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

[T-R-O-U-B-L-E]

Im thinking of raising 4-5 Cornish too! This thread has been very interesting.

 

[Dreammaker]

No advice here as I'm not raising meat birds, but I give you and the others here so much credit for wanting to do provide a sustainable food source for your family and do so humanely and with honor.

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

I can certainly empathize with you. I have several chicks that are being raised for meat this year. While I grew up in a rural area, I didn’t live on a farm or have to go through with the process. And I adore all my animals, even those little guys.

One suggestion I would offer is that start using the work “harvesting” instead of “killing.” You are raising these animals for food, so we are essentially, harvesting them for their meat so their is a greater purpose behind just killing. No one I know looks forward to that part, only the healthy end product. But it’s no different that when people harvest crops for food. Both are living organisms, but we tend to associate more with animals because we are able to bond and interact with them. I mean, I get all weird about having to thin out seedlings in my garden!

But the way I look at it is that my birds are having the best life ever and I have complete control on how well they are taken care of. A constant supply of fresh water and food, a safe and protected area to sleep, lots of socialization with other birds, and the ability to sunbathe and pick around the yard for bugs and other goody bits. I’ve built them perching structures, provide enrichment, dust baths, etc. Now, compare that to the vast majority of the birds you in the store that people are more “OK” with eating. Many of them don’t see much sunlight, are in confinement conditions, no access to grass or bugs, grow so fast that it can injure or kill them, can be cramped conditions .. which sounds like the better life? (And FYI: a lot of these conditions are not necessarily imposed by the farmer. if they under contract with a large company, the company usually dictates, not the farmer. So blame those large entities, the farmers work as hard as they possibly can within those confines to care for their animals.) But there’s the disconnect. Because people don’t see it and ignorance is bliss.

Start seeing yourself as person capable of growing and providing for yourself, not as a “killer.” I feel it’s my responsibility, as their caretaker, to provide the best life possible because they are making the ultimate sacrifice. And a life with purpose is a purpose for life.

Picture is of my young Bresse and RI meat chicks checking out my kitty Bou. He loves just hanging and watching them. He just purrs the whole time.

I lol'd when you mentioned getting weird about thinning your garden because I'm the same way! But in recent years I've gotten more used to being okay with plucking out the little sprouts. Maybe I could get used to "harvesting" my chickens as well?

I'm not usually one for semantics, but "harvesting" does seem like a more appropriate term for what is actually happening. I think I like that.

I also would want to make sure my meat chickens have a great life too. It's just the ending their life part that I struggle with. Idk why it's so much easier to buy chicken from the store knowing those chickens likely had very poor quality of life. It's the whole "ignorance is bliss" thing, but it really is more humane to raise your own meat.

I think I'm starting to come along in this process. I may just wait until next spring to get them so I can have time to prepare, mentally and physically.

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

Im thinking of raising 4-5 Cornish too! This thread has been very interesting.

No advice here as I'm not raising meat birds, but I give you and the others here so much credit for wanting to do provide a sustainable food source for your family and do so humanely and with honor.

Thanks, both of you! And I hope thread can be of use to many others like myself.

@FeatherFeetFarm feel free to PM me if you want to chat further. I have many other questions about all of this that I haven't asked here, such as which breed, and general care stuff.

 

[Acre4Me]

Big city/suburb upbringing here. it doesn’t bother me to raise and humanely kill the few meatbirds we raise. But, we do not live in the suburbs now. You can easily raise 6 or fewer in a fairly small space for the 7-8 weeks to get them to size. You can easily butcher a few in your garage too, so no one is the wiser or “offended”. The birds are very quiet bc they are young. There may be restrictions on your property though.

 

[Dinoroar]

I have been processing my extra roosters for about 3 years now. Prior to that I had spent 30 years vegetarian. It was quite a leap for me to be able to do it because I am way overly empathetic. I know there are people who think one should never eat animals but eating is part of being alive. Plants may not feel pain the way that animals do but they are living things as well. Unless you become fruititarian there just isn’t a way to live without killing other living things or having someone else do it on your behalf. Animal inputs are also really important in plant agriculture especially organic agriculture. I certainly don’t fault anyone for choosing a vegan diet but I make my choices based on what feels like the most ethical path. And it sounds like that’s your line of thinking as well. I don’t like killing animals but I do like eating and feeding my family, and feeling like I’m not putting the responsibility off on someone else. I think there are plenty of people in my life that were shocked that I was able to process my birds. I am a major wimp about injuries, can’t even watch most television and pass out just at the thought of violence. If I can do it anyone can.


My birds live good lives. I dispatch by stunning with a bolt gun meant for rabbits and then cutting heads off with pipe cutters. It’s easy to change the blade often to keep them very sharp. I used a cone at first but didn’t really care for it.

 

[Folly's place]

We raise our own chickens for the freezer, and do prefer the Freedom Rangers, who can act like 'real chickens', not the Cornishx types. Used to do the harvesting at home, but now use a good poultry plant nearby.
In addition to what everyone's already said, be sure that you can legally raise even a few meat birds and butcher them at home! If there are issues with this, at the very least don't talk to the neighbors about it!
Home raised chicken is the best!!!
Mary

 

[cassie]

We had a rule. We did not eat pets and we didn't make pets out of food. Ever.

It does not take a lot of space to raise a batch of meat chickens. I have known people to use one of those metal tool or garden storage sheds you get a Lowes or Home Depot. Whatever you use must be well ventilated and not drafty. Also Cornish X are not heat tolerant. At all. I used to buy mine in the late summer or fall after most of the heat was past or in the early spring so they would be processed before the hot weather came. It is a good idea to keep your mouth shut about your meat chickens. The less your family and the neighbors know, the better in my opinion.

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

We had a rule. We did not eat pets and we didn't make pets out of food. Ever.

It does not take a lot of space to raise a batch of meat chickens. I have known people to use one of those metal tool or garden storage sheds you get a Lowes or Home Depot. Whatever you use must be well ventilated and not drafty. Also Cornish X are not heat tolerant. At all. I used to buy mine in the late summer or fall after most of the heat was past or in the early spring so they would be processed before the hot weather came. It is a good idea to keep your mouth shut about your meat chickens. The less your family and the neighbors know, the better in my opinion.

Thanks for the advice! I didn't know Cornish X were not heat tolerant. Maybe this could be a project for me in the fall then if I'm ready by then.

Also, you're probably right about keeping quiet about meat birds. It's not like I want to keep it a secret, but I do think it would save me a lot of trouble and explanation to friends, family, and neighbors. That's unfortunate, but probably true.

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

Question for you all:

Can you raise meat birds without free-ranging them? I was thinking about how destroyed my little urban yard might get with a chicken tractor. We already have some flooding issues in parts of our yard, which would be made worse by having no grass. Could I make a small covered hoop house with plywood flooring?

By the way, I think you all have helped me feel more comfortable with this whole process, so thank you! I think I'm gonna do it.