Amy, I know you were not talking to me...I am just going to state my position.
Just because I raise my birds for commercial purposes doesn't mean I devalue their lives, I probably respect them more than many people who raise them for pets.
While their lives are in my hands, they are treated humanely and if euthanizing is necessary, it's done. I had to put down my beautiful, hand raised, son of Porter's Narragansett tom, my firstborn and all time favorite turkey, by putting a pellet into his head after a dog mauled him. When my layer hens are laid out (production reds lay well for about a year and a half) I sell them. If I can find backyard chicken keepers to buy them, that has a "warm and fuzzy" feeling...yet if I sell them to someone who wants to butcher them for soup, that is also a responsible option as though their lives may be shortened, they will still be useful.
It's hard to cull a crippled chick, but sometimes it's the right thing to do. I've also gone through extreme measures trying to save birds with no chance of survival. I have kept "useless" birds around because I liked them, like a couple of six year old Ameraucana hens that were past laying, but they were the flock grandmothers and instructed many new batches of youngsters on how to use nest boxes.
I may be inconsistent, but even with my commercial poultry aspect, I still have my soft side.
