Vegans of BYC!!

[Callender Girl]

Hurray for Dougie!

 

[Henhouse Harlot]

I'm a bit late to this thread, but I'm an ovo-vegetarian. I was vegan for many years, but I'm willing to eat eggs from my chickens and I figure giving eggs to friends and family helps reduce the number of factory farmed eggs being purchased. I've only had chickens for two years, so I'm fairly new to it, but my goal is to try to give my chickens good, long lives in a safe environment. I've been really impressed with how different chickens actually are to the way they are portrayed on TV, in fiction, or in other media (I grew up in the city). They have individual personalities, are affectionate to each other and people, and are curious about everything. I love the gazillion different sounds they make and their quirks. I have 6 2 year old easter egger hens, 6 nearly 8 week old salmon faverolles pullets, and one 7 week old black copper maran cockerel.

The cockerel was just introduced to the the salmon faverolles last week and here is a picture of them snuggling in their nest box together.
View attachment 3087322

Anyway, it was just nice to see that there are others here who wanted chickens primarily as pets.

I love this!! You're right on time Thank you! My son and I were vegan when we first started keeping chickens, at this point we're pretty much "ovo-vegan-occasional real-cheese eaters"...lol. Plus my kid eats sustainably sourced fish a couple times a month (Like Artic Char, Atlantic Cod, etc) I adore giving eggs away!!

 

[Henhouse Harlot]

Don't think a thing about being "late to the thread." That just means you've revived it for more discussion!

Great photo of your chickens. and it sounds like you are a great chicken parent!

I do my best to discourage folks from eating eggs from the factory farms. Once, when I was dropping off eggs at the office where I used to work, one of my former colleagues proudly informed me that while I was selling my eggs for $1 a dozen (which I only do to subsidize feed costs), her husband buys theirs at a convenience store for 99 cents. She seemed less proud when I explained the conditions that produced those eggs.

BTW, I was shopping at Target last week, and one of their endcap freezers showed three brands of non-dairy "ice cream" in delicious flavors. My culinary world is getting bigger!

"SoDelicious" and "Tofuti" make incredible ice cream! "Nut Pods" is amazing vegan creamer, I swear the regular type tastes just like half and half! Yum!!

 

[Brooks_]

I tried some vegan jerky today. By that I mean mushroom jerky. Knowing that it was mushrooms I thought it was pretty good. Other than the sodium and sugar, a healthy snack.

 

[BelovedBirds]

I tried some vegan jerky today. By that I mean mushroom jerky. Knowing that it was mushrooms I thought it was pretty good. Other than the sodium and sugar, a healthy snack.

I don't think I've ever tried vegan jerky! Sounds pretty nice though!

 

[Brooks_]

I don't think I've ever tried vegan jerky! Sounds pretty nice though!

It was. Far better than meat alternatives. Basing that on the vegan pork rind I tried. Flavor was ok, but the texture was way off. The mushroom jerky had a texture that was kinda close to a cheap beef jerky.

 

[Ccort]

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.

Your post here was exceptionally well said. I'm partial, as a vegan with a very similar opinion on things, but you explained things well here.

I do animal rescue/fostering and began refusing to eat animals in preschool. My parents were big meat eaters but I grew up in the country, surrounded by incredibly inhumane farms. Even though I was very young, I knew exactly where meat came from and these animals nearby were my friends, friends I saw suffering. I am NOT saying all farms are bad. But not all small farms are good either.

My family HATED the childhood battle of them trying to force me into eating meat. It wasn't until early adulthood where they started to see things differently and began to understand although my own mom began limiting her meat intake due to health issues, not the potential cruelty involved. It took a lot for her to even be open-minded to my own dietary choice.

I am also a teacher. I'm married to meat-eating husband that I love. I don't push my lifestyle on others. I did so much research on chickens before starting this journey. I wanted chickens as pets but also to help others gain a respect for chickens and see them as individuals.

I live in the suburbs and teach a diverse groups of kids, most who have never seen a chicken in real life. I want those around me to know where their food comes from, value the animals, make their own choices, and when my hens begin their normal process of laying, I want to share those cruelty-free eggs with others, giving them a real connection between chicken and egg. I want them to know who laid what egg.

My school actually wants to do a field trip to my house and introduce the kids to the chickens. I never brought that up. Amazingly enough, an admin was so interested in the whole chicken adventure, they came up with the idea. I have found that even though I am new to all this, I have had MANY people asking really solid questions and showing interest, most of which have never been around chickens. It's been a really cool experience!

I adore my chickens and having them be such an awesome conversation starter and educational tool is really the icing on the cake!

 

[Ccort]

I don't think I've ever tried vegan jerky! Sounds pretty nice though!

Try the Louisville Vegan Jerky Co. Jerky.

 

[BelovedBirds]

I live in the suburbs and teach a diverse groups of kids, most who have never seen a chicken in real life.

It's funny, not all that long ago I was a kid with no poultry experience, now here I am, hugging a duck, lol.
My niece is very young, but I'm excited to teach her about the ducks, hopefully future generations will grow to be more aware and more mindful to these animals

 

[WIchickMama]

We eat the Talenti Sorbetto here--the Fudge Cookie one is my favorite and then there is a lemon one too-multi different layers of cookies and such.

The kids and I only eat the eggs from our chickens, who are pets, pets, pets! Cruelty free here for sure lots of love and snuggles. DH eats meat but it is all local and from people (notice I didn't say farmers) that we trust.

I love this time of year too because with the berries and veggies our fridge is bursting. I roasted up some broccoli, cauliflower and radishes in olive oil today, cooked up carrots and sweet potatoes in maple syrup. YUM