My Chickens are not Pets!

[jarcoo0153]

A certain few of my egg layers are, but the ones I raise to butcher are not pets!

 

[harvey]

Pets totally. If I want to eat chicken, I go to the local Popeyes and for $5.99 get 5 pieces of chicken, 2 biskets and 2 small sides. I'm too lazy to spend time cleaning a chicken.

 

[redhen]

I think you can have both,if you choose to.
I have my girls now that i would never eat....
but if i wanted some to eat i would just get meaties and seperate them in my head.. "These are for dinner..these are my pets for eggs"...

 

[A.T. Hagan]

I've got young daughters so, yes, some of our chickens are pets. They have names, the can pick them out of the flock every time, and they'll be with us until they die of whatever it is that chickens naturally die of.

They're outnumbered by about 20:1 though with the chickens that are most definitely not pets. When they now longer serve a useful purpose they are invited onward.

 

[stanglover2001]

I'm only 22 and me and my husband just started raising chickens at the end of March this year, and so far I've butchered 2, my husband 1, and cleaned and de-gutted them. I see all my chickens as meat, even my dual-purpose ones. My whole family can't believe I went from city living to country living and raising/butchering my own chickens!

 

[kjmatson]

I am somewhere in the middle. I have been researching and am in the process of hatching dual purpose breeds for both meat and eggs. I don't think I would be able to eat my layers; they have become my "girls"

but I will have no problem raising and butchering all the others that don't make the cut to layers.

 

[txliss]

Weeellll, to ME they are egg laying animals. To the kids - not so much... So long as they contribute to my groceries, I will provide food, water, safety, and a few "toys." When they are done, they will be processed, soaked in brine for 24 hours, then pressure canned with celery and carrots.

My kids have named all 4 of them, but they understand that these animals DO have a "shelf life" that will expire in a couple years. My daughter has already said that she will have no problem eating them, but has informed me that I should not plan on her help on butchering day and that she will probably

However, if/when I ever get my mini farm, I plan to raise meaties. There will be too many to name and get attached to, so hopefully

"real" farm life won't be so scary for dd. Of course, the benefit is that the day after processing, there will be another 50 cutsy chickies to play with...

 

[Charles07]

My birds are small livestock 1st and "pets" 2nd.

I enjoy their eggs. I enjoy their meat. I thank them as I slaughter them.

I just lovingly treated a wound on 1 of my birds (not an hour ago), knowing that she will end up in my oven.

I find most curious the disconnect that people have from their food, although it is at times understandable. We found new homes for our cats and dog shortly before we started raising meat birds, so I can't say that I am totally immune to the emotions that I feel when I process 1 of them.

The joy, however, of seeing my children's' faces when they enjoy fresh food swiftly washes away any sadness I felt during the kill.

 

[jaj121159]

They are food. Like my mother said, "Don't play with your food." I have some meat birds and think of them as boneless, skinless chicken breasts with an extended preparation time. I also have two RIR's and have ordered 30 dual purpose birds. The roosters will be harvested except for one of each breed I will keep for breeding purposes. One thing I have noticed since I have been using this site, is that a lot of people choose the denial route by sending their birds to freezer camp. It isn't a camp folks, it's a harvested bird that is being held for eating at a later date.

 

[Camelot Farms]

We will be eating our 2 yr old layers this fall if I can get DH to do the culling. He hunts and fishes, doing all of his own cleaning and processing. But he looks at me like I am Attila the Hun when I remind him that come November, I expect to be putting 10 big ol hens in the freezer.