but couldn't fix. I knew he wasn't going to have a good life if I let him just hobble around so I decided to end it. Yes, it was hard and definitely a shock to my system to actually kill him, but I took a lot of comfort in the fact that he was no longer in pain and that his death was swift and not painful.
My husband and I raised over 300 meat birds last year and this year are doing just under 200. When you are working around that many, you get desensitized to the killing pretty quick. I think it will be a little bit of a slower process for you, but you can definitely do it.
We're all here for you if you have questions and need moral support.
My hat off to you! If I had to kill my own food, my diet would be veggies and seafood. I drive by small farms every day and my heart sinks a little looking at a future hamburger 🤣 I have friends that hunt and I will gladly accept the meat but I cannot do my own killing/butchering. BTW, I spent a day with a friend on his crab boat. I have NO sympathy for those horrible creatures anymore 🤣 Thank you for being the person you are!👏
 
This is where I'm internally conflicted about ever raising Cornish X. It's like, yea, those are the most feed-efficient birds out there by a long shot, but at the cost of them being a genetic mess. When I start ordering chicks specifically for meat, I'll probably go the route of the Freedom Rangers or the Breese. For now, it's just the random assortment that my mutt chickens are giving me.
It's been too long for me to remember the breed. I'm a coward. I can't kill anything smarter than a crab. Those big, fat, crazy chickens were almost as bad, but we paid someone else to do the dirty work. I wouldn't do it again.
 
Not sure if it helps but the cornish cross, the white meat birds, have minimal personality to me. All stomache, little brain. And by the time they are 4 weeks the smell of their litter even when moved daily is so foul you will want them gone asap.
It is best to keep in mind that they will be dinner, try not to name them or handle them too much. 2 months of good food, clean bedding and then 1 bad day.
 
Wow I really appreciate all of the kind words and great advice, everyone!

From what I gather, this never gets "easy", but it's not wrong. And also, it's best to not get attached. I think that may be the hardest part for me. I'm extremely attached to all of my pets because I love observing them and appreciating their qualities. I'm still on the fence, but hearing all of this does help a lot.
 

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