Not sure we can do this.

[Ridgerunner]

How do others steal themselves against emotions to where they are not only able to cull them, but enjoy them?

Frankly, some cannot. We all start from different places. I grew up on a farm where the chickens gave us eggs and meat. To me it is just the way I grew up. Others come from places more like you. Everyone has different experiences. Yours are more with chickens being pets, mine are more as livestock. That does not mean you can't get to a place where you can eat your chickens, many people do, but you have to make your own journey.

I never enjoy the killing, hopefully you never will either. There is something final about taking that life. I see it as something I have to do if I am going to keep chickens. My goals are for meat and to play with genetics, which means I have to hatch chicks and butcher them. Otherwise I would not have them. They would never have lived because I would not have hatched them to start with if I wasn't going to eat them.

I try to raise mine giving them the best life I can until they have one bad moment. I try to make that bad moment as quick and sure as I can. That life will be better than any grocery store chicken you buy. Mine get to chase bugs, scratch, take dust baths, and be chickens. Also, I try to respect the animal by using it all. I get the standard cuts we are all used to. I save parts to make broth, both saving certain parts when I butcher and reusing the bones after I cook the meat for the table. I use most of the organs, either for broth or to feed my dogs. I personally really like fried chicken liver. You may find this disgusting, but when I butcher I use two buckets. One bucket if for the parts I'm going to bury, either in my garden or in my orchard to feed the plants when it breaks down. The other bucket is for the parts that I feed back to the rest of the flock. That includes bits of fat, lungs and gonads, I even cut the intestines into 2" lengths for the chickens to eat. The only thing that goes to the landfill is the bones after they have been used for broth.
I don't know if any of this helps you or makes it harder. Good luck!

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

Frankly, some cannot. We all start from different places. I grew up on a farm where the chickens gave us eggs and meat. To me it is just the way I grew up. Others come from places more like you. Everyone has different experiences. Yours are more with chickens being pets, mine are more as livestock. That does not mean you can't get to a place where you can eat your chickens, many people do, but you have to make your own journey.

I never enjoy the killing, hopefully you never will either. There is something final about taking that life. I see it as something I have to do if I am going to keep chickens. My goals are for meat and to play with genetics, which means I have to hatch chicks and butcher them. Otherwise I would not have them. They would never have lived because I would not have hatched them to start with if I wasn't going to eat them.

I try to raise mine giving them the best life I can until they have one bad moment. I try to make that bad moment as quick and sure as I can. That life will be better than any grocery store chicken you buy. Mine get to chase bugs, scratch, take dust baths, and be chickens. Also, I try to respect the animal by using it all. I get the standard cuts we are all used to. I save parts to make broth, both saving certain parts when I butcher and reusing the bones after I cook the meat for the table. I use most of the organs, either for broth or to feed my dogs. I personally really like fried chicken liver. You may find this disgusting, but when I butcher I use two buckets. One bucket if for the parts I'm going to bury, either in my garden or in my orchard to feed the plants when it breaks down. The other bucket is for the parts that I feed back to the rest of the flock. That includes bits of fat, lungs and gonads, I even cut the intestines into 2" lengths for the chickens to eat. The only thing that goes to the landfill is the bones after they have been used for broth.
I don't know if any of this helps you or makes it harder. Good luck!

Thanks for this idea of a use for the intestines! Never thought of that. That was something I regretfully threw out last time, even though I tried my best to use every part of the bird. I'll have to try this next time.

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

At least with the CX you know that they will die as a matter of coarse within a short time due to their genetics. This, in my mind, makes culling this breed almost a necessary evil.

We do have a flock that are our pets, including the gentlemanly roo from which we bred this brood for meat. We call them "lap chickens". Some run across the yard when we sit down and hop on our laps to be petted. One actually lifts her wing for us to rub under it. They all eat out of our hands including the roo who hovers next to us if we are seated. We don't try to pick him up least he loose his dominance in the eyes of his ladies.

I am hoping when they loose their fluff and start looking more like vultures at the time we put them in the tractor this tig on our emotions will subside. I just had to clean a couple pasty butts which didn't help.

I guess my question to you then is, why do you do dual purpose? Maybe going the CX or freedom ranger route might be better for you, since it seems you'd be able to not get attached. I say this will all due respect. We all have to find what works best for us.

And I know CX have a bad reputation, but with good management and processing them a little earlier (so they don't get too heavy for their legs), they have a good quality of life.

 

[BBQ2U]

Hatching your own is very rewarding but you will also get half males. The males at hatcheries usually get dropped in a meat grinder alive on the day they are born. Our male's get passes until they start to crow, then go to the freezer. Here are 3 boys from this week and we still have 4 more growing up. It's just how things work when you grow your own food.
View attachment 3512320

Its a new journey for sure. I did chwxk the pin feathers. I'd say more than half are males.

 

[Morrigan]

By the time those baby boys mature into randy cockerels jumping all over the pullets, you might find more motivation to butcher than you think.

Even so, I find it very difficult to butcher chickens I've raised. The first time, especially, was very hard. I was born and raised a city girl, so prior to moving to the country and getting livestock, my experience with animals was as pets. It's not easy to make the shift from pet mentality to livestock mentality. But, it is very satisfying to raise your own meat in a more healthful and natural setting. Keep in mind the big picture of the good things you are doing by raising your own meat, as it outweighs the emotions and difficulties on butchering day.

