Vegans of BYC!!

[BelovedBirds]

I'm interested! Who here is vegan/vegetarian, and what motivates you to do so?
What do the vegans here do with their flocks and their eggs?

I'll go first! I have been vegan since last year, due to loving animals and hating how they're treated, ESPECIALLY in commercial farms- my two ducks are where my flock journey is just beginning. It actually all started with incubating store bought eggs!
So!
Dougie, and Sprightly! Dougie is 4 days older, and hatched on Christmas day! She was an assisted hatch, incredibly nerve wracking!!
Her sister, Sprightly is a very sweet girl, they both are.
When they begin laying, I will feed most of the eggs back to them. Im not sure of the best way to do this.
I'll share a photo of my beautiful girls, feel free to join the conversation regardless of your beliefs and choices. Please be kind though! And I would LOVE to see photos of your flock!

 

[Callender Girl]

I have been drifting toward veganism for some time, mostly because of the cruelty to the animals. I live in a state that has a long history of industrial meat production -- which has included cramped porcine gestation crates and stacking poultry into tiny cages where the birds poop on those below them and have their beaks mutilated.

As managing editor of a weekly ag/farm publication I had awareness of what was going on but just couldn't imagine life without eating meat. For many years, I ignored that my enjoyment of a pork chop or chicken breast came at the extreme suffering of an animal.

I will spend every cent it takes to heal an ailing chicken, but I still bought broiler chicken from the store. My reasoning was that those birds would have had brutish, short lives anyway. Of course, my purchases helped make a demand for more industrial broilers.

And pork? A publisher sent me a book to review, "Pig Tales," that detailed the animals' intelligence -- researchers even taught pigs to play video games. It made me question eating a sentient being.

So, there went meat. And no, I don't suffer from a lack of protein. There are a lot of other foods that provide protein, and I take a B12 supplement, so that's not an issue either.

I didn't understand veganism because in my mind, no animals were harmed when I ate dairy products. I've been doing enough reading in the past year to know that's not true. I am surprised at the number of non-farm people who think cows and goats produce milk all the time. Milk, of course, is made to feed their babies, not us or ours. I've learned what happens to their unwanted offspring and even the commercial production animals themselves once they've outlived their usefulness.

I am what some folks call a "veggan," because I eat eggs -- only ones from my birds because I KNOW they are living their best possible lives and have a home after laying ceases. My chickens will lay eggs whether I eat them, throw them away or feed them to other critters, so I don't see inherent cruelty in that. I do see a valuable source of protein. I have also learned that some non-farm people believe ALL eggs will turn into baby chicks -- which we all know isn't true, either.

I am responding to this post with mixed feelings because I know some folks will take exception to what I'm saying, and I have already been beaten up a bit lately for my opinions on another thread. However, I am not condemning anyone as much as I am condemning a brutish agricultural system; if people want to eat meat (and I certainly don't), I wish they would at least look into the conditions in which their meat was produced.

By the way, Iowa is also well known for its puppy mills. Last year, an Iowa breeder gave up more than 500 dogs that were taken into custody after officials found them in horrific conditions. In my opinion, too many people just don't consider quality of life when it applies to animals.

 

[TheOddOneOut]

I once had someone say to me, “I’m a vegan, but I still eat eggs and dairy. Just couldn’t give them up!”
I was like uh…..

 

[Callender Girl]

Over the weekend, I had a non-vegan houseguest. He was initially pretty wary of my "weird" eating habits.

On the first morning, I asked if he would like to try one of my homemade vegan breakfast sausage patties. He gingerly agreed to "try one." On the second morning, he asked if he could have two.

I noticed he was also pretty comfortable with raiding my cookie jar -- my oatmeal raisin cookies are made with unsweetened apple sauce and oat milk. And, he liked my rustic, crusty no-knead vegan bread so much that he took a copy of the recipe with him when he left.

Hmm. Maybe my food isn't so "weird" after all.

 

[Callender Girl]

I think poor Michael was afraid he was going to have to eat nothing but carrot sticks and celery all weekend! He admitted he was surprised by how much he liked my vegan alternative foods.

Sausage, as I pointed out to Michael, is all about the seasoning. I used to make my own out of ground pork; now I use pretty much the same spices but substitute oatmeal with TVP to get a similar texture to the missing meat.

I have a few vegan cookbooks and my new hobby is making dishes that non-vegans -- like Michael -- will find are really not that different from what they're used to eating. And, are actually tasty!

