Looking for Your Stories: Pets vs Meat

[tootmany]

Hey all, hope your night/day is going well! I'm here wondering about everyone's experiences with raising pet chickens as well as meat chickens (or other species.) The thing is, I am interested in raising my own meat further down the line, but my beginnings of the chicken and rabbit world are simply pets. Sometimes I think I can make the distinction in my mind just fine but other times I feel like I do not have the willpower for butchering. Even for those of us who are not vegetarian or vegan, I imagine it is a bit touchy of a subject. By no means do you have to say a word about it! I'd just love to hear about your personal journeys on the matter. It seems like there is a lot of potential for an emotional roller coaster here.
Here are a few key questions I'm interested in:

• Did you start with 'pet' or 'meat' birds/other?
• If you started with pets, what lead you to start raising meat as well?
• If you started with meat, did you find yourself making unplanned bonds? Did it bother you to be too personal with your animals?

• Did you/do you have qualms with butchering? If you did, what was it like getting past killing the same creatures as those you love? Did any qualms appear with time?
• Do you house pets together or separate from your meat animals?

My father is on the opposite side of the story as me. He grew up with just meat birds and never once gave it a thought. Not long after I started raising chickens, my parents liked the idea of fresh eggs and got a few of their own. Recently, one got sick (though I helped them through it just fine, no worries) and he was very stressed out. Up until then, he had been denying his love for the girls despite all the evidence that said otherwise. But it was then that he admitted his deep affection for the bird and how sad it would be to loose her. He feels silly for loving a chicken, though I find it pretty endearing.

Maybe it is just me, but I feel like crossing that bridge, from either side, is an experience that makes you grow as a person. Just some late night thoughts! Thanks for your time.

 

[Rose Quartz]

Well, I suppose I can kick it off. Though I would be more comfortable talking in PM on this particular subject.

I had chickens, ducks, and turkeys, growing up. The birds for meat were not to be named. The ones we were keeping as pets could be named. The only one I remember being upset about being turned into supper was a Turkey that had gotten injured and I had spent 2 weeks in the pen with it every second I was home nursing it back to health. I begged my dad to keep it. Then one day I came home from school and he had butchered the Turkeys while I was away. I was mad at him for a few days but there was nothing that could be done to change it. So I got over it.

As an adult I have wanted chickens for a long time and my landlord had given me permission to get some. So my sister gave me her 2 ISA browns and A Human aggressive psychotic rooster she had gotten from kijiji (like Craigslist) I set 3 eggs in an incubator, about the same time, all of which hatched....

I was really excited to have Chickens of my own finally. But one of the ISA browns was sick and huddling in a corner. I tried to do what I could to make her better but she was just getting worse. I decided I would have to put her down. I had no idea what to do. I didn't plan to eat her because she was sick it was just to end her suffering. So I spent hours researching how. I didn't think I would be able to cut her, didn't see the need to either, so I decided to break her neck.

Spoiler: Details :/

I used the broomstick method, I felt a pop and thought I had messed up... I hadn't but at the time I thought I did. So I freaked out and pulled really hard..... removing her head entirely.

After that I was pretty shaken up. The next chicken I butchered was the nasty roo. It went well enough I wasn't too upset by it because he was attacking me everyday.

The third one was the hardest. The 3 eggs I had set had hatched the very first one was Sunny. And it was a boy. actually all 3 were boys but the other 2 went to live at my sisters house. I kept sunny and 2 other chicks I had gotten. But sunny Started attacking me and my 2 year old. So I knew he would have to be supper too.

lets just say... it's 2 years later and it's still making me sad that he isn't still around. I loved that boy.

after him. I haven't really had any trouble butchering chickens. They have all been my sisters birds though so I'm not quite as attached.

 

[WhiteRockCrazyBird]

Everyone asks me if we eat our chickens. No, ours are pets, and store chicken is still cheap enough to not warrant all the hassle of butchering. I process a lot of deer that friends kill. I keep thinking about raising goats and sheep for meat, since they should be about as easy to process (vs a big cow). But as far as the harvesting part, not sure I can do it. I'm experienced in handgun use, but don't know if I could do it. I want to be a self sustaining farm, but I may not know until I really have to do it. I know I didn't have a problem giving our rooster away knowing they might eat him.

