How do you live with yourself eating the birds you raised?

[BlackBart]

I was raised on a farm and come from a long line of farmers/pioneers and No, it is not about passing on their knowledge,
It is about shock value.
I see nothing informative about describing chopping half a chickens head off (head, not neck) then thinking it is funny to see it suffer and then graphicly telling you how the blood spurts out as it runs around.

 

[Beekissed]

Sorry about the quality of your neighbors.....

 

[BlackBart]

Quote:

Yeah but I don't think all people from Missouri kill chickens that way, just him.

 

[Suechick]

Quote:

 

[Suechick]

MissyChick - thanks for getting all this discussion started

I have poured over every post, and read quite a few to my hubby. I think this is exactly the kind of discussion that we need to help build awareness of food sources, horrible treatment of food animals, and the benefits of raising our own. Emmy award to all the posters, this is better than TV!

Like most folks here, I'm fairly new to chicken keeping, was raised in the suburban sprawl and got all my food at a grocery store for most of my life. In the past few years I've started a garden and talked my hubby in to having chickens so we can have the most awesome tasting eggs in the world! The films exposing the food industry in recent years has certainly helped us come to this decision. We hatched our baby chicks almost a year ago,

kept 5 of them and have loved them much. Now, I am beginning to think about what happens next. We only have room for a small flock, we don't want to exceed 6 birds. I do want to continue to enjoy the fantastic fresh eggs forever. So now we are faced with the issue: in a short while the girls will slow down and eventually stop laying eggs. So, what to do? If we keep them we'll be paying for the feed and not getting any eggs and not have space for layers

OR we can get rid of them to make room for new layers. If we are going to get rid of them why not use them for food? The eggs are so much better than factory farm eggs, wouldn't the meat be equally better? (having never had anything other than store meat I really don't know) And doesn't it make sense to use our own birds for our family rather than let them go to waste or have someone else enjoy them?

Anyway, I think I'm convinced, thanks to all the fantastic thoughtful responses here, that we should in fact process our birds and use them as food for our family. Now, the biggest obstacle: my children have, from the very beginning, when we were candleing the eggs to see the life and growth inside, have a deep strong love for these birds. It has never entered their minds that these loved pets might ever be dinner. I don't know how I could possibly convince them. My daughter spends lots of time holding, hugging, petting and kissing them each day. I love the story of the 5 yo who asked for his birthday dinner by name, but that just won't happen in my home.

So my question is: how do ya all convince your family to sacrifice their pets for food?

I mean this in the most respectful way, I would very much like to taste the meat but I think my 8yo dd would never forgive me.

 

[Beekissed]

I think its all in how you, yourself, approach the matter. If you act like this is something that should be awful and hurtful, then they will also. If you are matter of fact about it, as if this were the logical conclusion for a food animal, your children will take your cue. Most children are quite curious about the insides of a chicken and are enthralled if you take the time to open the gizzard to see what they've eaten, examine the heart~most kids have never seen a real heart. Make it a biology lesson, a learning time.

It might also be helpful to let them view a few films like "The Meatrix"..a cartoon about factory farming practices. Or Food, Inc. which is about making wise choices about your food and from whence they come.

A good book like Farmer Boy by Laure Ingalls Wilder may be more appropriate for the younger ages. I love that book, even to this day, and always admired the sheer industry of this family. Their whole life was about making, harvesting, preserving and storing food for the family.

Or, in the end, you may want to just get a new batch of chicks for them to cuddle, discuss the need to make room for them and reasonably discuss the options~then advertise and sell them to someone else who will turn them into food.

 

[Brunty_Farms]

Quote:
My apologies, I misread and misunderstood. I hope you found enough reasons on here to find the courage to at least support a local farmer who raises chickens humanely, eventually you can work your way up to raising your own.

Good Luck....

 

[averytds]

With my kids, we had talked about it a bit first. We had replacements (chicks are just irresistible). Day of we had chicken for lunch. They quickly went into learning mode "What's this, what's that?" It was no big deal.

 

[Suechick]

Beekissed and Averytds - thank you for your replies. This is an uncomfortable topic, but one I think is fundamental to changing the thinking in our culture about food.

I decided to start a new thread about children and chicken as a food supply. I'm hoping to get more advice and ideas. Love what has been written here.

 

[PunkinPeep]

Quote:

I know you didn't meant you want to use children as a food supply, but it threw me off for a second.