KILL IT is never something you want to hear about your chickens !

[EM Squared Farms]

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Yeah, we weren't planning on doing so.

Plus, our single combed silkie is a "he". If not, I could have easily found a home for her. We had a "wait list" of customers in line for Silkie pullets (all for just pets, not for breeding/showing).

 

[EM Squared Farms]

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We don't eat any of our chickens. One customer laughed so hard at me when I told her that I buy my chicken at the store. She obviously knows how to kill a chicken.

That's so funny you mention RIRs.

Those were the first roosters we gave away to this Spanish family.

It's a long story but the boys picked out all roosters from all the chickies at TSC. (our 2nd set of chickies) So, no egg layers. Just all mean roosters. They were pretty happy taking them home for dinner.

 

[EM Squared Farms]

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I hope that's OK for them. I know they say that outdoor cats don't live as long as indoor cats because the outdoor cats eat a lot of wild animals that may have parasites or diseases, etc. that can shorten their lives.

I'm sure you're chickens are healthy. I doubt you would feed a diseased or sick chicken that died from it to the dogs ?

I agree with your philosophy of not wasting. But I vowed not to kill animals anymore after being in a pre-clinical cancer research institute that worked on a lot of mice. I loved the breeding aspect of one part, but when one colleague adopted a new Jewish religion to not be able to kill animals anymore, that responsibility fell on me, as a manager to eliminate the whole line of mice after treatment. It's not something I enjoyed or would want to do again.

We'll find homes for them slowly. We've done pretty good so far. Just a little more patience and take advantage of upcoming opportunities to sell.

Then we get to repeat it all again when we hatch out more chickies. At least more local swap/sales/4H fundraisers are getting put into the works. Now we just need some chickens to sell !

 

[Illia]

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Nope. Only two chickens have died of disease or unknown cause in the last 2 years, and both were buried.


As for parasites, unknown diseases, etc. I try and keep my flock as healthy as can be, but even then ya never know - So, I freeze my birds for at least 1 week before thawing and serving.

I understand you on not killing animals though.

 

[Blue]

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I guess I need to ask which chickens you are talking about ?

The ones I personally buried ? Long story...it was lunch time. He came over to give us new birds to sell and take the old cockerels that didn't sell. They are his birds. He lives in more of city area, we live in the country. I wasn't sure how he would dispose of them, so I offered our back yard to bury them. We bury all our dead.

So, I guess it was a spur of the moment thing. They weren't our chickens.

The single combed silkie cockerel is alive and well and is going to be moved out to the layer pen as soon as my son gets around to it. It's rainy today. Plus I make him use the cat carrier to move chickens, instead of just holding them. He'll get in trouble if I catch him doing that. Why take a risk when you don't have to.

My husband is wanting to teach my son how to kill a chicken by shooting it in the back of the head with the rifle. I'm not so sure I'm ready for that day to come so soon.

I don't really believe in killing animals like that (or really at all). But obviously my husband has a different point of view.

I was talking about the ones that you said your friend came to kill. I guess I got a bit lost there. For some reason, I thought that you gave your friend chickens, then he came and killed them, and you buried them. I was a bit confused it seems.

I actually prefer shooting them to using a knife. I've never done either, but shooting seems like something I could handle much better personally if I ever have to do it myself.

 

[EM Squared Farms 2]

Shooting them makes a lot of blood. You grab them by the legs and hold them upside down. Then you put your thumb behind the comb and the other fingers under the beak then slowly pull until the neck dislocates. It is the least bloody and painful way for the chicken.

 

[EM Squared Farms 2]

My mom wants me to bury them because if I don't a predator will come and get them. Sometimes they dig up the dead chickens. Then they go for my show ones. I really want to try a farm fresh chicken, it must taste good because the eggs do but my mom is VERY attached to every animal she has, and I have. Also our chicken judge friend was joking but my mom didn't know that because she wasn't there. Good luck to everyone as the chickens start molting. I cant imagine what it must be like in the snow for a half bare chicken!

 

[Illia]

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LEAST painful and bloody?


Maybe least bloody but most certainly isn't the least painful or most certain of a dead animal.

 

[Cattitude]

My grandma used to wring their necks, after keeping the selected bird in a dark place (under a No. 3 tub) for a few hours. She said the meat was more tender than when my grandpa used the chopping block.

 

[EM Squared Farms]

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Love your new egg pic ! It's lovely.