People ever give you a hard time about...

[95yj]

interestingly alot of the animal lover types i tell think its kinda cool that i'm humanely raising food instead of going industrial. everybody else in my rich suburb just gives me a funny look and reaches for their fone to call the cops.

 

[Sillystunt]

my god, i mean come on! Where do they think chicken nuggets come from? LOL

Yes, i have some that are pets, BUT i have some that are not! I have yet to process my chickens since i am new to meat chickens(have 8 growing nicely, thanks) I did it since i do not want all the hormones and such in store bought meat. I am still chicken and have hummmm weeks to brave up and just do it! I just keep in my head, "this is for my kids!!"

If my neighbors have a problem with it than they can BITE me! LOL but knowing my neighbor she will just be like....that was the roo, right? hahahahah

 

[hensonly]

Have any of you ever been to Europe??The butcher shops there have dead animals hanging in the front window - yes, right there on the main street, birds plucked, rabbits etc. fully furred, heads and feet still attached.(This was about 20 years ago, but I can't think it's changed much). And in many parts of Asia, you go to the market and choose your dinner entree - and the stall owner kills the critter in front of you. This led to a pretty funny scene in Hong Kong, when a seafood merchant took the chosen eel by the tail, whacked it on the sidewalk to kill it, but lost his grip and the thing took off like a bullet, writhing across the market at top speed, customer and merchant in hot pursuit, under other vendors' tables, through many displays, across the street.... don't know whether they ever caught it or not... Guess there are downsides to every method of dispatching critters.

And my second comment is - yes, many people at work are horrified when the subject comes up - we haven't yet gotten meat birds but are seriously considering it this spring. We are building a new coop for the layers and could use the old, smaller one, for meat birds. I won't do the processing myself, only because I would worry about doing it wrong and poisoning us...if I could find someone local that I trusted to show me how to do it right, I wouldn't mind (though DH would have to dead them - I'd have a hard time with that, though I could do it if I absolutely had to).

But back to the general populace: these are the same people who treat the local farm store meat with near reverence, in spite of the fact that those folks raise their own meat animals at home and have them butchered just the same as I would. And at least one place offers guided tours of the farm in the summer...so you can see your next winter's steak while it's still on the hoof?? I went, out of curiosity, to one of the local places last week. the owner told me with great pride that all her beef is grain fed. Huh? Since when was grain a natural feed for cows? And hers are wintered indoors (well, in the barn). Again - huh? How is that natural? It may keep the beef more tender, but is it better??

Y'all are right - people don't think for themselves, don't follow things through to a logical conclusion. LIke the part about not wanting to eat something that you, their friend or family have killed, but don't mind eating something a stranger has defuncted. As a young adult, I stopped eating cornish game hens from the store when I found one with a broken wing...of course I don't know that it happened when the bird was alive, it could just as easily have been done while plucking or cleaning... but it brought home to me that there's too much I don't know about what happens to the animals I eat before I eat them... if I had the barns, I'd raise my own beef and pork as well as eggs and hopefully meat birds...it might cost more but if it saves our health, who cares.

Hey, how about a discount on health care for folks who eat their own-raised food? Now that's s health care plan I could support!

 

[StupidBird]

"The guys want me to raise some rabbits too, even offered to build the hutch and buy the first rabbits. I said no. It's not that I couldn't kill them, it's I'm too worried that after having put up with my sister's pet rabbit for 3 years I'd enjoy killing them."

HAHAHAHAHA!

thinking of my sister's demon bunny some 30 years ago....

edited to add, my Mom taught me that to waste food is a serious sin...and to treat God's creature's with respect. I'm not religious, but if you're gonna keep it, keep it Right. I still think it's a terrible sin against people and nature to waste food, waste anything

And yes, I've gotten some grief about my first five chickens. They didn't get named until hen - ness was established as we were eating roos. If one of my pets get hurt too bad, I will not let it suffer - or go to waste. These first five are family pets, not meant to be primarily food; they have taught me much. Now the next ones will not be named; not by me. I think. I also want to do meat birds. And maybe rabbits (like BIL) will only make pets out of the breeding stock.
People are weirded out that we eat entire meals with nothing but food from our little suburban lot. And that we visited the farm to see the steer that is now in our freezer.
And my sons! Taught cooking from early on - my rationals I've given included be self-sufficient, scouts, impress the girls, it's cheaper when you're living on your own, who's gonna do it for you, and more I've forgotten.

 

[kees]

Quote:

 

[kees]

Quote:
Isn't this the slow food movement that's becoming more popular?

Suzy

 

[kees]

Quote:
Isn't this the slow food movement that's becoming more popular?

Suzy

 

[kees]

Quote:
Isn't this the slow food movement that's becoming more popular?

Suzy

 

[PineappleMama]

I imagine that would be a big tadoo around here.

I don't plan to raise for meat, just eggs, since I'm limited to four but as others said I prolly wouldn't waste a bird. Can't swear to it, as I haven't been there yet, but I don't like waste. I don't hunt/fish because I don't like to clean 'em and I can't dump that on someone else. But I CAN do it if I need to, at least with fish. Haven't tried dressing any game... like to think I could handle it, but I don't know.

I can only imagine what some of the yuppie parents at my kids' school would say. Actually, it might be rather amusing to see their faces. Particularly the "OCD clean freak, Lysol everything and make their kids use hand sanitizer every 10 minutes "ones who have no problem eating store bought (article said what 2/3 have bacteria?) or better still the ones who really enjoy a hefty serving of fresh Bambi. OY.

I've tried deer and rabbit, didn't care for either. Squirrel and dumplin's is fantastic, though I haven't had any in years and years (Ol Papa used to shoot 'em from his wheelchair on the porch and Ol Granny would fetch 'em, he'd clean, she'd cook) And the first time I took my DH to visit my family in Ark. Ol Granny served up wild duck and gravy... OMG was that good... three bites fills you up, it's so rich, but soooo good.

Dang, now I'm getting all (summer) home sick.

 

[farmin'chick]

So... when the objectors are in the hospital recovering from the medical procedures necessitated by their chemical laden, factory produced chicken and meats they've been buying, maybe you can take them some homemade chicken soup, made with REAL chicken?