How do you do it??

[Jessie and Kade]

Thanks everyone for the help and stories!! Hubby is not sure about getting meat birds anymore as I'm squeamish about it and I'm the one that cares for the birds lol and he says "I don't wanna hear it" lmao so not sure if we will have meat birds or not! My 2 girls are our pets and I love them dearly but also understand there's always a chance with them living outside the home they could become coyote or raccoon dinner but don't think I could eat them lol!! It would be hubby's job to process them as I couldn't bare the thought (even though I eat grocery store meat I don't have to see them before hand!) my 2 girls are Definitely a novelty to go out and play with and get eggs everyday
Missnu01 that's a Funny story my kids are unsure about eating home raised birds but LOVE eating the eggs and knowing which birds eggs they are eating lol!!
Also our coop is 2.5ft up off the ground and they would have to use a ramp are they capable of that? Or do they need to stay nearer the ground?

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

Jessie & Kade,

My adventure in meat birds is almost exactly the opposite of yours. I started raising my first 8 egg layer chicks because my daughter, after reading up on the horrific living conditions and inhumane slaughtering conditions of most of the animals we eat for meat and eggs, didn't wan't to have any part of supporting that system. After raising these first 8 birds, and realizing how interesting and unique and full of personality they were, I had to start rethinking my meat eating habits. I felt that either I had to give up eating chicken or raise them myself, so that I would know that they had a healthy, active life and had died with as little pain and fear as was humanly possible, not to mention the health aspects of eating something that had a more natural diet and life. So, last summer I raised my first (and hopefully not last) meat birds. I purchased 35 day old Freedom Rangers, hoping that by purchasing that many of one breed I would not be able to tell them appart or get attached to them. Unfortunately, there is quite a variety in coloration in Freedom Rangers, so they were not as indistinguishable as I would have hoped. However, while the actual killing of the chickens is still hard for me (I've never hunted, never even gutted a fish), I feel tremendous pride in myself that I have "manned up" to living by what I think is a higher standard rather than pretending that the chicken you buy in the supermarket was somehow not a living creature worthy of a decent life and a respectful death. We now also purchase all our beef and lamb from a local rancher who has been interviewed by my daughter and meets her standards for ethical care. Haven't found a pork source so have not eaten very much pork in the past two years. Kinda miss it, but oh well.

My husband was not at all willing to have any part in the chicken raising or processing. If your husband is willing to do so, count yourself lucky.

 

[Jessie and Kade]

Hehehe all hubby wants is to do the processing for me that's about it he doesn't do " chicken chores" for our 2 girls we have now and he chose the BCM breed for our 2nd chicken (our 1st chicken a RIR just "showed" up one day! I have 1 neighbor with a roo (as we can hear him every am) and a peacock but haven't heard any hens when this chicken "showed" up Literally knocking on my back door I went over and tried to speak to them (they speak Very little English) it didn't go well and we never ended up finding out who she belonged to so she got to stay and hubby wanted chocolate colored eggs so he chose a BCM as a "buddy" for our RIR that decided she lived here!! She literally moved onto our property and Never left! I started to "crate" her in a dog crate so she wouldn't get eaten but she was Super adiciting so along came our 2nd and a coop and run etc lol!)
Thanks for all the advice I still have some thinking to do.

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

Our deal was that I could have chickens as long as hubby had NOTHING to do with them. No building of the coops, no cleaning of the coops, no feeding of the chickens, no chasing after or touching of the chickens and most definately no slaughtering or butchering of the chickens. (He does, however, make an awesome omlett). However, I will say that both times I was building; the coop for the original 8 layers and the tractor for the meat birds, he regularly came out and helped me lift something heavy or hammer some nails, and this winter, he usually locks the chickens up for the night when he takes the dogs out for their final potty break. He'd be perfectly happy to go back to purchasing eggs and chickes from the store, but it is me and our daughter who care about where the food comes from.

On a side note, my daughter, who started us eating more ethicaly doesn't even want to be at home if she knows I'm butchering chickens. I have to warn her a day in advance and get her out of the house early. She'll call to make sure all evidence of the process is gone before she'll come home. Seems a bit unfair to me, but oh well.

 

[they'reHISchickens]

I think the kids take their cue from the parents. we just did a family processing day and the 3 yr old was not required to be there but we didn't chase him away either. We did explain plainly that the chickens were food and that is where chickens come from. he was ok with that, but really enjoyed rescuing the last one from the crate. We had decided to save her and add her to their flock.
It's the same for all farm butchering. The kids are allowed to watch at THEIR choice and it's explained that this is where their meat comes from and how it is processed into pieces.
Farmers do not generally name their meat animals unless it is Dinner, or MrBeef or some such. They also don't get too attached to them-- intentionally. The dairy cows that we raised were raised to add to the herds and we really mourned when they died or had to go when they were unproductive. ( Worst case scenario: explain to the 7 yr old that 'her' heifer had to be sold because she wouldn't breed. VERY delicate and you replace the animal very very soon with one of her choosing. )
A very big problem in America is the lack of knowledge about meat animals in the general public. Food does not come from a grocery store all neatly packaged.It is the responsibility of all adults to educate our children where food actually comes from, how to raise it responsibly, and understand the circle of life. Much as we don't want to admit it, there are animals like Scar who want to kill Mufasa and Simba and have no compulsion of ethics. For every death somewhere, there is a new life somewhere else. Life is a dance you learn as you go

 

[missnu01]

My husband kills the chickens while I hold them. He will sometimes pull in the ramp and shut the chicken door. My daughter is more willing to help me with chicken chores. My oldest son likes to play with the chickens, so if I need someone to pet one, he is right there with me, but beyond that he isn't terribly chicken helpful.

 

[Jessie and Kade]

Thanks everyone that helps as well! Think about the "ethical" side of things does help. We would only have 2 meaties at a time though as our bylaws state that you can only have 4 back yard birds as we live on sufficient property but technically only 1/2 as the other side of the house is rented out and we have our 2 egg producers. Hubby isn't sure about raising meaties now as we really would have to build a 2nd coop like a tractor because meaties have a hard time with big ramps don't they? Our coop is 2.5ft off the ground and has a ramp to get in would we have to lift them in?

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

Thanks everyone that helps as well! Think about the "ethical" side of things does help. We would only have 2 meaties at a time though as our bylaws state that you can only have 4 back yard birds as we live on sufficient property but technically only 1/2 as the other side of the house is rented out and we have our 2 egg producers. Hubby isn't sure about raising meaties now as we really would have to build a 2nd coop like a tractor because meaties have a hard time with big ramps don't they? Our coop is 2.5ft off the ground and has a ramp to get in would we have to lift them in?

Freedom Rangers would deal with the ramp just fine. I don't know about Cornish X, I think it depends partly on whether you let them eat 24/7 or whether you try to limit their growth and feed intake, but I do not have personal experience with Cornish X.

 

[Tuckerbelle]

The only names my birds have are "casserole!" I thought it would be difficult to kill them, but have found it is not so. The only difficult part of it is keeping them calm just prior the actual kill. If the ones in line get a whiff of blood, it is harder to keep them calm. If you can gather them while it is still dark and put them in a holding area away from the "killing zone" it is better.

 

[Jessie and Kade]

Oh YIKES!! Well thank you all for the input I will keep this all in mind when deciding. I really just want egg birds but its hubby who wants meaties. I have my eye on a silver laced Wyandotte we will see who wins out lol! Thanks again for all your input I really appreciate it!