Meat birds and children

[Slingha]

I just brought home 18 Cornish crosses. My boys immediately started to try to name them etc. I tried telling them why they were here and they started getting upset. Now I'm second guessing myself. Help!

 

[sourland]

Go get some bantams or layers that they can name and keep as pets. As kids we were raised to name our pets - not our food. We realized the difference, but that was the culture then.

 

[Slingha]

I have 14 layers already. I'm really questioning myself

 

[phalenbeck]

Cornish are lovley birds till they get closer to time. They become stinky mutant pigs, that just let you know that they should be put out of there misery. At 10 weeks or so it us clear that they belong in a freezer.

 

[kherring]

I have told my children which ones we will be eating and which ones are for us to love all over and play with from day one. It's worked so far. I was very surprised though. We had a raccoon get my Americana and my Barred Rock. They were two we were not going to eat. My kids were disappointed for a quick minute and then that was it. My 11-year-old was very upset though bc he didn't lock the coop up well and he felt very responsible.

That's what seems to be working here.

 

[bobbi-j]

How old are your boys? How they handle it depends a lot on how you deal with it. If you are matter-of-fact, and tell them, "This is why we have these birds" they will accept it sooner or later. My farm boys knew exactly why we had certain animals. One time we were given a week old bottle calf (a neighbor had sold his dairy herd and this was the only animal left) . The boys were 11, 9 and 7 at the time. They named him "Butch". When I asked why, they said, "Well, we're gonna butcher him anyway, Mom." We just made a point of not getting too attached. You are the parent and you get to make the decisions. Every time they argue with you about it, you say, "This is why we have these chickens. If you want pets, go make friends with the layers. These are not pets, they will be our food."

 

[ThreeLittleCritters]

My boys are 7, 5, 3 & 1. I was really nervous about how they would handle raising meat birds. Before we got them I explained why we were growing birds for meat and that these birds were not pets. Although we did nick name all of them "Chicken Nugget." My kids were fine when it came time for processing. I think that the cute little chicks are hard for kids to resist, but once they're big chickens they aren't quite as interested. At least mine weren't. Now whenever we have chicken for dinner all the kids say "Is this one of our chickens? I will only eat one of our chickens." Be clear with them that these birds are not pets. Tell them that they can each get their own egg laying chick next time (or something similar). It helped my kids to understand that these chickens were going to have a good and happy life but when it comes time for processing, they've got to go. I also didn't act sad or upset about the processing in front of the kids. Even though I was. I hate the actual killing part and I hide in the house when hubby does it. But in front of the kids it's like "Eh, no big deal. This is what has to happen." Good luck! I know it's hard, but you can do it and your kids will benefit from the high quality home grown meat!

 

[Slingha]

Boys are 5/3/1

 

[Coralietg]

I have a 5 year old and a 2 year old. We've had laying chickens for around 5 years now, but this is our first time with meat chickens. My 5 year old was a little taken aback at first when I told her they are going to grow, then we will eat them. Now she sees them growing, she understands more. They don't stay fluffy little chicks for long, they get scruffy and filthy and she calls them the little piggies. I explained to her that she eats chicken from the store, and this is the same thing. It all comes from animals that were once alive. Our chickens will be happy though, in the sunshine and fresh air, until they are ready for us to eat.

 

[bobbi-j]

I really think that as your cute, fuzzy chicks get bigger and less fun, your boys will lose interest. That, and with reminders that "we will be eating these chickens", they'll be just fine. Personally, I think it's good for kids to know where their food comes from and to be involved in the raising of that food.