tell me how your kids handle eating chickens that used to be pets.

[LindsayB]

Don't let your kids watch anything from PETA....I looked at the website once b/c they show videos of factory farming and some stuff was really disgusting. They go alittle over the top and find the absolute worst things....

 

[LindsayB]

Okay. I didn't know we couldn't talk about them.... lol oh well

 

[Tropical Chook]

To the OP...............if your kids already see your hens as being pets, then it may be hard for them to accept the fact that you want to eat them. I would suggest you get a few more birds, and this time, try to steer your kids away from becoming attached. My daughters are three and a half and the other is five. One day when my wife was cooking, our eldest daughter was curious about the chicken we were eating. Although it was a store bought chicken, I jokingly said it was one of ours to see how she'd respond. I found her response to be more of a curious one than anything else, when she started asking which chicken it was, was it a hen or a roo, etc, etc. Of course I told her I was just making up a story, but that event opened up an opportunity for me to explain the whole deal about keeping chickens, and she really surprised me. When I did slaughter one, and told her, she simply informed me that I shouldn't kill the layers because they give us eggs. I said no, it was a rooster, and she was okay with that. Since them, I've always been up front with her when it's time to slaughter, and I've explained that we will always look after our birds very well, but when they get big enough, then we eat them. I have also made sure that she sees I get no pleasure out of killing a bird, and that it's just a job I have to do. The last time when I was about to process one, she asked me if she could come and watch me. I wasn't sure what to say, but ah well, I said okay. She stood by me from beginning to end, and eagerly soaked up all the explanations for each step of the process. It took me 40 years to get where she is today, so now that we've got this far, I have no regrets, and I'm very happy that my little one knows where her chicken meals are coming from, and what all happens in order for that meal to appear on the table.

Good luck

 

[chickensducks&agoose]

My daughters are 3 1/2 and 5, and the little one started to cry about the dead meaties (yesterday) and said "I'm SO sad about our white chickens... but I bet they'll be delicious!"... this was through her tears.... i just hugged her.

 

[Suechick]

chickensducks&agoose :

the little one started to cry about the dead meaties (yesterday) and said "I'm SO sad about our white chickens... but I bet they'll be delicious!"... this was through her tears.... i just hugged her.

Wow, children are amazing!​

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Suechick, I commend you on taking these very thoughtful steps into getting yourself & your family back in touch with your food sources. And I agree with the others who said that you should probably make the transition from your chickens as pets to chickens on the plate a gradual one. You may never convince your children that these first pet chickens should ever come in as dinner guests, but I think you're on your way to one day raising, keeping & processing your own.

There are some great works of children's literature that depict families raising & processing their own meat, one of my favorites is Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder. But do NOT read Charlotte's Web at this time.

I know that lots of kids the ages of yours can & will help with the butchering chores, but I don't think it's a good idea to force them into it. I learned how to process chickens on my own. My boys have watched from a safe distance, know what's going on, and are willing to help fetch tools, catch up chickens, bring the fresh hot pots of scalding water, and haul garbage bags to the curb, and of course, EAT the cooked chicken, but don't want to take part in the messy bits. If there were some reason why I had to have them more involved I would insist, but otherwise I'm content if they spend the time doing other household chores that frees me to complete the butchering.

If you have a small yard you may not want to raise your own Cornish Xs, they can be messy! But perhaps you could find another chicken keeper nearby who raises meaties and would let you trade butchering help for meat. Plus, there are other ways to make room for new laying hens than eating them yourself, you could sell/give them away. Sometimes there are people willing to keep older hens just for their pleasure & don't care if they lay much any more.

 

[cassie]

I grew up on a farm. We didn't eat pets. Food was food and pets were pets. Anything that was destined for the table was not made into a pet. Period.

 

[Sammimom]

Growing up, if you were going to eat it, you didn't name it. We did have some hens who became pets and they were never eaten, and we knew they would never be eaten. I think it is not good to let children develop an actual relationship with an animal beyond caring for it, and then eating it. I would make sure that some of the chickens, if that is their "thing," are allowed to be pets who will be safe from the axe.

