Official BYC Poll: What Is Your Perspective On Chickens For Meat

[swampfox440]

I tried replied to every one because all folks opinion matter to me . I love Chicken !!! Be it Popeye's , KFC , My own that I raise . #1 Chicken #2 Turkey #3 Beef tenderloin #4 Pork ! Home smoked turkey mmmm! Grilled Chicken breast Have a chicken dinner day !

 

[Acre4Me]

Living on a city block doesn't limit you from participating one time in your life at another location. Or going to the country to hunt a couple times a year. I agree physical limitations could play a factor, but the more people seeked out this experience the more available it would become. Many people who live in all kinds of places spend time and money getting experiences they couldn't normally get at home.

sure, but that’s assuming everyone has that interest and wants to spend their money on that interest.

some people seek out snd spend a lot of money on shoes (for example), but it would be a silly assumption for anyone to expect everyone would seek out lots of new shoes bc they had that same level of interest, yet everyone wears shoes. Some people buy used shoes (which makes other people’s skin crawl from the hygiene perspective) bc they don’t care or can’t/won’t afford new.

back to chickens...we personally have the ability to hunt, my spouse has hunted when younger, and would like to go again. But, time has been short, and we haven’t been able to devote time to that. Can you imagine if everyone went hunting at least 1x? OMG, the crowds in the woods!! And that’s Only assuming 1hunt per person’s teen or adult life.

Bussing people to somewhere to see chickens butchered would likely not work out well either, as a generalization. Wasn’t there a show where Paris Hilton friend went to places in the sticks to experience non-glitz living? Yeah, they were kinda down on it, I think, although never watched the show. The interest for the audience was to see spoiled rich kids experience regular life that many people live, yet it was so foreign to the rich girls, that it’s not like they embraced it just because They experienced it.

my point is just that the concept makes sense, but functional reality isn’t likely.

 

[Tre3hugger]

sure, but that’s assuming everyone has that interest and wants to spend their money on that interest.

some people seek out snd spend a lot of money on shoes (for example), but it would be a silly assumption for anyone to expect everyone would seek out lots of new shoes bc they had that same level of interest, yet everyone wears shoes. Some people buy used shoes (which makes other people’s skin crawl from the hygiene perspective) bc they don’t care or can’t/won’t afford new.

back to chickens...we personally have the ability to hunt, my spouse has hunted when younger, and would like to go again. But, time has been short, and we haven’t been able to devote time to that. Can you imagine if everyone went hunting at least 1x? OMG, the crowds in the woods!! And that’s Only assuming 1hunt per person’s teen or adult life.

Bussing people to somewhere to see chickens butchered would likely not work out well either, as a generalization. Wasn’t there a show where Paris Hilton friend went to places in the sticks to experience non-glitz living? Yeah, they were kinda down on it, I think, although never watched the show. The interest for the audience was to see spoiled rich kids experience regular life that many people live, yet it was so foreign to the rich girls, that it’s not like they embraced it just because They experienced it.

my point is just that the concept makes sense, but functional reality isn’t likely.

Meh, I see your point and respectfully disagree.

 

[Araucana Nest]

I'm a vegetarian. My food choices are based on compassion toward animals and not my health- though I'm probably healthier overall. This is a huge difference among vegetarians and vegans, many citing their health as their primary concern. After refusing factory-farmed animal products, I started to raise my own chickens, pigs and goats and slaughtered and butchered and ate what I raised for at least ten years. I also keep cows but never slaughtered them and haven't eaten beef for longer than I can remember. What I learned raising animals with compassion was that killing them took a toll on my mental health and this is very personal- it is not a generalization about anyone. I observed that animals had an intricate language among themselves and I learned that we share many "human" emotions. The more I learned, the more I grew disenchanted with the cultural beliefs I grew up with. I'm not vegan. I raise cows and goats for dairy and chickens for eggs. Their mental and physical health and overall well being means more to me than having trendy material things; I don't have a drive to acquire things and though I joke about never having enough chickens, I'm very careful to keep only what I can care for devotedly. The animals are definitely interwoven throughout life, something my adult children and aging relatives simply do not comprehend. eta: I just sold a group of cockerels the other day and I didn't ask what their intention was. That was a very weird and unpleasant feeling. It was cockerel year here. Part of that was that I expanded my chickens considerably. It won't be so bad again but it did help me organize my thoughts about selling hatching eggs instead of chicks, unless they are pre-ordered/prepaid.

 

[RUNuts]

I offer another point. In some countries, I think it was eastern Europe, the apartments share meat. One family will buy an animal at the market (not any "super" markets around). Take animal in a taxi to the apartment and butcher in the living room. The neighbors were kind enough to teach the foreigners and shared their culture and meat. The animal is divided among the families in the building since fresh meat, electricity and refrigeration is scarce. Yes, this is a recent story.

Butchering is done in apartments. Just not common in these parts.

 

[Pioneer Belle]

I would keep butcher chickens but I cannot where I live. Eat chicken though.

 

[Fizabee]

I grew up in a town that had a coop in every other yard. We probably ate our own chickens all the time. I got my first flock as an adult when I lived in the suburbs, where eating my backyard pets would most likely be frowned upon. I was already on this ice with my neighbors for owning said chickens in the first place, so I didn't want to stretch it.
When I revisited chicken keeping after my family and I moved to the country, the journey now included my then-four year old daughter who, of course, had to name all the chickens and have an excessive bond with every single chook. Eating Mollie's backyard feather buddies would not be an option. This went even further when we had our second daughter, who is non-verbal autistic and loves the chickens. I doubt she will ever be in a position to move out, so eating the hens is not, and never will be a possibility.

 

[CaroleW]

I believe it is more ethical/less hypocritical to eat my own chicken than buy it at the store, although I do eat from both sources. Even organic or ethically raised -if there is such a label - doesn't have a better life than my chickens or local farm raised meat by farmers that I know. My chickens may have a better life than a lot of factory meat workers.

I have extra (dual purpose rare breed) roosters that are not intended for breeding so they get to work on making compost until I know I don't need a backup rooster. In comparison, many male chicks are not even left alive after they are sexed at a hatchery so mine actually have a good life - and one bad day at the end. Their life through to the end actually fulfills a purpose on the homestead as they have through history, they are not a bi-product to find a way to use up hidden as a vaguely named additive.

I would like to be as self-sufficient as possible and that entails caring for the animals all the way to the end in a respectful, humane way. I try my best to do that.

 

[Morrigan]

I only eat chickens that I raise myself. They not only taste better, but I want to avoid supporting factory farming. I also take pleasure in the raising and hatching of chickens. I feel fortunate to have the space, time and means that allows me to do this, as I realize that raising and butchering livestock is not realistic for everyone.

Taking a life to feed yourself and your family is not easy and even after several years, I still find butchering day to be emotionally draining. One of the things I have taken away from the process is how precious such food is, and I strive to use every part of the chicken and not waste any.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

I don’t eat my laying hens. I love them dearly and burry them on the edge of my garden when their time comes, how ever it comes. I’ve shed a lot of tears over the loss of members of my laying flock.

I bought commercially raised chicken from the store, but only certified ethically humane birds. This fall I butchered 20 of my own Cornish cross. They were a different experience raising than my laying flock, and honestly I was ready for them to be gone when we did butcher them. Now I have a happy freezer full of my own ethically raised birds and some deer meat. I used every single edible component of my chickens, including the feet. The experience was bittersweet.

I haven't come to the point where I have had to butcher roosters in the laying flock. I'm not sure how I will manage that, emotionally.