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

[GottaLuvChicks]

Quote:
I have yet to butcher or eat any of my chickens since we just got the meat birds today (27 chicks), but I can give a slight analogy...

My daughter raises several types of snakes (yes, snakes lol), and at one point, I had a breeding colony of mice going that were to be used as snake food. The mice were cared for almost as pets, (housed in big cages that were never over-crowded, fed the best diet and kept extremely clean, and even had wheels and toys), and the thought process was that the better we took care of the mice, the healthier the snakes would be. The breeders were allowed to live out their lives as pets and never fed off (even after they were passed their "prime" breeding age), but the babies were meant as food and therefore we did not get attached to them.

I feel the same way about the meat chickens...when the time comes to butcher them, I know I have given them the best possible life, with big housing, a top diet and a sanitary living space that they probably would not have gotten elsewhere. I REFUSE to name them (other than "breakfast" "lunch" or "dinner"), and am working with the kids to understand they are not pets. We have the Polish Laced chickens as pets.

 

[wpalmisano]

I don't name them, I call them by number. Eating #6 is better than eating Fluffy. We are born with canine teeth, to eat meat. Don't enjoy the killing part, just part of life, no guilt. Every time a field is plowed or a forest is knocked down to grow vegetables millions of bugs are killed. Do you feel guilty for that when you are eating TOFU?

 

[silkiechicken]

Thank you all for your participation, but it's time for this thread to take a nap.