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[helenmb]

just caught up with this, and I think it's very valid to raise the issue.

 

I'd love to raise meat birds; what puts me off is the dispatching (although if you get Practical Poultry mag and read the small ads you can buy a bit of kit to ensure it happens humanely) ....

 

I read on another thread that these so called Humane Dispatchers are not that humane and they had been on a course at a local farm to learn how to raise hens for the table. Worth bearing in mind if anyone was thinking about getting one to 'do the deed'

 

This was another thread about keeping them for the table click here

 

Personally I did consider the matter for a millisecond but when my older girls went into their retirement there was no way I could dispense with them so kept them and got my DH to build a large big run for them all to live in when I got some new girls. Sadly they have both gone now but at least they had a good life after all the hard work they had done giving us eggs and entertainment over the years.

[Paola]

Looney:

OUr ladies will become free-loaders...

 

I'd rather have the freeloading chickens than my son who seems to be doing just that at the moment. But I'm not yet into cannibalism - give it a little more time though . . .

 

[Chicken Nurse]

Looney:

OUr ladies will become free-loaders...

 

I'd rather have the freeloading chickens than my son who seems to be doing just that at the moment. But I'm not yet into cannibalism - give it a little more time though . . .

 

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

 

LOL! I've got a freeloading son too - although he's just started work now after much hassling from me - the chickens are much better behaved!

[beach chick]

do 12 and 9 year olds count as freeloaders?!!! - children that is, not chooks.

 

bit worried about the dispatching comment above, but if/as/when we take the meat producing plunge we will cross that bridge (either go on a course, or get a friend to show us how.)

[Gallina]

This "taboo subject" was dealt with by Kate Muir in The Times yesterday:

"It's not enough to keep chickens, you also have to kill them"

 

Sorry if other people have posted this article somewhere else. This site is so big!

[Olly]

Thanks Gallina, I hadn't seen that - it's an interesting article.

[bronze]

I saw that in th epaper and laughed as it made me think of this thread.

[Saronne]

I wouldn't feel guiilty about thinking it. Everyone has different opinions. I suspect there are plenty of Eglu owners who keep hens just for the eggs and wouldn't entertain the idea of hens as pets first/eggs second. I'm kind of in the middle. I have hens for the eggs primarily - but could not destroy them when they stopped laying. We have a kindly neighbour who has a small holding who will take 'granny' hens. She doesn't eat them, but lets them live out their lives free ranging with the rest of her birds. Enjoy your eggs and don't worry.

 

[tom123]

I would never even think of killing my hens even when they stop laying because, as lots of people have said, I wouldn't kill my dog even though he doesn't lay eggs. My dad tells me 'they're just chickens!' but i don't say that about the dog! I think they are a pet and should be kept that way even if they do stop laying. Laying birds are laying birds and meat birds are meat birds!

 

Sorry but I feel quite strong about this!

 

Tom

[TAJ]

Can I be at both ends of the argument not in the middle? I have an Eglu of layers, they are named and cuddled pets that no one in the house would dream of eating at any age - no more than we would eat any of our other pets.

 

But in the Rablu in the same garden I have some meat birds - these are livestock, un-named and have been destined for the table since they arrived. Husbandry wise they are given equal care (food, warmth & shelter) as the others, but they are not pets never were and never will be. They will however be birds that have had a happier life than in a chicken factory and will be dispatched peacefully, unlike in most industrial plants.

 

Tracy

Edited November 23, 2008 by Guest

[beach chick]

tracy - I think that's exactly the way to do it...! not pets, but cared for just as well, having happy lives and when the time comes - quick, peaceful and ending up on your plate.

[tom123]

That is a lot better Tracy! like I said Layers are Layers and Meat birds are Meat birds!

 

Tom

[Saronne]

You're perfectly entitled to feel that way, Tom. It's nice to hear a younger person take a stand on something s/he feels strongly about. I'm only saying that there are a multitude of opinions out there - some very different to yours. That doesn't make those opinions wrong - just different. Enjoy your hens

 

P.S. I enjoyed looking at your photos. That's a great run you and your dad built. Chic and unique! What sort of hen was that speckledy one on the left of the screen? Very unusual markings.

[bluekarin]

Can I be at both ends of the argument not in the middle? I have an Eglu of layers, they are named and cuddled pets that no one in the house would dream of eating at any age - no more than we would eat any of our other pets.

 

But in the Rablu in the same garden I have some meat birds - these are livestock, un-named and have been destined for the table since they arrived. Husbandry wise they are given equal care (food, warmth & shelter) as the others, but they are not pets never were and never will be. They will however be birds that have had a happier life than in a chicken factory and will be dispatched peacefully, unlike in most industrial plants.

 

Tracy

 

That's exactly how we would do it if we have the space.

[Egluntyne]

I wouldn't eat any of my elderly dadies.....they would be too tough and stringy for one thing ....but have toyed recently with the idea of having a bash at raising a few birds for the table.

 

If I could find someone to pluck and draw them for me I would almost certainly give it a whirl.

 

Not because I am too squeamish to do the job myself....far from it...I'm too lazy.

 

I know it won't provide a cheap meal either, but at least it would provide a humanely reared bird.

[tom123]

Thanks Saronne!

 

Which picture do you mean? You mean my profile pic???

 

I agree with Egluntine!

[RubyReckless]

It's an interesting topic, certainly.

 

I wouldn't rear birds for the table because i don't eat meat (and I name e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g so no way I'd manage not to name meat birds, even if just in my head!). However, I've no moral problem with anyone else rearing meat birds nor despatching elderly layers if that's what works for them.

