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

[Josh L.]

I haven't eaten meat in about a decade, perhaps a little longer than that, but I'm alright with raising meat chickens for other people, because I prefer to know they had a wonderful life and only one bad day, than have family and friends buy from factory farmers where chickens are abused, confined, and medically neglected

 

[Mylied]

I don't eat meat but I do raise chickens for meat for my family. Process them, cook them, and everything.

 

[PetitePlume]

I only eat the chicken I raise.

 

[CatsandCrops]

Ironically, I am allergic to chicken and can only eat max 2 eggs a day so, nope, no issues with me and my chickens ahah

My husband on the other day does eat meat/chicken. We purposely bought barred rocks for both eggs and if the time came, meat. Our rooster was a wonderful Sunday dinner per my husband after Joffrey got a bit too aggressive. I would rather know that bird/animal had a wonderful life filled with treats from the garden, zero worry about predators and spent their time sunbathing vs being in a factory setting.

 

[Mimi13]

Years ago I bought 5 chicks from a. hatchery that sold only hens if ordered that way - this was my first go at raising chickens - ate the eggs and was thankful for them - then as time went on over time a hen would die - I didn't know why so I just threw the dead hen out into the woods for some animal to eat it - eventually 4 of them died - ended up with only 1 hen - knowing the chickens didn't like living alone I shot it and threw its away - when I look back I often thought that I should have eaten the hens but since I didn't know why they died I wasn't sure if that was the thing to do -

Would you eat a chicken if you didn't know why it died - they will all eventually die naturally

I appreciate your honesty, but that is so sad.

 

[RubelliteRose]

I answered that I eat chicken, but not my own. However, I only have 8 hens for eggs and currently no room for more. If I expand, get a rooster and have a hen go broody(my eventual goal), we will start raising a few chicks and my vote may change.

 

[Mimi13]

My first chickens were 4, day old chicks (pullets) and I had never even thought about the meat, only the eggs, which is why we got chickens. It wasn’t until two years later that chicken math slapped me upside the head and I dove head first into the world of cockerels, mostly by accident. I also learned how wonderful it was to raise baby chicks...even more cockerels.

I realized quickly that not all cockerels were nice and soon was met with the responsibility of dispatching an overly aggressive bird. The Deed Is Done, My Flock Is Now At Peace

I have let broodies raise several clutches of chicks and I have incubated once. I have had to accept the responsibility of processing the extra cockerels simply because my track record favors hatching cockerels.

The actual act of dispatching the bird is not necessarily pleasant, but part of it. The meat is certainly a wonderful reward.

At the beginning of eating both homegrown eggs and meat, I wanted to “find” something different about it. That was all in my mind. Now, store bought eggs and chicken are extremely bland.

I have yet to butcher any spent laying hens. That’s probably gonna be hard, if not impossible for me to do. Yeah, I’ve got too many chickens right now.

 

[EmmaRainboe]

I eat chicken but never my own, my girls (and boy) are pets. I sometimes feel weird eating chicken. Sometimes while eating chicken it tastes the way some of my girls smell. It just makes me lose my appitite, any though of eating them makes me sad. I love them with my whole heart. I've never felt weird about eating eggs, especially my own. Growing up in the city I always knew where eggs (and chicken) came from but I never had the opportunity to raise them myself, and now it's just made eggs so exxciting.

 

[casportpony]

I thought about this thread as I was rounding up nine roosters to be sold for meat on Saturday. While it saddens me to see them go, I know that the life they had here was good and that they will be humanely processed, so that made me feel a little better.

I eat chicken, including my own, but I do find it much easier to purchase it from the grocery store.

BONUS QUESTION: While eating chicken (or even eggs) do you ever feel weird thinking about what your eating in relation to your own chickens?

No, never.

 

[Rammy]

I eat my own and bought store meat, but prefer to know where my meat comes from and how it was raised. Ive had to dispatch several roosters or sick hens, and altho its not pleasant, it was done humanely as possible. It did feel weird at first eating one I processed myself, but it doesnt bother me anymore.
Id rather grow my own and give them a good life with one bad day then eat that government meat any day.