I have ALWAYS been like this my "entire" life towards animals. I am not a vegetarian, but I was in my younger days, sorta thing I out grew when I learned more about the cycle of life.
that's a whole different subject tho
It would be hard for as well to take them to a auction - one thing that I would suggest you do if this is hard for you to do and your going to continue raising chickens is to have someone else
take them to the auction or sell them for you so that you don't have to see what their fate is.
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Exactly-you couldn't keep all those males but you assumed someone else would want to. Why? For most people chickens are a food source & the soup pot is the final destination for most surplus males.
How about everybody take a breather, I'm pretty sure the op gets your point. Anything more is just stirring the pot. Whether you agree with them or not, Im sure they're not looking for a lesson, since one was already learned. A lot of us come here for support, and a rant or two.... not to be beaten with what we did wrong.
I have never taken mine to a swap but have sold many roos on craigslist. I have met the people and so far they have never treated them that way in front of me which I really appreciate. I think the guy could have had a little more common sense then to treat them that way in front of a young person. That's awful and I'm sorry you had to see that
I'm so sorry you feel bad - sometimes life really seems unfair.
The sad reality is that males MOSTLY end up on the dinner plate or in the soup. Everyone is in the same boat - what to do with the extra males?? You cannot keep them all.
I put an ad in our local migrant farmers' church bulletin (I speak Spanish) and advertised free chickens (roos from a recent order of straight-run bantams) to any family that needed them. Church was out at noon - all roos were spoken for by 12:30. At least they are going to feed families that have needs...I felt good about that.
Good luck (and I really mean that!) working out a solution that you can live with. You will have to come up with something other than pet homes for roos - there are not enough homes for all the roos we create.
If it is any consolation at all, carrying a chicken by its feet is pretty accepted in the farming community and is not a painful position for them. Scary, maybe, but not painful.
I agree with Greathorse...the majority of agriculturally minded folks do not view roosters as pets or babies, but as a food source. Chickens will die without fail, whether you keep them until they die of sickness and old age, or they die to give nourishment to another creature...be it predator or human. Personally, I would prefer that my birds die for a good reason and become food for another creature.
Vegetarian or no, something always has to die that you may eat.
I feel your pain...I sell my ducks and geese to private buyers and at our local monthly swap where they go to homes, not slaughter...I eat very little meat and have a real problem with the way our food animals are bred, raised, and slaughtered...it is brutal for the most part...we all know the egg industry is a total disgrace...I can barely look at commercial eggs without visualizing the hen houses and sick birds within...there are many sensible groups, and some wing nuts, trying to shine a light on these subjects and make changes but it is an up hill climb...Mercy For Animals is a good group I think...but to the OP, learn from this and make a new plan...
I am sorry to hear about this but you should know in this world today with the economy with the way it is people are looking for a cheaper food source hence the reason for the recent boom in chicken sales they are easy to keep and you get eggs and meat from them the feed cost about the price of 1 roaster so cheaper in the long run
My friend used to just keep his around for the eggs and pets now he raises them for food as well as sells the roosters (the ones he doesn't cull) you should be ready to handle this when you go to places such as that but I guess people have different ideas when it comes to animals being eaten I do agree with one of the posters if your a Veggie then you should not raise them to breed because at some point you will need to cull them or sell them to someone who will.
I have an understanding with my DW which is not to get attached to them because I bought them to give us eggs and then be dinner when they don't lay as well anymore (nobody gets a free ride here) nothing more nothing less. As I said sorry to hear that you lost your chickens but please never return there if your not looking to sell them for food please put them on the forum Auction or for sale pages even CLthis way they have a fighting chance to find a good home.