I'm a little disturbed by what I've read and I'm not sure I belong here after all. Someone want to g

[Serenderpity]

I'm a pretty blunt person. I've been involved with raising animals since I was very small but I grew up...


well.

"country".

The idea of people crying over dead chicks or trying to save chickens that are sick is kind of confusing to me. I get that they're your pets and you want to give them a good life. That's great and I intend to give my animals the best too. But I sure don't understand panic and sobbing over chickens. If they're sick they're probably going to die anyway. Isn't it just kinder to just sharpen you up a knife and do it quick?

After seeing some really obviously upset posts, I'm pretty worried I'm going to ruffle feathers when I start cutting up chickens for meat and I can't really bring myself to be bothered by it because I've done it for years. Death's a part of life and I don't even think it's a bad thing. It's just something you do and you do it quick and neat so your pets/animals don't suffer in the end. They go out gentle and happy like any livestock should.

I'd rather not piss people off and I'm pretty worried after seeing people freak out about hatcheries tossing male chicks into grinders and things like that; which might look bad but it's quick and better than what Tyson or KFC do to their stock. Should I just leave?

 

[Eggcessive]

I think many people on BYC enjoy having chickens, and many raise chickens to butcher and eat. There are those of us that raise chickens for eggs,and enjoy them being around, but don't want to eat them. Then there are the ones whose chickens are their pets, and some (especially the young people on here, become very attached to their pets and will have more emotional posts sometimes. Some adults are also close friends with their chickens, but most of us have a healthy opinion that chickens are livestock, some can be special pets, but most of us want to let chickens be chickens. A responsible owner will not let a chicken suffer. Everyone has them for their own reasons, and we can all choose to be different. So, you can choose to hang out on certain threads where you find people who think like you do. Eventually you make even make a few friends like most of us do, and learn a few new ideas along the way or (teach us a few.)

 

[ChickensRDinos]

This is a pretty broad forum with 260,000+ members and there is no way that everyone is going to agree or have the same thoughts/opinions/goals and that is perfectly all right. It is actually something that I really like about this community even if occasionally I get off-put by something I see or read--that's life.

The spectrum of members ranges from people who have birds purely as pets and house raise them to people who have birds purely for business and live on working farms--and everyone in between (and that is a HUGE in between and lots of shades). A lot are small scale hobby farms but even those folks have very different goals in mind for their birds and have a variety of thoughts on biosecurity, processing, feeding, handling, breeding, etc.

There are lots of threads on the business of chickens or about raising meat breeds and dual purpose breeds and ways to slaughter and process and even lots of tips and recipes. The people that do not feel comfortable for whatever reason eating their poultry don't read or participate in those threads and I think the same can easily be done vice versa.

I'm sure that if you want to participate in this forum that you can find plenty of people to learn from and to aid or share with who share your views and you might surprise yourself by also gaining a little something here and there from those who don't. I think it's best to just keep in mind that you can disagree with someone while still being kind and constructive and that not every thread/discussion is going to be the right one for you.

 

[Mtn Laurel]

Welcome to BYC!

I was raised "country", too, so I understand what you're saying. There are all sort of chicken owners here. Some have chickens as pets, some are young kids who aren't used to injury, disease, death and have a hard time losing a chicken. Some have them for eggs only and not meat birds. There are plenty that raise chickens for meat and see them as livestock in lieu of pets. You'll find threads on processing meat birds and recipes for favorite chicken dishes. We're a community of all kinds of chicken and egg loving folk. And that's perfectly okay.

I'm sure you'll find threads here that are interesting and helpful. You'll find members who are more in line with your way of thinking. And, as you already know, you'll find threads and some members who see things very differently than you do.

I'd recommend that you just ignore those threads that aren't in line with your way of thinking. That's what I do. This is a huge community of people and there's really no reason for me to get involved in threads that I don't agree with since there are plenty of threads that are more in line with my way of doing things.

 

[Rekon]

What they said

We can't live without eating, and we can't eat without injuring or killing other living things. It's fine if some chickens are pets... and fine that some are dinner. We are here on BYC because we want to be good caretakers to the birds we keep, for whatever reason. Don't leave

 

[gander007]

 

[TwoCrows]

Welcome to BYC!

I think we all understand that death is a part of life. But we are all at different stages in our lives as to where chickens stand in this circle of life, where WE are emotionally and where to draw the line at taking or losing a life. Life is a very precious thing and is never to be taken for granted, no matter being human or a chicken. Some of us are capable of taking a life for what ever reason, and some of us are not ok with this.

But it is not up to any one individual to judge those that can't take a life, or that cries over the death of a small chick, or looses their favorite feathered friend. The only person we are responsible for is ourselves. And what ever you believe or how ever you see fit to raise your birds is how you should live your life. No 10 people are going to agree on the same thing. It is not for any of us to decide how someone else should feel about their birds. Live and let live. Compassion for our fellow human beings and to allow everyone to be where they are in their lives and feel good about who they are. Even if that means letting them crying over the loss of a small chick.

 

[bugflipper]

It's really no big deal to me. I was raised on a farm and live on one today. I don't have the problems a lot of people post about because I don't have time to worry about problems. They just seem to work themselves out very quickly on a farm. However, I don't think people should have to justify themselves or speculate the age of the posters. No matter if they are a child, a senior or anywhere in between, it's their business, not mine. I will be respectful to them whether I agree with them or not because that is how you are raised in the country.

There are people from all over the world on here. I actually like the people here because no matter how long you've been raising them you can see vastly different opinions that may help you form a different perspective than you considered previously. That may come from a soldier from Egypt or a stay at home mom from Wisconsin.
Have a good day.