I am such a softie... Should I turn vegetarian?

[mountainpridefarm]

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It may be easier but as far as being the most compassionate and humane methods they would not fit. You really are raising a bird that is "crippled by it's genetics" like fancbrd4me had said. It may be easy for you to process them but really it is just as sad to watch them try to live their lives. Going back to your main objectives of sustainability-- complete opposite. You may be better off with a slower yet steady growing bird such as the freedom rangers from jmhatchery.com

Good Luck!

 

[Sunny Side Up]

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Oh I don't know, I kept only laying hens for a few years before learning to process surplus roosters for meat. I haven't found the fact that I find chickens endearing & entertaining has hampered my ability to humanely process the ones intended as dinner guests.

 

[dancingbear]

It begins to get really rough on the hens when you have too many roos. Yours may not have reached that stage yet, but when they reach it, you'll know. Your hens will get nervous and raggedy, egg production will drop, you hens will have bare backs, and maybe bald heads, from roos tearing the feathers out while mating them. You'll see you hens get chased by pairs or groups of roos, squawking and trying to escape, to get knocked down and jumped on by all of them.

It's just not a happy or healthy situation. A quick, humane end to the extra roos is much better for the est of the flock.

Many people don't realize how many animals die when fields are cultivated for food crops. Fawns get run over and mangled by big machinery in the spring, the people on the machines can't see them, camouflaged by spots, lying still in the tall vegetation. Rabbits, ground-nesting birds such as quail, and others, too. That doesn't even include the ones that are trapped or shot to protect the crop.

Even gardening with hand tools doesn't prevent killing anything. Once, when I was digging up a patch for an early spring garden, my shovel sliced a small, hibernating tortoise in two. That just about made me ill. There are always bugs, reptiles, etc., that die for the sake of our vegetarian meals.

Another point is that most poultry and livestock breeds would become extinct, if they weren't raised for meat. There aren't enough people who can afford to keep them just as pets, (and want to keep them just as pets) to keep the breeds going. Don't feel guilty for having them, you're helping keep those breeds in existence. Extra roos have to go away, one way or another, to sustain a healthy flock. Very often, if they go to another home, they get eaten there.

It's just the way of the world, circle of life, all that. All life takes life, one way or another. Most species have a place in the circle as both predator and prey. Chickens are both. So are humans. We don't hear about humans getting eaten very often, but it happens. Most of us are no match for a grizzly, a shark, or a tiger, to name a few.

I've learned to be at peace with this, and accept my place in the circle. I slaughter my meat animals with gratitude for the sustenance they provide, and for the life being taken. I give them a good life, and as easy a death as I can manage.

If the rest of the family is eating meat, this offers a way to provide it while knowing that the chickens had good lives.

BTW, I don't pet mine, or carry them around, because 1) I don't have time to pet and pamper 50+ birds, in addition to 5 dogs, 8 cats, and a husband, 2) Poultry don't have a natural longing for our company and attention, like dogs, cats, horses, and some other animals, it something we pretty much condition them to accept. I know there are a few exceptions, but for the most part, unless we condition them otherwise, most chickens would just as soon see us keep our hands to ourselves. I have several who climb all over my feet, and follow me for treats, but don't want to be touched.

 

[PineappleMama]

Haven't been there yet myself, but I reckon it's similar to overcoming eating Bambi, Nemo, Thumper, etc.

 

[Kim_NC]

That's part of the problem - Bambi, Nemo, Thumper, etc have been humanized for the sake of entertainment (and box office $$$).

 

[dancingbear]

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That's absolutely true. I've spoken of this in other threads, we raised some pigs this year. When I was a kid, one of our neighbors fell in her hog pen, they attacked and before her husband could help her get out, she lost a good chunk out of one leg.

My pigs, a couple of weeks ago, tried to eat my sheepdog, who had somehow gotten inside the electric fence with them. I got him out, unharmed, but they had surrounded him, and at one point he was down, and under attack.

Real pigs are not at all like Wilbur, or Babe.

Chickens will eat chicken. They are predatory, themselves.

I like them, and they're not scary or anything, but they aren't like the ones in Chicken Run. I like them for who they really are.

 

[fancbrd4me02]

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That's absolutely true. I've spoken of this in other threads, we raised some pigs this year. When I was a kid, one of our neighbors fell in her hog pen, they attacked and before her husband could help her get out, she lost a good chunk out of one leg.

My pigs, a couple of weeks ago, tried to eat my sheepdog, who had somehow gotten inside the electric fence with them. I got him out, unharmed, but they had surrounded him, and at one point he was down, and under attack.

Real pigs are not at all like Wilbur, or Babe.

Chickens will eat chicken. They are predatory, themselves.

I like them, and they're not scary or anything, but they aren't like the ones in Chicken Run. I like them for who they really are.

That's interesting. I have heard things like that before. I had a boar production hog in high school and he followed verbal commands better than any dog ever could. They are extremely intelligent. He never attacked anyone, and he had plenty of opportunity. It is interesting the range of behaviors a type of animal can exhibit. I think the range of behaviors are probably highly dependent on enviorment, breed and confinement. Pig behavior really doesn't make any difference when it comes to vegetarianism, though. I don't award animals favors and or mercy because they have earned merit in a human system of behavior. That's anthropomorphism. Something a lot of people are guilty of when they describe predators as "evil". I don't think it's a good idea to say "this animal is worthy of this treatment because it does this thing and this one should be treated that way because it does another thing".

 

[estpr13]

Comp 6512,
Just a few thoughts I had while reading this thread. Most of these I learned from my Grandmother over 50 years ago:

It is normal and good to acknowledge a bit of greef over the loss of innocence that you will experience when processing your birds. Just don't let it get the best of you. I liked the recommendation to say a thanks, or light a candle or something like that. Much more than that and you are letting it get to you too much. In a way, it is part of maturing that most westerners will never experience.
The younger you are when exposed to processing your own meat, the more "normal" a part of life it is for you. (It still doesn't make it easy)
It is okay to pet your animals, just don't get so attached that you cannot process them or give them to someone else who will. I have heard of farmers trading calves, and other livestock because the kids have made them pets and would not want to eat their own pet.
Don't kill an animal without a reason. Food is the best reason. Food sustains life. To end suffering is also a good reason. To protect your animals from a predator is also a good reason.
When processing an animal, "just do it". Take a little time and do it right the first time. Be prepared to experience unexpected things, just don't back out at the last moment. Hesitation usually leads to injury and suffering.
If you killed it for food... eat it. Otherwise you killed it for no reason at all.

Predatory animals don't seem to have qualms. They will eat a prey animal alive. I have had to put down a few partially eaten animals, mostly chickens.

Good luck, I hope this is helpful.

 

[buck-wild-chick]

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Agreed, but everyones diffrent...

 

[estpr13]

Oh,... a really scarry part of the Wizard of Oz when the movie came out was when Dorthy fell into the pig pen. All the farm hands got really excited and ran to pull her out, admonishing her to be carefull because she could have been killed.

For my grandma that was the scarriest part of the movie, even more so than the flying monkeys. Most people today don't understand what happened and don't get scared when she falls in. But when the movie came out there were a lot of audible gasps in the theater when she fell. Pigs, especially hungry pigs will bite and eventually kill a person and then later eat the body. Some breeds are more prone than others.