When we got our current chickens, it was with the knowledge that they would be only pet birds, never to be eaten. I wanted to get a few for meat and my children completely balked. I do understand, and so we continue to find local sources for our meat. If I'd had more property we likely would have had two coops...and two kinds of birds, pets vs. birds we were giving a healthy, happy life to before we slaughtered them for meat.

 

[booker81]

Thinking about it, depending on the age of the little ones, I wouldn't show things like Food Inc, unless you want some pint sized vegetarians on your hands.

I would however, start right now and look for a local FFA or 4H chapter, and encourage your kids to get involved - and you get involved two. Both programs are PHENOMENAL for helping any child grow up to be a good citizen and caretaker of animals for food, or anything else related to ag (or just fun). It introduces you to a very LARGE community of small time farmers and folks who really believe in the importance of raising humane food. If your kids raise some meat animals (which, though you live in town, some farms will sell you, say, a pig, and your child has to come out and help care for it regularly), they can show it at fair, and then the animal will be auctioned off and the buyer will have it taken to slaughter. It's the beginning of learning to care for your food, knowing it will be food - and getting some money to boot.

The auction isn't to see how cheap the buyer can get the meat - most of the buyers are local businesses, and they will purposely drive the price up to get a good price for the animal - in turn, for the child. I remember one year prices were going low, and my mom planning on purchasing a pig from one of the kids that cleaned stalls for us. She went down a few rows, and asked someone to please bid against her so she could drive the price up to $2/lb (they were going for $1 to $1.50/lb). He did, so the kid ended up with a nice $600 check for their hard work. It's ok to cry too when selling your first animal - a lot of kids do, and the auctioneer and volunteers take the time to console the kiddo, and help them understand it's ok to say goodbye and they've done a good job. Usually one of the big businesses will really drive the price up then, to kind of make up for the sadness for the child

If the child is really distraught, they will stop the auction, let them pull out, and talk with their leader. If they want to try again, they can, if they don't, well, they have a pig and no money

I've never seen that happen, but I've seen a lot of tears with smiles, and a lot of stoic children, that next year really do fantastic and make a killing on the businesses with a fantastic animal

I really think 4H and FFA are the absolute best thing to get involved in if you are concerned with making sure your child grows up knowing where their food comes from, and to help promote a good mindset about volunteering, helping others, and just caring for the world in general.

I was involved in 4H for 10 years, and FFA for 5.

Once my child is a bit older (in the 5-8 range), we will join at least 4H, and I will be as active in the group as I possibly can.

 

[sonew123]

I just raised 23 meaties to go to freezer camp-I bought them and raised them to be processed at my chickenstock last weekend. My almost 12 yr old DD KNEW what they were for and I warned her many times do not get attached-SHe has a HUGE heart with any animal. When it came time to process them-I had about 20 people watching and 5 people actually doing the deed. This was all for a learnng experience between us chicken people who wantd to raise meat to eat. It was a great experience-except to my DD. She saw people taking the Meaties to their demise -I was making sure my troops had their feeders and waterers full so I could still enjoy the chickenstock-DD came CRYING to me-I gave her a hug and consoled her as much as I could and told her the way things have to be and those birds were not pets-they could not live much longer than that weekend as their health would be put in jeapordy ( I had alreayd lost 3 waiting for them to be 8 weeks to health issues) She warned me she would not eat a single ounce of that meat! Well two days later I cooked one of those chickens and ooh yummy but she ate cereal! She wasnt budging-not one bit. The next night she asked if she could make dinner? Um ok??? what did she do-she took all the meat leftover on that carcuss and made chicken chimichangas-most delicous too-SHE ATE IT! I think she's ok now but...she is scarred from it-I told her I would never get those kinds of birds again because it hurt her too much-I did tell her that I was getting FR next year though-but will not process unless she was at a friends house or nowhere to be found that day!