It does become a bit easier over time. Never easy, but easier. The other thing I've learned to do, is to enjoy the process of raising my dual purpose and meat birds. They are not pets, but they still deserve the best care and I enjoy providing it to them. Don't spend all your time with them fretting about butchering day. That does no one any good. When the time comes, pick a day, mentally gird yourself, and get it done. Until then, enjoy raising them.

Good luck. Sometimes the hardest things to do are the most rewarding.

 

[JeffPr]

I really rather know how my birds were raised, they were cared for, had plenty of room to move around...lived a natural (as natural as I can provide them) life....

And in the end...they had it much better than the bird who is at the grocery store.


They are food...

THIS ^^^^^^^^^^^

 

[BBQ2U]

By the time those baby boys mature into randy cockerels jumping all over the pullets, you might find more motivation to butcher than you think.

Even so, I find it very difficult to butcher chickens I've raised. The first time, especially, was very hard. I was born and raised a city girl, so prior to moving to the country and getting livestock, my experience with animals was as pets. It's not easy to make the shift from pet mentality to livestock mentality. But, it is very satisfying to raise your own meat in a more healthful and natural setting. Keep in mind the big picture of the good things you are doing by raising your own meat, as it outweighs the emotions and difficulties on butchering day.

It does become a bit easier over time. Never easy, but easier. The other thing I've learned to do, is to enjoy the process of raising my dual purpose and meat birds. They are not pets, but they still deserve the best care and I enjoy providing it to them. Don't spend all your time with them fretting about butchering day. That does no one any good. When the time comes, pick a day, mentally gird yourself, and get it done. Until then, enjoy raising them.

Good luck. Sometimes the hardest things to do are the most rewarding.

I appreciate your perspective. Those cutr fluff balls are beginning to exhibit a vulture appearance and mentality. Hopefully there will be moatly cokerels among them! At what age do you cull your dual purpose? And what is the quality of their meat vs the meat only?

 

[Morrigan]

I appreciate your perspective. Those cutr fluff balls are beginning to exhibit a vulture appearance and mentality. Hopefully there will be moatly cokerels among them! At what age do you cull your dual purpose? And what is the quality of their meat vs the meat only?

I aim to cull heritage cockerels at the 14 week mark, but it varies. As a general rule, once the testosterone kicks in (they start crowing and chasing the hens), the cockerels will get, both more flavorful and less tender, as they age.

By and large, at 14 weeks, they are a big enough size (3 or 4 lbs dressed) to make the effort worthwhile, but the meat is still tender enough to cook in most conventional cooking applications -- roasting, deep frying, etc. It may be slightly too tough for a very fast cooking technique like grilling. There will be significantly less meat then you are used to, particularly breast meat. But what meat is there, I find very high quality and much prefer it to supermarket chicken or even pasture raised cornish cross. More flavor and more texture. One caveat -- it took me a few chickens to get used to the difference and, at first, I wasn't sure what to think. Now, I hands down prefer it.

14 weeks is just a rough target. There is some truth to the old adage "when they crow it's time to go." Some mature early and make such a nuisance of themselves. The youngest I've culled was 11 weeks old, and although there wasn't a lot of meat (1 1/2 lbs dressed) it was young enough to grill and quite tasty. Sometime cockerels that are raised in the fall as days are shortening are slow to mature, and they can go 16-20 weeks.

There is also personal preference. If you slow roast, or pressure can, you can butcher anytime. I just culled a 2 year old rooster and the pressure cooked meat was fabulous in gumbo.

 

[BBQ2U]

I aim to cull heritage cockerels at the 14 week mark, but it varies. As a general rule, once the testosterone kicks in (they start crowing and chasing the hens), the cockerels will get, both more flavorful and less tender, as they age.

By and large, at 14 weeks, they are a big enough size (3 or 4 lbs dressed) to make the effort worthwhile, but the meat is still tender enough to cook in most conventional cooking applications -- roasting, deep frying, etc. It may be slightly too tough for a very fast cooking technique like grilling. There will be significantly less meat then you are used to, particularly breast meat. But what meat is there, I find very high quality and much prefer it to supermarket chicken or even pasture raised cornish cross. More flavor and more texture. One caveat -- it took me a few chickens to get used to the difference and, at first, I wasn't sure what to think. Now, I hands down prefer it.

14 weeks is just a rough target. There is some truth to the old adage "when they crow it's time to go." Some mature early and make such a nuisance of themselves. The youngest I've culled was 11 weeks old, and although there wasn't a lot of meat (1 1/2 lbs dressed) it was young enough to grill and quite tasty. Sometime cockerels that are raised in the fall as days are shortening are slow to mature, and they can go 16-20 weeks.

There is also personal preference. If you slow roast, or pressure can, you can butcher anytime. I just culled a 2 year old rooster and the pressure cooked meat was fabulous in gumbo.

That was overall the most informative and best reaponse to my question. Thank you.

 

[The Birb King]

My job is the egg chickens and someone else in my family does the meat. I'd say a couple things are, dont name them, remember that they're animals and spend the minimal time possible with them. We're also hiring someone to butcher so i dont have to see it happen Thats how i do it.
The egg chickens on the other hand....They are part of the family

Same all of my the pet and egg laying birds are mine. My family does the meat birds