Unofficial poll: Do you name birds you plan to eat someday?

[MarkJr]

I name the ones that earn it. But still hold no qualms about eating them. They have a purpose, named or not.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Yes, everyone serves a purpose (table, or eggs then table) and everyone gets a name.

Most are named for a purpose - identification. Breed plus leg band color. "Comet Red" "Comet Orange", or Breed and number "Cornish Rex", "Cornish Secundis". A few get "real" names from personality or events, as I post flock pictures on my FB page regularly - my friends look for them as an uplifting start to their days to see my birds playing around. Simpler times, you know? So I've had "@$$Quack" the Duck (obvious reasons), "Chuck" (actually Charlene) who thought she was a duck, "Darkest Dianne" the blackest of my Dark Brahma, etc.

Interestingly enough, my FB friends didn't object at all when I took pictures of named birds, and later pictures of those same birds after I had prepared and served at table. I keep an odd circle, perhaps?

 

[RUNuts]

Yes, everyone serves a purpose (table, or eggs then table) and everyone gets a name.

Most are named for a purpose - identification. Breed plus leg band color. "Comet Red" "Comet Orange", or Breed and number "Cornish Rex", "Cornish Secundis". A few get "real" names from personality or events, as I post flock pictures on my FB page regularly - my friends look for them as an uplifting start to their days to see my birds playing around. Simpler times, you know? So I've had "@$$Quack" the Duck (obvious reasons), "Chuck" (actually Charlene) who thought she was a duck, "Darkest Dianne" the blackest of my Dark Brahma, etc.

Interestingly enough, my FB friends didn't object at all when I took pictures of named birds, and later pictures of those same birds after I had prepared and served at table. I keep an odd circle, perhaps?

Odd circle? I think not.

I didn't have any help at harvest time though. The freezer is full and no one is hungry. We will work on that too.

 

[Quail 66]

I name the ones that earn it. But still hold no qualms about eating them. They have a purpose, named or not.

laconic but true. I am sad by city children who think that chickens are born in the supermarket and that farmers are ruthless people. I've helped friends culling our dinner when in the countryside and they were more compassionate than city people.

 

[Xouie]

Yes, everyone serves a purpose (table, or eggs then table) and everyone gets a name.

Most are named for a purpose - identification. Breed plus leg band color. "Comet Red" "Comet Orange", or Breed and number "Cornish Rex", "Cornish Secundis". A few get "real" names from personality or events, as I post flock pictures on my FB page regularly - my friends look for them as an uplifting start to their days to see my birds playing around. Simpler times, you know? So I've had "@$$Quack" the Duck (obvious reasons), "Chuck" (actually Charlene) who thought she was a duck, "Darkest Dianne" the blackest of my Dark Brahma, etc.

Interestingly enough, my FB friends didn't object at all when I took pictures of named birds, and later pictures of those same birds after I had prepared and served at table. I keep an odd circle, perhaps?

Well odd or not, we get it. There’s a special sense (of joy? respect? I don’t know) in seeing tribute paid to an animal well raised and cared for that goes on to be a good meal.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Over the past few months I’ve noticed a common piece of advice is “Don’t name birds you’ll be eating or you’ll get too attached”.

It’s interesting to me, having grown up where we named everything (though often the calves were named Chuck or Loaf and the lambs were called Choppy”).

Now with my first set of multiple Cornish cross, I find most of them indistinguishable and I get why folks do group names.

What do/would you do with birds who may go to freezer camp? It’s a multiple options poll in case some folks have multiple flocks

Everyone gets a name on our hobby farm.

 

[Peep_Show]

Nope. Once they get a name, they get grace. Even our snarky Stew the Roo gets a reprieve. Usually once the flock is spent or egg production dwindles with age, they get rehomed. If no takers, then they get a one-way field trip to the raptor rescue. However, none of my elder birds have thus far. Lucky wonks!

 

[Xouie]

laconic but true. I am sad by city children who think that chickens are born in the supermarket and that farmers are ruthless people. I've helped friends culling our dinner when in the countryside and they were more compassionate than city people.

Unfortunately there’s more than a few city adults who seem to think the meat they buy was born under plastic wrap.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

They may or may not get a name. But I no longer have any compunctions about eating them. I don't have room or the finances for keeping retirees no matter how attached I may be to them. Have to make room for those that can pay their rent. We feed them for a couple of years. Then they feed us for a couple of meals. Circle of life.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Well odd or not, we get it. There’s a special sense (of joy? respect? I don’t know) in seeing tribute paid to an animal well raised and cared for that goes on to be a good meal.

^^^ this. There is a certain pride in knowing I raised it, I butchered it, and I cooked it. ...and it means more to those to whom I serve the meal, that so much of "me" is invested in what I choose to share with them. Even the lowly sausage is elevated by my having butchered, ground, devised my own spice mix to season, stuffed in casings and then smoked or otherwise prepared for the table.