Just Butchered My Cornish X. Now I Feel Terrible.

[Blue Raptor]

i made a thread earlier about what to do after butchering my cornish x. see link below

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/about-to-butcher-cornish-x-need-help.1475243/

this was my very first time butchering a chicken, i have cleaned and processed fish and clams before and never felt bad, but this time i feel so terrible.

i am pro gun, pro hunting, but damn, this hits me hard. i am a fully grown man and aint some social justice warrior or special snowflake.

anyone else on here felt the same after killing their chicken??

here is a pic. it weighs a little over 8 lbs in the bag. he is 12 weeks old.

it must have weighed about 10 lbs before removing the skin, organ, feathers and other body parts.




View attachment 2717139

The more you do it, the more used to it you’ll be. This sometimes makes people angry, and I myself don’t particularly agree, they they are really just livestock made to be raised, maybe loved (don’t get too close close if your going to eat it!), then eaten. Sry for those who disagree.

 

[neo71665]

My grandpa couldn't eat a bird he killed for about a week after he done it.

I'm heartless I guess because it has never bothered me to kill livestock. He started me doing it for him when I was about 8 because of it. If something is being raised for meat it just doesn't phase me, be a cow or a chicken.

 

[CNJ]

I know how you feel. I did have a meat chicken as a pet. He did not have a long life but he was fun to have around.

Meat chickens are adorable, I let 4 pullets out of their cage for about an hour each morning. I move their feed around a few times and let them find their way back after they are done eating. Two of them end up next to a rooster's fly pen, they peck at his food, and he doesn't bite them. They seem to enjoy each others company. The other two go straight back to their cage, they know I will let the hen bullies out next. They are going on 4 months and I feed them layer pellets once a day. They look so cute when they run for the food.

 

[ChickensRsmart]

I know how you feel. I did have a meat chicken as a pet. He did not have a long life but he was fun to have around.

Thanks to all for all the great replies! I just got a new hen today. I was trying to get a Rhode Island Red Bantam, but when I got there, she was a lot younger than I was expecting. The breeder said she was 2 1/2 months old, but she looked more like 2 1/2 weeks old, so I decided to go to another supplier to buy a golden sex links hen. They're supposed to be a good beginner chicken, but they're prone to reproductive problems and don't live as long as I would like. But, she's a step above a meat chicken - in terms of pet potential.
Plus, I just got a whole lot of experience with chickens in a very short time (due to problems with my Red Broiler) - I've had almost no issues with my bantams, so I didn't gain much experience with them...but I think I'm now much better prepared for an egg bound hen...and I've already dealt with egg yoke peritonitis (twice) and ascites...
These chickens are supposed to be great laying hens that produce big eggs. We'll see, but I doubt that she can compete with my duck hen's eggs. lol. I love eggs as much as the next person, but I mostly only like to see eggs from my hens (duck and chicken hens) because it's confirmation that they're feeling alright.
If you like eggs, then you'll really like duck eggs. When I first got my duck hen, her eggs smelled strange...kind of like a cross between pond scum and gaminess. LOL After being on a new diet for a couple of months however, that strange smell disappeared and now her eggs can't be beat! If you like dark chocolate, then you like chocolate...Duck eggs are like the dark chocolate of eggs...chicken hens' eggs are like milk chocolate...The duck eggs have a much STRONGER egg flavor and are a lot more calorie dense (even if they weren't larger, they'd have far more calories).
My bantam rooster got so excited to see his new hen that he smacked his food bowl with his foot and knocked his spur clean off! I had to use contractor's chalk to stop the bleeding. They were together for a few hours today, but I am keeping them separated now - until tomorrow.

 

[ChickensRsmart]

Meat chickens are adorable, I let 4 pullets out of their cage for about an hour each morning. I move their feed around a few times and let them find their way back after they are done eating. Two of them end up next to a rooster's fly pen, they peck at his food, and he doesn't bite them. They seem to enjoy each others company. The other two go straight back to their cage, they know I will let the hen bullies out next. They are going on 4 months and I feed them layer pellets once a day. They look so cute when they run for the food.

Be careful not to get attached to them! My red broiler used to run up to me whenever I walked into their pen (or even to the outside of the pen). She would make little cooing sounds and I would stick my finger through the chicken wire and pet rub her waddles. lol She ran to me for protection - and I think to feel secure.
I'm no peta member, I've had to put a few animals down - and I did not feel bad afterwards, because 1. they weren't my pets, and 2. they would have just suffered for a long time before dying anyway...
It's not inhumane to eat chicken - I eat chicken at least twice a week! We have to eat to live (nature's way, not ours) and we need to have some animal protein in our diets... But I think what is inhumane is what we did to chickens - on a genetic level. Giving them serious health problems (while simultaneously making them smarter)...in exchange for a faster growing bird with more meat on the bone.
By the way, I think I may have figured out where my red broiler came from. I think the most likely scenario is that one of my neighbors left her in my front yard...she also had Marek's disease. But not to wipe out my bantams...I think they got this bird because their kid's school gave their kid a chicken egg to raise...I've been reading a number of stories of people who ended up with meat chickens as pets this way.

 

[Happy hen lover]

This may or may not help. First of all, you need to know I am a wuss. I butchered my first chicken because there was no choice. Nobody else was home and wouldn't be for several days. It was a large (dressed out over 10 pounds) Cornish X and it couldn't walk. It was either butcher it then or let it die and then throw that nice fat roaster in the dumpster. I chose the former. Now, after printing out how to process a chicken I followed the steps one by one. I just did it. I didn't think about it at all. We also had a rule we followed religiously. We never ate pets, and we never made pets out of food so I didn't have a personal attachment to that chicken.

It might help to keep in mind that Cornish X are not long lived. You can either butcher them and use the meat or you can let them die on their own (which in most cases is sooner rather than later) and put them in the dumpster. This last is a waste. In any event the chicken you butchered was in all likelihood not going to last many more weeks.

I love the rule " never make pets out of food"

 

[kcult]

I love the rule " never make pets out of food"

Uh oh.

 

[NatJ]

I know I'm an outlier because I do name them, get to know their personalities, etc., even if we plan to eat them.

I also name them, & play with them too.

Me too.

 

[MTR]

I know I'm an outlier because I do name them, get to know their personalities, etc., even if we plan to eat them. To me, it's part of having respect for my food and where it comes from. The feelings get easier to process, but if I stopped having them I'd be worried.

I’d have a hard time eating a chicken in a zip lock bag with a name on it - lol

 

[cassie]

I am a complete wuss. I admit it. Wuss and all, through no fault of my own, I became the designated chicken killer. I got through it by just doing it and not thinking about it at all. I do have a policy about my animals though. I do not butcher pets and I do not make pets out of food. Ever.