My Chickens are not Pets!

[halo]

My chickens are not "pets". I thoroughly enjoy them, I laugh at them, I take care of them, Im so grateful and amazed that we can collect eggs every day from them. I do revolve my life around them, since they do need care and watching over. No days off from them. I will start to butcher the excess roos; the hens I won't, since I free range, and they can just free range and lay eggs until they croak. When I lose one, Im sad, but I move right on. I have no "emotional" attachment, which is not to say that I dont like them a lot. They are my therapy; I can just sit outside and watch them, I dont know why chickens are so fun to watch, but they are.

Now my shelties? They are elevated above pet status; they are in family status.

 

[NHchicks]

I think it's great that there are people out there who have no problem "processing" their chickens. My grandparents were subsistence farmers - that was just a way of life. And all of us "squeamish" people will just keep raising the little puffballs to supply to those who have no problem turning them into food.

Is that a fair arrangement?

(oh, and I have one daughter who hates chickens but adores our dog. My other daughter and I tolerate the dog and love our chickens. I wonder if it's a genetic link. HA!)

 

[Purple Veg*n]

My chickens are pets. I don't like eggs but my DH does. He'll benefit from my feather babys. I won't let him take the rooster to BBQ camp! Of course, what would you expect from a Purple Veg*n.

 

[ducks4you]

Mine aren't pets, either. I have two pet dogs, two pet cats, three pet horses, and 7, two-legged, fuzzy-butt livestock (RIR) that lay 3-7 eggs/day for me. But, to be fair, let the folks who want to have pet chickens enjoy themselves!

 

[Orchid]

Kind of like the difference between commiting murder & hiring a hit man. IMO if you're gonna eat meat you should be willing to kill it.

Is that like being willing to use a toilet, but calling a plumber to auger it out when you plug it up instead of doing the dirty deed yourself?

Sorry, being in the plumbing business, I just couldn't stop myself!

I wasn't sure how I'd feel about eating chickens I have raised, but after raising the four I have for the last few weeks, I can honestly say eating them wouldn't bother me. Even cleaning them wouldn't bother me. But the killing? I'll leave that up to my husband, thanks very much. We have a deal - I clean up after anything or anyone that vomits because he can't handle vomit, and he kills whatever needs killing because I can't handle killing.

Works for us!​

 

[skeeter03]

Mine are not pets......
they are my egg makers and meat suppliers and i must say OP the whole garden thing you do -------has got me planning and thinking muahahha hubby is not gonna like this at all. lmao.
My dogs are pets - and even then they still provide me with some use - protection and warning from unwanted visitors - be it man or beast.
My cat is around to keep the rodent population at bay.
I know this fall I will be butchering some of my hens and some of the new chickens I hatched out this year.
we might order some meaties - I love a full freezer!!!

 

[bigchicken2]

I would puke if I had to kill a roo. I have the stomach to kill a hen tho. I love roosters because I want to be different. Roos deserve love too. I have 4 roos and 9 hens right now and I'm happy to because when I was little my parents ordered St. Run then killed all the roos but one and then we killed him and moved away and then we found out that roos were allowed in that town so we got roos again.

 

[eKo_birdies]

Quote:
lol at least you are honest about why you love roosters....

 

[glassparman]

Mine are pets . . . at least the ones that like to hop up on my arm when I'm in the coop. But, I do not have any problem with Sunday dinner and have raised many meat birds and cull my extra Roos at 5 months for the pot.

ALL animals are ours to eat or take care of . . . we just need to treat them with compassion. Animals don't have a "Spirit", they don't go to heaven. GOD placed them here for us to have dominion over . . . again, with compassion.

I am totally against hurting animals just because. I don't believe in hunting unless you will eat the animal. I always try to cull my animals in the most humane and quickest way.

 

[Orchid]

Quote:
Interesting. I asked our pastor once if animals go to heaven - his response was "Well, the Bible doesn't say that they do - but it doesn't specifically say that they don't, either." And he winked.

Lots of interpretations to that one.