Ugly Livestock

[Chicken.Lytle]

Any suggestions on meat animals that are easy to manage yet are ugly enough that nobody will mind killing and eating them?

 

[carolinagirl58]

I don't think there is a farm animal that is too ugly to eat. Pigs are probably the worst, but even those can be cute in their own way. I decided on sheep because they all look the same. It's harder to get attached if one stands out as being especially cute.

 

[lasergrl]

albino rabbits! Plus when they scratch every inch of your forearms you feel less bad about it.....

 

[mississippifarmboy]

Lord, I know Redhen's gonna kill me.... but...

PIGS.

especially pot-belly pigs.

 

[Imp]

Umm, possum?

Imp-

Although I kinda think they're cute

 

[texascowboy1979]

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LOVE IT.. Opossums... Id never eat one.

Chickens are the easyest to Kill / eat.. They multiply quickly... Actually, you can eat anything that does not have a name attached to it. Like Buttons, or Sara, or Julie, Or Parker, or Jr.. or Lady..

 

[MrsKemmerlin]

Aww, can't agree on the pigs

I love them!

I'd go with the chickens.. and I think I could probably second on the sheep.

 

[patandchickens]

Turkeys maybe? (I happen to think they're beautiful and personable but I realize I'm in a minority) Their advantage over chickens is that you get a LOT more meals out of a single killing/butchering. You can either do the broadbreasted commercial types from the feedstore, where you're paying $4 or so per poult but they reach eatin' size almost as fast as chickens do and you don't have to pay to feed breeding stock over the winter; or you can do more-commercially-oriented heritage breeds (i.e. NOT types bred just for color or show, such as royal palms) and they will take almost twice as long to mature and eat a lot more food per lb of finished weight, but OTOH they can be relatively self-reproducing as long as you carry some breeders over the winter.

I also have a few sheep as dairy animals because I find lambs less humanlike-cute than baby goat kids, and will not be so upset about sending them off to freezer camp... but, I know a lot of people do think lambs are 'too cute to eat', dunno how you feel.

Basically the best plan would probably for you to get over the idea that eating an animal is a vindictive or cruel act (or if you feel it IS, then maybe eat less meat), so that you can pick whatever kind of livestock you are BEST POSITIONED TO RAISE rather than looking for something "ugly".

Anyhow I think most people who are successful in practicing good animal husbandry eventually get somewaht attached to their animals, at least to the point of not considering them "ugly", no matter HOW ugly the animals are

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[carolinagirl58]

I don't enjoy eating any of the critters I raise. They are all cute and I get attached to them all. But here's the way I look at it. I can either raise my own animals and eat them, or I can eat meat from the grocery store. Grocery store meat is not as healthy as meat I can raise. But the biggest factor is grocery store meat comes from animals that were not treated very well during their short lives. They never knew kindness and they had a frightening life and death. My animals will be treated with kindness and compassion. They will live a calm peaceful life on good green pastures. And when it comes time to butcher them, they will not suffer. Remembering this makes it a lot easier for me to raise my own meat.

 

[Dar]

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now I sit and wait for red to sign on...LOL