How many people eat there chickens on this form

[gretamae]

Quote:
I will take a crack at answering this! I have never butchered or processed one of my birds. I am struggling with the thought of starting to due to a VERY crowded bachelor coop this year. My birds are dual purpose, and the cockerels are getting older, so the possibility of eating them has recently seemed like an entirely reasonable solution to my overcrowding problem.

It is really hard to convince myself that I can do this for a number of reasons:

1. I get emotional over things I've raised and nurtured. I want them to live forever.

2. I am squeamish, and just reading information about chicken butchering and processing makes me uncomfortable.

3. I'm afraid I won't do it right. No matter how much I read about it and talk to those who have done it, my first time will still be my first time, and I don't want to mess it up!

So for me, it isn't a philosophy; I just personally am having a hard time coming to terms with it. I have never killed an animal on purpose before. The first time is difficult!

 

[GoldenSparrow]

BarefootMom
http://englishplus.com/grammar/00000256.htm

Thanks and sorry. I am a horrible speller and really bad with english.

 

[Johnn]

if you are close to your chickens it kind of like eating your dog

 

[Hens & Hounds]

We personally do not eat our chickens. We have only 9 hens & 1 rooster & they are pets & provide eggs.

I wish I could have meat birds because it would be great to know where our food comes from, but... I, like alot of other people would find it hard to do (the processing).

 

[kota1369]

Quote:
My partner and I are both dog trainers. When we bring in a new dog, puppy or rescue into our home we establish the rules right off the bat. And our pack of 4 dogs is more then used to the routine of training others.
It took a year to get my rotty rescue safe around chickens.......... now she will jump over them to avoid hurting them.
Consistancy, and training a "tired" dog is always a bonus. And that is how I work with new pups or rescues.
My dogs all eat a RAW diet of meat and bones and organs. Last fall my shepherd beheaded my favorite chicken Pearl. Oh did she know she messed up. She is the kind of dog you can shame! So, she was shamed at first and I just did not want to pay much attention to her for about 3 days. Then, I let her in as I know she no longer understands why I have an attitude. I have to be fair to the dog. She NO longer remembers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
She is great with them now, I even have 3 new ones. She doesnt look at them. The rotty is still the same and so are the cockers.......... they just hang out with whomever is loose. The new ones are just 6 mo. old and they will peck the dogs eyes out if I give the chickens a bowl of milk kefir curds!!!!!!!!! it has been fun to watch how chicken power can take over. I am glad I took the time with the dogs to get them chicken safe. It sure makes life easier now. And they help train new comers......... what a great deal.


But, they do love their chickens and will go charging into the yard if I see a hawk and I send them out.

 

[Attila the Hen]

Quote:
I think I was pretty clear in my previous posts. I am a coward. I do not really believe I have earned the right to eat an animal unless I am willing to slaughter it--yet I do buy meat at the store. I can blame other household members who insist on eating meat and it is most likely that I would not eat it if I lived alone--perhaps cowardice also or a cop out but a decision I have made in the past for a period of 10 years.

I can not speak for anyone else, but unless I was very hungry and/or with someone who knew what they were doing, I could not kill an animal. I did want to shoot a dying possum out of compassion--its guts were all outside its body, but I didn't have my gun. I was able to get someone else to club it to death. It was awful.

A part of me wishes I was as down to earth and capable as you, but necessity and experience has not taken me there. I have not named my chickens which I still don't understand. It's been 18 months. I love them and care for them, but they are not just pets--they are contributing to supporting us. I will be interested to see what others say. This is an interesting thread. Profound issues discussed here.

 

[Beekissed]

Excellent explanation, Attila! I believe that was the kind of answer that I was looking for also.

So..I think we can safely take "love" out of the equation because I think both sides of the coin have established that they do, indeed, love their animals equally. How that love manifests itself is different, to be sure, but I think it is not all about love. Am I right?

Is it mostly fear of the unknown? Fear of being thought of as heartless by those who think someone who kills an animal, naturally, has to be without any true compassion? Is that where the wires get crossed? When those who cannot and never have killed an animal think those who do, do it without feeling?

I, too, have been very curious about the thinking behind it all and would love some good, honest answers~without the heat of passion, if we could?

 

[Jeffross1968]

Some people don't eat chicken at all, so really, no offense, but their opinions really don't have any merit in this discussion, beyond answering no. That said...

We have not done it yet. We have a small backyard flock. But as we continue to hatch out our own eggs, the idea of just giving away everything that turns out to be a rooster seems wasteful. I'm sure quite often, any extra roos we'd give away would be going in someone's pot. So we've begun preparing ourselves for eating our own chickens. We have chickens we've hatched out. Some will surely be roosters. Doing research now. Certainly much healthier than what we'd buy in the store. We are working very hard to get more self sufficient, which I think is very important in this day and age. We "use" them for eggs, why not meat?

 

[OnceAroundTheBlock]

Nope, and if it comes down to eating them

or going without meat

, I'll become a vegetarian

(been thinking about it for sometime anyway).

 

[bobbi-j]

Quote:
Not necessarily. Depends on how you define "close". My dog is a companion animal. He's also a working animal (he just doesn't realize it

) His job is to hang around and discourage predators, and point, get up and fetch pheasants for us. He comes in when it's cold out and gets lots of petting and attention. I guess I'd consider that being "close" to my dog. No, I wouldn't eat him. Why? Because here in the US dogs aren't traditionally raised for meat. But what if I lived in a culture where they were? It's altogether possible that I would because it would be how I was raised. I would look at that dog as a source of food first, possibly a companion second. Hmm, something to consider, isn't it? In the US, chickens have been traditionally a source of food, whether for eggs or meat. Am I "close" to my chickens? I suppose. I feed them, I enjoy watching their antics, I care for them as best I can. Because I'm concerned about their safety, DH spent lots of time and money helping me (er, I helped HIM) build a good, sturdy coop and fairly secure run for when they're not freeranging. But because I've been raised in a culture where it's common to eat chickens, I don't have any qualms about it. I can't say that I "miss" them when they're gone, but that's because I usually have more to take their place. They are not a source of companionship for me. I don't pet them, they don't hang out at the house wtih me. They get fed, watered, let out in the morning and put back up at night. I don't get attached, so to speak, because I know I'm going to butcher them some day. If I raised my dog for the same purpose, I'd do like I do with my chickens - enjoy him while I've got him, knowing the day will come that he will die at my hand (well, DH wields the hatchet - I hold them) and provide sustinance for me in the form of meat.