"Why we have Chickens" Poll comment

[jenikay63]

I currently have both layers and meaties and have to say that I get no satisfaction from the meaties. They are not fun to watch, they stink, they poop alot and need to be moved daily. They eat constantly and are too lazy to catch bugs, for the most part. I raise them because the meat is so much better than anything that I could purchase. I am not doing it to save money, as I'm sure I could buy cheaper chicken in the store. Raising meaties was just something that seemed to make sense to me and I'm glad I've experienced it and will do it again, but it certainly won't cause someone to 'get the passion' about raising chickens if they just raise meaties. Hens are so much more fun and rewarding!

 

[louloubean]

me too.
just starting out with chickens this year, primarily for the eggs.
i am a realist, and we have a blow-out, she'll be on the table the next day.

glad to read the comments here, i may take up meat chickens some year, but with two little kids, it IS easier to shoot deer (family gets together to hunt and process) because you sure do get a lot of 'free range, organic' meat quicker.

so happy that the super graphic sticky on how to butcher a bird is at the top of this post. it will make it much easier to figure out how to clean out the bird (i can do a deer in 10 minutes, a bird? no clue)

 

[Chicken Fruit]

There are a lot of different laws in urban areas, and even rural that prohibit people from processing their own meat. And there arent a lot of butchers around for people to take their animals to. beyond all that, I think really most people dont want to KNOW their food, its not something we as a culture are used to or prepared for anymore.

We were getting meaties this year but ended up not having a processor for them, and didnt have the space. i cant handle the smell of the insides of chickens enough to process more than one or two birds- which wouldnt be worth it for us for our consumption needs. We did find a local butcher that processes chickens, but it would be costly. I think we'll end up doing it anyway eventually.

I iamgine its a common issue that stops other people- things like that at least.

 

[jaku]

I think the results could be a bit skewed. Personally, I rarely look at the other sections of this forum besides the meat bird area. I had no idea there was even a poll. There are A LOT of people who post on this site because they have chickens as pets. I'd be willing to guess that there are a few less "farmers" on BYC overall, talking about their birds than "pet owners." Personally, I think some of them are nuts- I've read about people making diapers for their birds so they can just wander around the house like people. My wife would literally divorce me if I tried to do that. She won't even let the dogs in the house, and barely lets me in.

 

[Le Canard de Barbarie]

Quote:
My sentiments exactly. This is predominately a forum for pet owners. It's their target audience, and seems to be a successful approach for the owners of the forum and their sponsers.

A lot of urban myths or old wives tales are paraded around here as if they were fact. I learned that corn was a 'hot food' that should not be given to chickens in the summer because it generates heat.

 

[speckledhen]

A lot of urban myths or old wives tales are paraded around here as if they were fact. I learned that corn was a 'hot food' that should not be given to chickens in the summer because it generates heat.

And alot of people find out the real facts when some of our folks in-the-know correct that with documentation to back it up. I'll bet the farm that alot of myths and old wives tales are promoted by some real farmers who do not keep birds for pets, but meat. My grandfather farmed till he was almost 100 years old and if I'd had the interest at the time he was alive to sit down and talk chickens with him, I bet he would be full of old farmers' tales. Those tales are called old precisely because they pre-date BYC by hundreds of years.​

 

[PortageGirl]

Yeah, some of us are previously 'real' farmers who no longer wish to deal with animals on that level though. Having a few hens, worrying more about breeding what we WANT instead of what we MUST have, is pretty liberating.

My chickens are somewhat pets, but not totally, I like soup too. I've also heard all those old tales too, most are pretty funny! Living life without a sense of humor isn't any fun at all!

 

[tdkmom]

For right now ours are for eggs/pets. Usually children are a big reason of why they aren't butchered but from the beginning I have told my son that the 5 named chickens are safe from butchering but the rest will at some point become chicken soup. He doesn't like the idea (9 years old and loves animals) but we have some time until we will start to butcher so he can get used to the idea in the meantime. We have RIR and can use them as layers and then when they start slowing down we'll butcher. My husband will take care of this process and then I'll do the roasting/canning. He has butchered deer, rabbits, turkey, pheasants, squirrel and chickens so I'll leave it to the expert.

 

[ZepChick]

Quote:
I am just wondering why someone is nuts because they do something different than you (and by the way I do not diaper my chickens)? And how are the results skewed if this is a poll on BYC? It seems to be an accurate representation of the BYC community, which is who the poll was created for, so you couldn't get a truer sample of the population.

 

[PortageGirl]

Quote:
I am just wondering why someone is nuts because they do something different than you (and by the way I do not diaper my chickens)? And how are the results skewed if this is a poll on BYC? It seems to be an accurate representation of the BYC community, which is who the poll was created for, so you couldn't get a truer sample of the population.

Weeeelllll, there's several things that people do that I consider ... a little nutty maybe if not actually nuts. Try not to take offense ZepChick! I'm sure it's not meant in a personal way. I'll bet that there's enough that I do that could be considered 'out of the norm' too,,, it really does depend on what each person considers the 'norm' to be!