 

[tootmany]

Well, I suppose I can kick it off. Though I would be more comfortable talking in PM on this particular subject.

I had chickens, ducks, and turkeys, growing up. The birds for meat were not to be named. The ones we were keeping as pets could be named. The only one I remember being upset about being turned into supper was a Turkey that had gotten injured and I had spent 2 weeks in the pen with it every second I was home nursing it back to health. I begged my dad to keep it. Then one day I came home from school and he had butchered the Turkeys while I was away. I was mad at him for a few days but there was nothing that could be done to change it. So I got over it.

As an adult I have wanted chickens for a long time and my landlord had given me permission to get some. So my sister gave me her 2 ISA browns and A Human aggressive psychotic rooster she had gotten from kijiji (like Craigslist) I set 3 eggs in an incubator, about the same time, all of which hatched....

I was really excited to have Chickens of my own finally. But one of the ISA browns was sick and huddling in a corner. I tried to do what I could to make her better but she was just getting worse. I decided I would have to put her down. I had no idea what to do. I didn't plan to eat her because she was sick it was just to end her suffering. So I spent hours researching how. I didn't think I would be able to cut her, didn't see the need to either, so I decided to break her neck.

Spoiler: Details :/

I used the broomstick method, I felt a pop and thought I had messed up... I hadn't but at the time I thought I did. So I freaked out and pulled really hard..... removing her head entirely.

After that I was pretty shaken up. The next chicken I butchered was the nasty roo. It went well enough I wasn't too upset by it because he was attacking me everyday.

The third one was the hardest. The 3 eggs I had set had hatched the very first one was Sunny. And it was a boy. actually all 3 were boys but the other 2 went to live at my sisters house. I kept sunny and 2 other chicks I had gotten. But sunny Started attacking me and my 2 year old. So I knew he would have to be supper too.

lets just say... it's 2 years later and it's still making me sad that he isn't still around. I loved that boy.

after him. I haven't really had any trouble butchering chickens. They have all been my sisters birds though so I'm not quite as attached.

Everyone asks me if we eat our chickens. No, ours are pets, and store chicken is still cheap enough to not warrant all the hassle of butchering. I process a lot of deer that friends kill. I keep thinking about raising goats and sheep for meat, since they should be about as easy to process (vs a big cow). But as far as the harvesting part, not sure I can do it. I'm experienced in handgun use, but don't know if I could do it. I want to be a self sustaining farm, but I may not know until I really have to do it. I know I didn't have a problem giving our rooster away knowing they might eat him.

Thank you guys for sharing. I got involved in chicken keeping for my brother's sake and I didn't foresee just how emotionally invested I would become. Historically, we end up taking in animals and domesticating them either because they have traits we like OR we breed them for traits we like. That generally means they can be quite personable and we, as a species, can be very empathetic and compassionate. Love comes easily and sometimes unexpectedly.

 

[theoldchick]

My pet chickens will stay with me until they die of old age. My pet chickens have names. Once I name them they have earned 'pet' status and will remain so even if they are not perfect. Birds I raise for meat have no names. I do not butcher them. I hire out a person who with either keep half or pays me. Though I have processed meat birds, butchering is a process I am not into. It is messy and time consuming. All my birds serve a purpose even if they are not dinner. My Pet chickens are used to teach veterinary technician students the art of handling, bandaging, medicating and other basic medical care. Some of my pet chickens are used as teaching models when they become sick. Sick birds are not returned to me as they are euthanized and necropsied for teaching purposes.

There are many opinions about keeping chickens. Some think keeping a chicken for a pet is silly and so forth. While others are horrified at the thought of eating chicken they raised. My opinion is that if you keep a chicken for a pet or meat, you must keep the bird in a humane conditions which means a clean facility that allows the chicken to move about, engage in normal chicken behavior and enjoy itself until the day of the chopping block or death by old age. I'd much rather deal with someone who is emotionally invested in their flock than the one who simply is wishing to make a buck off them.

Ain't nothing wrong with wanting the best for your flock. Our chickens deserve the best as they entertain our minds and nourish our body.