Getting flack for killing our meaties -- and need some reassurance!

[honeydoll]

Thanks guys. I really needed to hear this. I was feeling singled out. I don't quite understand why the very people that used to hunt or live on a farm have changed their opinions so much on killing animals for food all the while they still buy meat from grocery stores. I don't get it. I was shocked at my father-in-laws reaction. He has lived in the city for a long time now and he really believes we are emotionally scarring our kids because they know we raise rabbits and chickens for food. If he says something about it today I will have to deal with it productivly. My DH is great at shutting criticism down, it bugs him none. I on the other had do take offense at being treated like we are bad for killing our chickens. My neighbor told me I shouldn't kill my cornishes, when I explained they are not the type of chicken that can live a long comfortable life, she said it would be more humane to let them die of natural causes then to kill them. Her husband hunts deer! That is the mentality I am dealing with. She says deer are wild and ok to kill but my chickens trust me. I'm like, "Huh?" I will have meaties again, I will butcher them and I will enjoy the meal. I just don't get their logic. I do not go to them, they express their disdain to me. I give none grief for their choices, but all my neighbors seem to be of the same mindset. All except the deer hunting husband I mentioned, who asked us to process one of his roos because it got mean; but then changed his mind because his daughter wouldn't let him.

 

[honeydoll]

Quote:
Very good advice. Very straight and to the point without leaving much room for arguments. I really don't want to fight, it's not worth it. But at the same time I am not doing anything wrong.

 

[TimG]

First off, I feel for you if your friends and family are being critical of you doing what you believe to be the right thing for your family. I think everyone here agrees that raising your own meat qualifies as a good thing. Part of me wants to suggest that you're in with the wrong crowd and that you should find new friends, but I bet that would go over just as well with you as it would with my teenager. And of course, you can't pick your family.

But, I can't help but wonder if you aren't over-reacting to the comments. When people say "ewww, I couldn't do that", or ask me if I butcher chickens myself or, if my kids watch; they could mean "ewww, anybody who does that must be wrong in the head", or "aren't you afraid of germs", or "you might traumatize your kids". But, they might also mean "wow that's impressive", or "how self-sufficient are you", or "have your kids benefited from seeing the whole process?"

So, one question is: are you sure everyone's questions are really critical?

My suggestion is to let people who seem to object know why you raise your own meat chickens. Tell them you can't stand the conditions in commercial chicken houses, that you want to know what your meat chickens are fed and how they're treated, that you want your children to understand where their food comes from rather than being numb to the process, etc. Don't be preachy or make them feel guilty for eating commercially raised meats. And remember: you don't have to justify your actions to your friends who are apparently judging you.

If they don't respect your reasons, oh well. Though it is much easier said than done: you really shouldn't let it bother you.

 

[kfchickenlady]

I have to agree with this, as a person sensitive to neg. criticism myself, this is also about learning to handle it. My DH is like yours, doesnt let it bother him at all, so I watch and learn from him and ask what he thinks to himself when he gets criticised. Its helped a lot. I dont believe from your posts that you are imagining any of this, maybe look at this as an opportunity to learn a new life skill? jmho

 

[Grapefruit Moon]

People have told me, (these statements have all come from different people)

You can't get a pig (for meat) from the local farm, how do you know how it was raised. go to a butcher shop if you are not happy with the grocery store meat. SAY WHAT?

I will only eat eggs from the grocery store, I know they are safe

If our family raised chickens for eggs, my children would never again eat chicken.

When you raise your own chickens for meat, you might get sick when you eat them.

I can't eat chicken you killed. I know where it came from, and besides, how do I know it is safe?

Ewww.. you put rotted chicken poo on your vegetable garden! and you EAT the Veggies from it???



How did the citizens of this country (the US) become so blind and ignorant. Big farm industry must love it.

I had to kill my first cockerels recently, I didn't find it easy. but that is not the point at all

 

[BackToMyRoots]

I wonder whether part of the problem is overprotecting children in general; once very few people know anyone who has successfully let their children know where meat comes from or let them say goodbye to a beloved pet, they start thinking that it must be dangerous to do so.

We didn't raise meat animals, but we did have a lot of pets, some of whom were laying hens, goats, and other livestock. My parents were always very open about the meat we ate coming from animals just like ours. To this day, however, there is a family rift between them and my aunt and uncle over "exposing" my cousin to that lifestyle. My aunt and uncle truly believed that "telling" her where meat comes from, combined with losing two fish and a dog (which we were all upset about) during her three-week visit, was something we could have and should have prevented. She and I were both nine years old at the time. Nobody was forced to touch a dead animal or watch one suffer and die, and we had funerals for everyone. I came out of it just fine after some crying and sadness, but this wasn't my first loss. My cousin, on the other hand, was devastated and apparently had to go to therapy for a year over it.

I think your children are guaranteed to be more resilient because of the hard facts they've come to terms with. Too much hardship can warp someone, it's true, but not learning how to heal from sadness or face up to some hard choices as a child makes for a pretty unstable adult in my opinion. Don't let people make you turn your family into a bunch of delusional hothouse flowers who think their meat doesn't come from animals!

