Open Letter to the People who FREAK OUT because I eat my chickens.....

[fowlmood]

All I can say is------"I love you guys"!!!!!

 

[trimpy]

My co-workers though it was strange at first, but now they all want eggs and meat. Getting meat is going to require a little manual labor in the processing phase on their part I think.

 

[Mrs. Feathers]

We have family and friends who when invited for dinner will say "we aren`t eating your chickens are we?". I just tell them I valued the lives of my birds too much to even think of serving them so anyone who does not appreciate good food!

 

[Tropical Chook]

It's amazing just how ignorant some people be, thinking that if they buy store chicken they're somehow not guilty of killing anything. Luckily for me living over here in Thailand, it's the other way round, with many people, and especially those in the rural areas, actually thinking you must be nuts to eat store bought eggs and chicken if you can rather eat home grown food. Even after having lived here for almost ten years now, I still find it amazing how so many Thais can prepare a complete meal without even looking at a grocery store. They simply go for a walk in the bush, pick herbs, vegetables, berries and etc. then a chicken gets slaughtered, and before you know it, you've got a huge meal, full of variety, right there in front of you. Of course in the cities it's different, but even the city folk over here appreciate home grown food more. A good example can be seen in the fact that home raised chicken costs more than commercially raised chicken when you buy fresh produce at the markets. There's also a large producer over here that focuses only on raising native Thai chickens, and it's the most expensive chick you can buy because the Thais prefer the meat to that of broilers. I never thought I would say this, but I feel the same way now. I'm sure many people wouldn't like to eat my free range game birds because they can be quite tough, but I actually love it, but then again, I love venison as well. Also, if you hang them they become more tender, or if you store them in the fridge, but over here, the Thai way is to cook it just minutes after it's stopped breathing. If you only slaughter one bird, there's no way you're going to succeed in keeping that bird until the next day...

Ah well, at least nothing goes to waste apart from the head and the feathers, because they eat everything here, including the feet, blood and etc. When they're finished, there are just bones left, and those go to the dogs.


So, to sum it up............just ignore friends, family and colleagues who can't seem to see any sense

 

[raimnel]

we reversed generation!? My grand parents raised their own meat. My mom and dad didnt (I think he wishes he could of). and now my husband and I and 5 kids raise our own chickens for eggs and meat (my dad encouraged us get chickens, see I told ya he wanted them). we gotta build a "barn" so we can get a cow and a pig! again my father is encouraging it! he's talking the kids into it! thats how we ended up with chickens! at least we dont have ticks any more!!! YAY!! oh and we had the same reactions around here and NOW our hens cant lay fast enough, so we got more hens!!

and we did almost 60 meaties this summer

 

[afinney]

I couldn't kill mine for along time but finally decided that I was tired for paying for store bought chicken when I read an article about so called "free range" store chickens. Now we eat our extra roos. My only request was that they be killed in the most humane way possible and that they are never allowed to flop and run around the yard headless while everyone laughs.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Quote:
Ditto. I was the same way.

 

[Buff Hooligans]

Quote:
I don't know - I'm keepin' my doors locked at night just in case!

 

[onthespot]

MMmmmmm! That chicken looked GOOD! I'm gonna go out back and get me one of those and cook him right NOW!!!

 

[hipeatall]

I attended a "Poultry Processing for Consumption, A Hands On Practice Day" about a month ago with my husband. It was my first time to do anything like this and even though I was super nervous and a wee bit scared going in... I have to say that I am so glad I went. I was surrounded by a wonderfully supportive (and dare I say, fun) group of people, I learned soooo much and I gained the confidence to do this again in the future.