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

[Lady of McCamley]

Rancher's and Farmer's daughter here. I eat chicken. I will eat my own chicken. I don't often eat my own chicken because I breed for layers not meat. Most of my hens don't have enough meat on them by the time I cull them to be more than broth, which is a lot of work to get. Plus older hens taste pretty gamey. So, I just re-home at 2 to 3 years. My roosters have to be culled before they are full weight, due to crowing, so I again cull or re-home without often making it to eating. I wish I could use their meat better, for fodder or fertilizer, but my hubby is a city boy and very squeamish. It's too much work for me to do alone. I did do a Buckeye project which got roosters to weight before a lot of crowing. That was a good year for meat, but not so good for laying. So, back to breeding sustainable layers and rehoming those I won't keep. I do eat my eggs. Lots of delicious home grown eggs.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I'll start by saying I didn't read the whole thread yet AND I respect each persons choice even when it makes zero sense to me.. BUT more importantly my journey is ever changing and ongoing and I hope yours is too.

I started out eating only boneless, skinless, breast.. before keeping chickens. Appalled by the thought of tearing flesh from bones with my teeth or having to spit out tendons or whatever grossness is in drumsticks.. and the disgusting under cooked bleeding uhhh on the plate.. Yes you eat first with your eyes and second apparently I haven't been hungry enough in life to disregard certain textures... jello being one that never floated my boat any more than gristle.. I'm a self proclaimed texture fanatic. Some things feel pretty cool, just not in my mouth.

When I started keeping chickens, I never thought about eating my own but still ate whatever. Then after moving to the country where I could have roosters and saw too many factory farm videos.. thought raising my own food might be good choice.. and it WAS! I've raised and humanely processed my share of heritage breed standard and bantam fowl.. messing up plenty wondering if I too would become vegetarian or vegan.

Alas. keeping chickens.. as a meat source.. is ONE thing folks who care about the animals lives can do.. It's NOT cheap(er), NOR is it easy.

Chickens AS a meat source.. is it viable.. for the Earth.. in the manner we consume meat in America.. NOT for long.. it is not sustainable AT all!

I feel zero guilt for harvesting my birds but have mourned some of their passing... as individuals.

I have teetered between vegetarian, humane, pasture raised blah blah.. to only gonna eat chicken if it's MINE.. Or also only what we can catch/hunt/fish.. Turns out reality is wildlife don't get the easy route over farmed animals..

To realizing the only reason I eat meat is because I was taught to and it's been deep ingrained for 40+ years as a lifestyle and as a creature of habit indoctrinated to thinking eating some animals is okay but others is not.. ehh, I'm not so sure! I think they are all the same.. And if I'm gonna eat a chicken or a cow or a pig .. why not a human or a dog or a horse or cat?!

Please note that I feel knowledge is fatal to ignorance.. I DO have 2 pet mini pigs.. and after saying goodbye to my canine friend recently.. question MY own place, actions, and thoughts.. And also learning to accept that I cannot control another's.. so it doesn't haunt me or cause me to spew judgement at others.

My husband is first generation Korean American.. who despises his paternal grandparent.. and says even in Korea where they eat dogs.. they do NOT eat their pets...

This makes clear for me that one mans pet is another mans food.. and vice versa.. The line is very blurry.. I mean it's clear when all is good.. but what happens if crud hits the fan?

In other words.. no matter how an animal is raised or harvested.. I'm not sure that I should be eating it, since I feel they are ALL individuals.. And if I'm not that fond of meat textures anyways.. I don't have to duplicate what my ancestors have done.

I like raising the animals more than eating the eggs too.. I value eggs highest in cakes and cookies.

Overall chicken is a meat that's easy to flavor and work with.. If human population wasn't on a never ending uptick and folks would curb their consumption expectations it could be bit more sustainable.

Since keeping chickens, especially for meat.. my overall meat consumption has scaled back in all areas including beef, pork, fish, etc.

I guess I see it as a complicated matter that doesn't have a one fits all solution.

So glad for the BYC community that grows together!