 

[Peep_Show]

Perhaps the flack you're getting is because some people feel that you've just slaughtered your pets. A lot of people don't realize that some animals on the farm are not there for companionship and assume that if you've had them a period of time that you'e developed a relationship with them. Albeit, you have inasmuch as you're their caretakers. But in the end these chicken "visitors" are not long-term residents and have a different destiny. You have done nothing wrong by providing them the best life possible before they've reached their ultimate purpose.

When I lived in the country we'd often go help one of our neighbors with their cattle round-ups. Not as western romantic as it sounds... The roundup part was easy, but the vaccinating, castrating of calves, and branding all were part and parcel and very hard work. Well, one city mama brought her youngster along to "see the cows" and had an absolute fit at what we were doing. What??? See, it didn't comport with her vision of cattle rearing...and she certainly didn't expect the surgery in the chutes part.

I lost a horse sale over a discourse with a potential buyer who was a vegan. Her idyllic vision was that everybody should stop eating beef immediately and ALL cattle live as pets. Obviously she had never seen the sea of bovines that live around the slaughterhouses to know how the logistics of that would go over. She also was anti-steermaking. She also had no clue as to how stupid her idea sounded.... Yeah. Everyone should have one as a pet. Go pet the nice bull in your front yard. Truly a unicorns-and-rainbows unrealistic version in her universe.

So just realize that your raising meaties doesn't comport with others' ideas of what at-home chicken raising is. Different strokes for different folks. And just think of how rich the feed manufacturers would be if we all kept meaties as pets! Frankly, invite the naysayers over for a chicken dinner.... Once they taste good home-grown chicken, I bet they change their tune. (Kind of like a store-bought vs. homegrown tomato...)

 

[HLAC]

I feel for you. Try to ignore them. You know you're right and they're in denial.

When I showed pictures of my new cute little fluff ball chicks to my friends and family, they pretty much all said... "So when's the cookout?" and/or "Can I buy some when you process them?" I guess I have a completely different kind of family and group of friends.

Only rarely does somebody give me any grief over raising or hunting my own food. If they're the kind of person that can't be reasoned with I'll tell them, "I'm like a lion and kill my own food. You're like a vulture or a maggot.. you have to hope somebody else does the deed for you."

If that won't shut them up. Probably nothing will.

 

[honeydoll]

Settin'_Pretty :

ALL of you people that butcher your own chickens and put them in your freezer are TERRIBLE

Bring them over and put them in MY freezer and we will overlook it this time

;O)

When I read the first sentence I was like; "uhoh, I ticked someone off!" Glad to see you were kidding. I think the rabbit thing really pushed people over the edge. Rabbits are so darn cute. My niece (she is 29, not a child) said I should just set them free because I am culling some that are not 4H worthy. I bet my neighbors would love that!@!!! Talk about mad neighbors, when the rabbits ate their strawberries I'd be hunted and tanned.​

 

[JoAnn_WI_4-H_Mom]

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It is so much more humane to be torn apart and eaten alive by a coon, or have your crop ripped out by a mink, or be slowly consumed by maggots because you have reached the human equivalent of 500 pounds and can no longer get up and out of your own poop. (I've seen that happen, ick)

Human induced death is quick and painless by any comparison.

Maybe you should let one of them go for a few months and show it to her daily, or ask her if she wants to "rescue" one to her back yard to prove it would have a more humane death in a future time...

Quote:
The deer would rather your neighbor ate more chicken.

Grew up on a farm. The domestic animal contract is actually pretty good for the animal. Shelter the animal, bring the animal food and water (even when it is 30 below outside), clean up after the animal, protect the animal from predators, see to the animal's health concerns, in the case of pet animals: provide a little affectionate treatment from time to time. In exchange, use the products of the animal during life (eggs, milk, wool/hair, service) and the body after a quick death (meat, feathers, fur/hides, bones/horns).

Agreed that an animal has no voice to be for or against this contract. However, domestic animals are bred to this contract and simply would not exist without it. I can imagine what they would pick given those two choices. An imagined 3rd choice of living "wild" for domestic animals other than feral cats and dogs usually results in an earlier and more painful death (see above). I cannot believe many domestic animals would select it.

Your neighbor implies there is a breach of trust or a betrayal in caring for an animal and then killing it. We cannot know what any animal feels emotionally. But if your neighbor eats domestic meat at all, she provides the reason for "other" people to raise meat animals and then betray them. It is done repeatedly for her benefit and she just doesn't want to think about it. The betrayal would not happen if she would give up domestic meat. She really should, if she wants to walk what she's talking.

I personally feel there is more of a betrayal to the animal when our part of the domestic animal contract is not honored, when we allow them to suffer in horrid conditions during their lifetimes.

And let's be honest, if you died in the chicken pen the birds would eat you, starting with the eyeballs. While birds may learn to trust you, they will not love you or morn you. They are little dinosaurs in that way, completely food and comfort motivated. Even birds that come to sit in your lap do so because it is comfortable there or they are expecting treats. They are self motivated only and do nothing because they think it will benefit you. This is the case, so why should you work and care for them without some kind of recompense?