Why are we raising chickens?

[Ol Grey Mare]

My flocks primary purpose is egg production...so I rotate birds annually, replacing 1/2 of my flock so the oldest birds are about 2 1/2 when cycled out. I enjoy them, they entertain me but they are here for a purpose. I would process if I wasnt able to sell, but in my current location have had no problem selling the birds I'm cycling out

 

[LulaBell]

My plan is to let DH do the killing, and I’m hoping that once the girls go to freezer camp for a while and learn how to behave like proper table chickens I will be able to enjoy them just as much then.

We have local Amish that will do the killing and cleaning for a small price. I’m thankful for that, I couldn’t do it myself. I am new to chicken raising, I think after going through the process a couple of times I’ll feel better about it

 

[pepe1]

I have had chickens since moving to the country 26 years ago and have had as many as 98 at one time, i now have 31 hens and 2 Roosters, i hatch my own and sell or give away hens around 2 years old, i keep some that i really like beyond their laying years because i enjoy watching them free range when i am outside, i have more egg customers than eggs and the sales cover my costs barely, i send the cockerels to a processor at 16 to 20 weeks because my wife will eat them only if she does not see any signs of processing, i guess she thinks it is the same as buying at the supermarket, either way we both are happy, whatever works for you is what is best for you and your flock.

 

[LulaBell]

My flocks primary purpose is egg production...so I rotate birds annually, replacing 1/2 of my flock so the oldest birds are about 2 1/2 when cycled out. I enjoy them, they entertain me but they are here for a purpose. I would process if I wasnt able to sell, but in my current location have had no problem selling the birds I'm cycling out

This is what we talked about doing. Starting a new flock of 12 every year until the oldest is 3, then take them for processing. Essentially a constant cycle of eggs and meat. Part of our discussion is allowing me to keep my own flock on the side of 12 or so to do with what I want. A hobby flock, kept for no particular reason other than i raised them and want to let them live out their life.

 

[LulaBell]

We love our hens the same as our dog and cat -- They are companions and the happiness we get from interacting with them has nothing to do with eggs or meat. Their affection (and hilarious antics, omg they're silly and fun!) is the "product" we value most. These little ladies are family.

We started out this way. My husband forgot my birthday last March and to make up for it I bought myself chicks lol I am a lover of all animals. I have rescued many dogs and cats, and a couple other wild animals. My husband currently tolerates our 5 dogs, 2 pigs (which were his idea!) and 32 chickens. I see his reasons for wanting benefit from all that we have put into this. I think we have agreed on a plan of cycling our chickens but allowing me a flock of my own for the keeping

 

[LulaBell]

We have chickens for the experience, so tween can participate in county fair thru 4-H, for eggs, for meat.

We don’t take an anthropomorphic view of our chickens. We like them, though, but they are livestock to us, and not “children”. They have specific needs as chickens, like feed and water, space/shelter and companionship with other chickens, and we provide for their needs.

We’ve raised 1 batch of meat chickens and tween helped butcher, without problem. The meat birds were worth the effort - yum!

We’ve only been in this for 1 year. But, I suspect that it is possible 1 or 2 might get to live long lives, the rest will be culled or sold. We had three Leghorns that were 11 months old, healthy, but a poor fit for our flock. We sold them figuring they would fit someone else’s flock better (so, we fed them for almost a year without much benefit to us). We may sell some of the current flock (1year old this week) later this year, towards fall. But that’s because we have some chicks on order, so we will need room.

Spouse grew up with a few random chickens, and remembers them free-ranging and thinks they didn’t really provide them feed very often, but kids don’t always pay attention either. So when we got chickens, it was an adjustment for spouse to think about feed, etc.

I wish I could have had that experience growing up. We lived too close to town and had no room for that type of animal. My older siblings were allowed pets, I was restricted to fish lol 4H is a fantastic program!

 

[BantyChooks]

Honestly, there's no one single reason. Every time I'm asked, my answer changes a bit. I started with them because of eggs, but my reasons grew. I keep them for meat, companionship, breeding, showing, and yes, eggs. I admit freely to playing favourites with my flock—a few of them are treasured pets that will live out their lives here, and some are hatched with the intention of butchering.