 

The death doesn't bother me, it's the quality of life that I am concerned with.

 

For me, our chooks are pets who provide eggs. Not family members, I'm not their "mummy" or anything. But i like them loads, treat them well, chat to them and play Chicken Olympics, take them out of the cube at night for a cuddle when they are too dopey to complain.

[beach chick]

hear hear Ruby Reckless. I totally agree. I do think the QUALITY of their death matters, and as a wimp and a coward, that's what is delaying me from rearing meat birds.

[tara]

Having been reading throught all this post im going to add my 2 pence worth.Id never kill any animal let alone eat it them.I dont see the point in rearing an animal to kill l do believe in quality of life and a natural one that lives out properly.Every thing has the right to life and l will never play god because l can If l was an animal l would not want to die and what right dose any body have to kill me if l was one.

[Gallina]

A lot of people who think they can dispose of their chickens find they can't do it anyway when the time comes. I have two volunteers to eat my pair of young cockerels, but they are so beautiful I keep extending their lives, as they don't crow yet.

 

Cockerels are the acid test: you can't keep them, but no one wants them.

[hennymom]

I have just caught up with this thread...lol you are all so opinionated which is really good, it's nice people an be individuals and not sheep like..... however............I have 11 living things in my home which have never will never and even if they could , would'nt lay eggs..... and 6 beautiful little girlies that do........ do you think I should dsepatch my hubby, son, 2 cats 6 guinea pigs and my visiting mother and make room for more girlies???????? lol I'd have so much more room without them all for many many more eggs!!!!!!!!!!!

[tara]

I have just caught up with this thread...lol you are all so opinionated which is really good, it's nice people an be individuals and not sheep like..... however............I have 11 living things in my home which have never will never and even if they could , would'nt lay eggs..... and 6 beautiful little girlies that do........ do you think I should dsepatch my hubby, son, 2 cats 6 guinea pigs and my visiting mother and make room for more girlies???????? lol I'd have so much more room without them all for many many more eggs!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

What a good point my hubby is a real moaner at times l could add more hens in his place mmmm now what kind Live and let live is my moto

[raffik]

I could never kill my little babies!! They bring me so much joy.

I don't think I would be able to eat them. It was strange eating their eggs to begin with!

[nutterly_uts]

I thought I would be too squeamish for this, but i have found a side of me I didn't know I had!

 

I hatched out my own eggs, and had no qualms handing over 2 silkies to a work colleague for eating - I had considered eating them myself, but as silkies aren't your common and garden chicken, I let him try them first (Incidently, silkies taste a bit gamey - less so then pheasant and partridge, but more then a normal chicken). I have a light sussex, a bantam and 2 silkies left, and I will admit I am eying up the sussex for the freezer this winter, and looking to start again next spring (however, I am leaning towards keeping these going as she is almost laying age) I am lucky in that a work collegue has facilities for dispatching as and when the time comes

 

I have been looking for new kinds of chicken to hatch next year, and versitility was something I looked at - I am almost always going to have at least one sussex, as they are a decent mixed purpose bird. I have also looked into croads and barnevelders, and I don't think they are as dual purpose, but will almost certainly have a decent amount on them as egg production tailors off. (am also rethinking my breeds, so what I listed on the other thread will probably change!)

 

In fact this is one of the main reasons I'm saving for an eglu cube

 

Carla

 

ETA the main reason I think I am happy to do this, is because I know exactly whats gone into my chickens from hatch, and I know they've had a happy life. I will feel happier doing this once I am able to get my own hatching eggs, as I can then guarentee the parents (and grandparents etc eventually) have had a happy life, and I will know exactly whats gone into them. I currently buy organic freerange chicken and eggs, but even with these labels the quality can vary - from what I know the guidelines that allow chickens and eggs to be called organic and freerange are loose and open to leeway

For E.g Organic :

It is not always possible to make products entirely from organic ingredients, since not all ingredients are available in organic form. Manufacturers of organic food are permitted to use specific non-organic ingredients provided that organic ingredients make up at least 95% of the food.

 

If the product contains between 70% and 95% organic ingredients, organic ingredients can be mentioned only in the ingredients list, and a clear statement must be given on the front of the label showing the total percentage of the ingredients that are organic.

 

With free range the guidelines state :

For chicken meat to be called 'free-range', it must be produced to standards laid down by EU law. The chickens must be provided with access to open-air runs that are mainly covered with vegetation. They have more space to move around than 'standard birds and live for at least 56 days

 

There, is however, no guarentee the chickens are able to use it. .

 

Bit more explained here http://www.goodfoodpages.co.uk/lifestyle/The-truth-about-free-range-poultry-and-eggs.html)

[WitchHazel]

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion on this, and it is important to remember that there isn't a "right" or a "wrong" here. It's interesting to read everyones opinions, but we should be careful that we don't end up trying to force our p.o.v.'s on others who don't share it.

 

If you keep hens for eggs (rather than as pets that happen to produce eggs) then it's a natural enough question to raise.

 

The type of birds you have will determine the answer re eating. If your birds are dual purpose then you'd be able to eat them. If they are egg-laying hybrids, then they won't be worth eating.

 

Egglaying hybrids tend to be fairly short lived anyway, so you may find the question on dispatching them once they stop laying to be a bit academic. Rehoming them is a nice thing to do if you can find a home willing to take them, but if you do decide you want to dispatch them, just make sure you choose a humane method. The tools sold as "humane dispatchers" are anything but humane and shouid be avoided.

 

Good luck with whatever you decide to do when the time comes.