Again, I'm not strictly a "vegan," because I refuse to waste all those eggs my perfectly spoiled poultry produce. And, there are a few non-vegan foods I'm trying to wean myself away from (I really, really missed real smoked Gouda for quite a while).

Perfection -- in veganism like everything else -- is impossible. I am sometimes surprised to read a label and learn about items I would never have suspected contained animal products.

Also, I have a couple of rescue dogs. Dogs don't understand veganism at all.

 

[Uwish]

I’m vegetarian I do eat eggs and homemade cheese. Eggs I get from neighbors chickens and soon to be from my own chickens. Cheese made by neighbor who uses her own goats and cows and only does it a few times a years as she doesn’t steal the Milk from the babies. She has several cows and goats all pets all truly loved and spoiled on over 10 acres.
I do not eat my duck eggs as I think they are gross I give them to my neighbor or feed them to my dogs and cats. My ducks won’t eat them.

 

[Henhouse Harlot]

Well...I started out on my chicken adventure while fully vegan, and never thought it was odd until today, lol
Curious why I got chickens if I don't eat the eggs..?
Because they're NEAT!
They eat both weeds and bugs from my garden, provide high-quality fertilizer, and hours & hours of entertainment! Plus, I love giving those gorgeous eggs to people who might not have ever had such a delicious experience. I suppose I keep chickens more for the individual chicken, not for what they can produce.. Eggs are rather like a bonus.

 

[BelovedBirds]

I think poor Michael was afraid he was going to have to eat nothing but carrot sticks and celery all weekend! He admitted he was surprised by how much he liked my vegan alternative foods.

Sausage, as I pointed out to Michael, is all about the seasoning. I used to make my own out of ground pork; now I use pretty much the same spices but substitute oatmeal with TVP to get a similar texture to the missing meat.

I have a few vegan cookbooks and my new hobby is making dishes that non-vegans -- like Michael -- will find are really not that different from what they're used to eating. And, are actually tasty!

Again, I'm not strictly a "vegan," because I refuse to waste all those eggs my perfectly spoiled poultry produce. And, there are a few non-vegan foods I'm trying to wean myself away from (I really, really missed real smoked Gouda for quite a while).

Perfection -- in veganism like everything else -- is impossible. I am sometimes surprised to read a label and learn about items I would never have suspected contained animal products.

Also, I have a couple of rescue dogs. Dogs don't understand veganism at all.

This is true! It takes a lot of time and research to choose vegan alternatives, honestly occassionally I still get cravings for kebabs- ughh- but it gets easier and easier, I rarely think about meat or dairy by this point, I usually just crave home made vegan snacks and meals, it's amazing how stuff so simple can be so delicious! Like roasted seasoned chickpeas or fried beans!!

Dogs are interesting, commercial dog food loses a lot of nutrients whole being processed, and those nutrients are added back in at the end via plants- so I've heard- so dogs are one of the few animals that can adapt to a plant based diet! BUT it is very expensive to buy the balanced foods they need, so most people pass. If I adopt my own dog in the future its something I will have to be prepared to try!
I do give my dogs bought vegan treats though, which they go absolutely crazy for!

It's an interesting topic and highly debated.

Have you ever tried feeding eggs back to your hens? That's my plan with my ducks, although I'll give a few away to family members. Occassionslly I've heard people say they actually don't like them-but usually they gobble up a scrambled egg quite happily and it feeds back the nutrients they need.

I feel kinda bad for poultry/waterfowl that have been bred to produce such a high quantity of eggs, it can be exhausting and cause complications- I can't help but worry for my beautiful ducks once they start laying

 

[Shadrach]

I've been a Vegan in the past and a vegetarian.
These days I'm just happy to eat much like most of the worlds population.
Given the choice I would rather only eat meat I've raised and killed myself.
I can't help thinking the Vegan movement is something for the privilidged middle classes. All those supplements cost money and of course one needs to have the means and time to do the cooking. Even as a vegetarian I found I was forever cooking to ensure I got a properly balanced diet and I detest cooking.
If we all just ate less meat and dairy produce much of the disgusting factory farming practices could be reduced.
I'm not worried about my health because of my eating habits whatever they may be at the time. It's the health amd keeping conditionsof the creatures I eat that I'm concerned about.

 

[TheOddOneOut]

Hello! I’m not vegan or vegetarian, and do regularly eat meat, but I think it’s good to know where your food comes from and but it from sustainable sources.
Do your ducks lay eggs yet?
My hens lay some very tasty ones we eat all the time.