Processing Day Support Group ~ HELP us through the Emotions PLEASE!

[Fire Ant Farm]

All the upset sounds a lot like the movie *Chicken Run*
Many people attach human emotion to animals, that doesn't make it so.

Not sure what the original person who suggested it might have meant, but my intention was just to keep the subset of birds that were due for culling that day more calm by not having them in view of the cone. Although I do have a lead rooster (well, technically still cockerel) that takes exception to ANY chicken in the yard being upset, even those he doesn't live with, because he has a real protective streak. If I'm not as clean cut about it as I'd like to be and one of the birds flaps around or squawks on me before I get it restrained, I can see him getting the entire yard on alert and getting the other cockerels all set off. I'd rather avoid that, as I'm likely to be stressed as it is. I'm sure it'll be different once I get some experience.

Regardless, though, the spot that will likely be best because it's level and close to the power supply and water supply is already mostly out of sight anyway...

Oh, and yeah, I plan on giving tidbits to everyone afterwards. Does anyone have any specific recommendations of what of the tidbits are ok/best to disperse to chickens rather than discard? (I know that heart, lungs, liver, kidneys are good if you don't keep them for yourself. I'm presuming you don't give them the gallbladder - what about intestines? Other stuff?) I don't have dogs/cats, so it's chickens or the bin.

- Ant Farm

 

[Beekissed]

I was told that they would fear you if they saw you killing their own. Not sure if it's true or not but my birds all trust me, get excited to see me, and are easy to catch if need be. I don't want to risk them being fearful.

I've not seen any indication that the birds are changed in any way from viewing other birds getting killed. They just don't have the level of thought processes that higher life forms would have, like...say...a sheep. Sheep get all kinds of stressed when seeing one of their own killed and will often call for that lost flock member~be it cow or other animal that was in their flock~for months if they see a similar animal in a neighboring field. Found that out the hard way.

Chickens? Not for a minute does it change them and they will come up and eat their flock mate's liver right out of your hand after watching you kill them and skin them, no matter how long they've lived alongside that other chicken. My dog gets more upset than the chickens do and will pout around all day after I've killed one of "his" chickens.

Gives me the stink eye and such.

 

[LeafBlade12345]

All the upset sounds a lot like the movie *Chicken Run*
Many people attach human emotion to animals, that doesn't make it so.

Exactly. Most chickens will eat birds that have been slaughtered.

 

[Free Feather]

Exactly. Most chickens will eat birds that have been slaughtered.

Yes, they will, but that is because chickens are "programmed" to hide emotion and prey on the weak. They are omnivores. But that definitely does not mean they do not care. Chickens live in groups, but not every chickens in that group is one they actually care about because they have it ingrained in their brain to not get attached or care about every other chickens' pain because they are prey animals, and feeling bad makes you weak and an easier target, not as clear headed in a danger situation. Chickens can recognize about 100 or more other chickens by their faces, and they also know what danger and pain looks like. They will probably not run to another's aid unless they are a rooster, a mother, one with a fighter mentality, or one who is REALLY attached. It is not that they are not capable of a "higher level of thinking", they just know that being sympathetic gets you killed. Independence is a deep part of their nature, even though most see them as a primarily flocking animal. You also have to think that domestic chickens have been reliant on us since they have hatched. They look to us for food, we put them to bed, heal them when they are hurt, break up fights, and add and take away birds. It would not occur to them to think of us as predators. People take advantage of the fact that the sort of think of us like mothers.
Saying chickens can recognize death and fear predators is not humanizing them, it is acknowledging them as self aware and sentient.
I think people like to pretend chickens lack most emotions so they feel better about killing them.

 

[LeafBlade12345]

Oh no, I am no saying they lack emotion, not that they do not recognize death, I certainly didn't mean to come across that way. I was simply responding to another post about how chickens can be emotionally scarred when they see other chickens slaughtered. Believe me, if they felt this way they wouldn't run up to you immediately after the slaughter for treats. But you are completely correct, they are animals that are "programmed" in their ways and natural instincts. It is a very interesting topic, seeing how others think (or do not think) that chickens can feel human emotions. Then again, it is all about the trust. If your chickens do not trust you and they see you kill one of their own, that is a different story. But chickens that trust you do not view you as a predator, so they feel safe around you. From what I've found, there's never really been a chicken who was in someway scarred by viewing the butchering process.

 

[tjo804]

 

[LeafBlade12345]

Free feather,
do you keep chickens for meat? If so, what kind? I've heard that Cornish X's are some of the best meaties, but what about others? Do you happen to know any interesting breeds that dress well?

 

[donrae]

I agree butchering in sight of the flock doesn't effect them. I just did three cockerels right in front of the breeding/grow out pens. After the little flutter of me catching them (my birds aren't tame to handle in the first place so I catch them with a net), no one batted an eye. Since I'd not fasted the birds, I cut out the crop full of feed and fed it back to the main flock. they loved that as a treat.

The next day, no one acted any different around me than usual. They didn't see me as The Big Bad. I'm still the Giver of the Food.

the dog kept looking to me for more chicken feet, though. Not sure how many he should eat in a day but he's apparently got an iron stomach.

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences. All of this is reassuring as I try to figure out where the best location will be to put the killing cone - sounds like my other criteria (power, water, level) will be able to take precedence, which is a good thing!

- Ant Farm

 

[OneMountainAcres]

the dog kept looking to me for more chicken feet, though. Not sure how many he should eat in a day but he's apparently got an iron stomach.

I try not to give my dog more than one a day but I save them and freeze them for her. She's raw fed so I have to keep her percentage of bone at a certain amount. She does get excited though when she sees one in her bowl