I love how chicken keeping can be as simple or as complex as I want. There are so many facets of their care and physiology that I will never run out of things to research and experiment with. I love hatching them. I love seeing them grow up and explore the world. Social dynamics of the flock are fascinating too and a few hours a day of watching them will yield much insight. You can hyperfocus on, say, the exact mechanics of gas transfer in the lungs, or you can zoom all the way out to the history and domestication of the chicken.

As for the aspect of butchering—I wasn't ready to do it for a few years. I took my time, but once I was ready, I did it. Large amounts of technical research helped, 'cause I'm just that kind of person. Give me something simple and I'll turn it into a 10-page opus complete with diagrams, lol. Nobody can 'make' you ready. You have to come to your own conclusion, and if you decide you want to do it, that conclusion has to be firm so you don't wimp out once you've got the bird in the cone. Knowing how to cull your own birds is a necessary part of owning them, IMO. Even if you don't want to process them, you're going to want that skill when you have a terribly injured and suffering bird that has no hope of survival and is going to die anyway, only slower and in a more excruciating manner. I realize this might be a rather charged statement, but I believe that if you have a bird that is suffering and you watch them die slowly for your own feelings' sake, you are failing at the promise of kindness to them that you made when you took ownership. In the "wild", a predator would have killed them quickly once they started to fail. We protect them, so we have to take on that duty too.

I don't enjoy butchering day. But it's a part of how I choose to run my flock. I hatch them, I give them a really great life full of grass and bugs to chase, and then they die quickly and provide food for me and my family. I don't turn into a huge, emotional process, I do it quietly, cleanly, and with awareness that this is a life that I am taking and I should not let it go to waste but rather to a continuation of my own. As for what happens when you get attached, well, that depends on what you've decided. Me, I try in general to have a greater share of logic when I decide who needs to go. I look at factors like egg production, health, age, and build. Emotions aren't a good way to run your life in general. There's still a few birds that I like more than the rest due to unique behaviours or colouring, and I keep them, because why not? An extra three birds won't break the bank. Chickens are a hobby, after all, even if I do try to make them pay mostly for themselves.

You could debate forever on the ethics of it, but I don't have the time or patience to do that over and over again when I have already hashed it out with myself, which is all that really matters. The bottom line is that you've got to be comfortable with the choice you make. There's nothing wrong with keeping them for pets, and there's nothing wrong with keeping them for meat.

Edit: I think the human concept of "living out a life" is kind of sketchy as a whole. I don't want to "live out my life" if it means I'm in a wheelchair in a nursing home, rotting away in mind and body. I'd kill myself first. Humans have a fear of dying in a way no animal does—maybe we should learn from them and quit worrying about measuring time and start enjoying things like worms. Wait, not worms. That's ONLY for ducks.

 

[aart]

Give me something simple and I'll turn it into a 10-page opus complete with diagrams, lol.

But the details you give, your writing skills, and overall philosophy so often reflect what I am thinking but cannot express so eloquently.

 

[BantyChooks]

But the details you give, your writing skills, and overall philosophy so often reflect what I am thinking but cannot express so eloquently.

I'm glad it makes at least a little sense. Sometimes it's difficult to put the systems and picture explanations I have in my head into writing that others can get the intention of.

 

[TashaFrancois]

I definitely don’t have it in me to cull. I’m a bleeding heart, hopeless romantic, nerd/geek, with a rescuing addiction. Luckily, my husband supports me in that. I would bet that many couples have the same dynamic as the original post. One of them has more empathy and attachment to the birds as living beings. The other sees financial and physical effort for food. I know I can’t hate people for butchering birds they raise with far better quality of life than the store bought chicken I still eat. I have definitely thought about this a lot. Lol. Maybe I’ll eventually be vegetarian or maybe I’ll eventually learn not to allow myself to feel maternal about birds so instantly. As it stands now, I still cry when a chick doesn’t make it and baby my birds when they are ill.