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

[cherwill]

I live in town and have some chickens for eggs. I don't have enough room for a flock to be butchered. If I did, my husband would have to feed them. I might get used to the idea eventually, but for now, as my husband says -- we can't butcher any of ours because I know them all by name. I still eat chicken, though. Just not mine.

We are lucky enough to have a good source for chickens raised without antibiotics and hormones.

 

[eKo_birdies]

Quote:
lol darn those non-existent growth hormones

 

[Beekissed]

Regulations now ban added hormone to feeds but they do not ban soy proteins isolated that enhance natural hormone production...which is indeed carried over into the meat and eggs we eat.

 

[codymax2]

As long as they are raised like this it should be no problem


The Five Freedoms
1. Freedom to express normal behavior
2. Freedom from discomfort
3. Freedom from fear and distress
4. Freedom from hunger and thirst
5. Freedom from pain, injury and disease
--Compendium of Animal Health and Welfare in Organic
Farming, Organic Livestock Research Group, The
University of Reading, UK
“Who does not know that the chicken is used for food? This creature almost alone is our chief resource when
friends or guests arrive suddenly and unexpectedly; we owe to the chicken all the splendor displayed by a rich
table or by one that is modestly supplied or by that which is slenderly laden.”
--Ulisse Aldrovandi, Concerning Domestic Fowl That Bathe in the Dust—The Chicken, Male and Female, 1598




Got this from a website called Kingbirdfarm, They have a wonderfull website about raising animals for meat!! They raise them with dignaty and respect!!! Not like the production farms that sell the meat in your local grocery store!!!

 

[Adorkable]

Quote:
This is exactly how I feel. Well with the exception that we've already butchered some because we had too many cockerels. I had a talk with them before the butchering. I told them that they lived a good happy life and I thanked each and every one of them for the nutrition that they will be providing before the butchering.

 

[rgrillo]

I raise chickens for the sole reason because I enjoy having them around as pets. I don't eat their eggs. I give them away to the neighbors. I would never consider slaughtering or eating them, no more than would a dog or cat pet owner. There mere fact that some justify this based on the premise that they are food animals does not negate the fact that they are intelligent and sensitive, in some case more so than those we call our pets.

 

[Beekissed]

There mere fact that some justify this based on the premise that they are food animals does not negate the fact that they are intelligent and sensitive, in some case more so than those we call our pets.

Actually we shouldn't HAVE to justify it, no more than you should have to justify keeping them as pets. No one is negating the fact that chickens are animals, beautiful and sometimes fun to keep around. That they are also considered a major food source in this country as well as others is a fact....something that you cannot negate just because you prefer them as pets.​

 

[sjpifer]

I know how you feel, I am raising my first flock of 28 and I love all of them......not sure I could eat them....although my rooster is getting quite fiesty....he may be the first test to whether I can or not.

 

[eKo_birdies]

Quote:
yes yes true!

i feed a non-commercial, custom-milled soy-free blend - certified organic (non-GMO grain products)

 

[rgrillo]

Quote:
Actually we shouldn't HAVE to justify it, no more than you should have to justify keeping them as pets. No one is negating the fact that chickens are animals, beautiful and sometimes fun to keep around. That they are also considered a major food source in this country as well as others is a fact....something that you cannot negate just because you prefer them as pets.

I never asked you or any of the others to justify or defend how you can reconcile butchering and eating animals that you raised, food animals or other. My point was simply that regardless of the status of the animal, food animal, companion animal, or other, the complex relationships we develop with them are undeniable. The fact that we are even having this conversation is proof enough of that I would say. Calling something a food animal does not magically absolve someone of guilt nor justify the act. That's just a modern myth that we have fabricated.
The fact is we are omnivores with more "no kill" food options available than not and that can provide us with not only a healthier diet but also one that does not leave us wrestling with the moral dilemma of having to kill something to get food on our plate. Fore those who are not desensitized enough to understand this and have serious moral issues with it, I would tell them to drop the meat and focus their energies on eating right. It's better for them, the animals and the planet. Take it or leave it.