 

[Jennc-123]

I have never given a second thought to meat birds. We moved across the province a year ago and I had to dispatch my intown layers. I found it difficult, mostly because it bothered my children and they had named them.
We do name our animals (even those intended right for the freezer) I have a bunch of bacon labelled Salad.
I think it only really bothers me when the kids have made it a 'pet' But they can't tell who it was after I process so it's not a problem.

 

[SheaLoner]

I much prefer my own home raised and grown chicken to store bought simply for the quality and depth of flavor. One of my favorite dishes is something I call pre and post chicken, simply put its stock with hard boiled eggs.
Raising my own birds has made me far more aware that these creatures while being lovely and beautiful, would strip a carcass bare including your own if they had the opportunity. Voracious little dinosours.

 

[Abriana]

I definitely respect anyone who processes their own chicken, I think it's very resourceful and smart, especially during these times when (at least for us) it is harder to find meat. I do like chicken and eat it, but not very often, and when it's just hard right now because I live at home to not eat meat because my entire family does. But when I move out I will probably stop eating meat, unless it's home processed, because I just don't agree with the inhumane treatment of animals in the meat industry and I want to support smaller farmers. I don't eat my own birds because they are very much my pets and babies, I also don't have the heart to kill them, even if they were designated meat birds. My dad wants to get meat chickens, but we agreed that I would take no part in it, because the second one of them looks at me I'll be like "oh I love it and it loves me and I want to keep it"

 

[electrycmonk]

I still eat store bought chicken in various cuts and prepared states.

I gladly eat our eggs.

I have had a really hard 18+ months and have no plans to "freezer camp" any of our chickens any time soon. Mentally I'm just not there yet. I'm a veteran dealing with stuff and on top of this kiddos have named all the chickens too!

(Shrugs) solo, yeah. Nope. Not yet really.

(Edit to show auto-correct's latest creation)
(Shrugs) So, yeah. Nope, not quite yet ready....

(ETA) I would like to think I'll come around to be able to handle the "Kull, clean & camp" process in time. Not gonna rush this at all.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I'm a veteran dealing with stuff

Thanks for your service.. and for sharing your thoughts on chicken as a meat source.

Dealing with "stuff" can be less than fun to say the least. Chickens as an entertainment and therapy source provide even more nourishment for my soul than their meat does for my body. I hope they can help distract and laugh your way to healing and recovery also!

 

[electrycmonk]

Thanks for your service.. and for sharing your thoughts on chicken as a meat source.

Dealing with "stuff" can be less than fun to say the least. Chickens as an entertainment and therapy source provide even more nourishment for my soul than their meat does for my body. I hope they can help distract and laugh your way to healing and recovery also!

/Gentlemanly bow
Thanks, FWIW I edited & added to previous post.

Cheers

 

[Ratbird]

I don't like how commercial chickens are raised. Mine have a good life and one bad day. It's a lot cheaper to buy it from the store than to raise it, but I know what they ate and how they lived.

I let the broodies hatch so I have cockerels and turkeys to eat. The meat I eat is mainly from my flock. I do trade Fertilized turkey eggs for pork and beef, so I guess they are providing that too.

That’s what I’ve always said, a great life and 1 bad moment.

 

[BDutch]

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I was a vegetarian for many years, then there was a period I ate a little cow and chicken meat (if not recognisable/mostly organic). But after getting chickens I became a vegetarian again.

Why let someone else raise animals in an awful way and let others kill animals for my supper? Or why kill animals for meat at all?. I don’t need meat to eat with taste and eat healthy.
Personally I certainly don’t want to contribute in the way factory-farmers keep, feed and kill . Live of intelligent creatures should get some respect. Like we respect our life stock. (at least most of the BYC members/visitors).

I feel a kind of hypocrisy when people claim they are animal lovers , say they really care about animals they don’t even know in person and eat factory meat But I am probably one of the few who think too much in a world wide scale.

Another reason not to eat factory meat is because of the pollutive and CO2/NOx impact it has on our environment.