Omlet cube and run

[tara]

I saw this and can not believe what l was reading would she kill her dog or cat ggggrrrr

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1279939/Hen-pecked-How-pair-chickens-urban-garden-taught-family-lessons-life.html

[orp_lover]

I agree. I read this and was horrified, finding it difficult to believe the transition of her utter horror at discovering the foxes had taken her hens, to her laid back attitude of killing her no-longer-laying chickens for Sunday's roast. To name your chickens and treat them as pets, and then go on to slaughter them is hard for me to fathom. After only 3 weeks of having our girls we've become so attached to them. When they stop laying (though they haven't even started yet!), they will die of old age

[Olly]

I couldn't do it, but it is a valid point of view and there are people posting on here who rear birds for meat. Not everyone views their hens as pets, and certainly in farming communities this would be the norm. I thought it was a sensitive article, as she says she's changed the way she views both the hens and her garden.

[bronze]

Or maybe she has the right idea?

Treat them well so they have a lovely life before they become dinner.

Unless you have farmloads of animals if you rear your own they soon become known as different beings anyway. Even if you set out to not name them they become personalities, the one with the big head and the one that got out into next door that time etc etc. People who keep a couple of pigs may not name them but eventually they ate number one and two or the big one and the small one, its no different to names really.

[orp_lover]

Well, maybe I'm a bit biased as I am a vegetarian anyway

[squidsin]

I don't mind her attitude to chicken-keeping - although eating a pet that would have been tough as old boots anyway does seem really weird - but I'll give that book a miss. How many slightly smug, middle class books on keeping chickens in the back garden ARE there now?! She's got two chickens - that makes her practically a farmer! And fruit bushes as well as flowers? No way! That's more or less like having Sainsburys in her own back yard! How original and enchanting!

[tara]

Well, maybe I'm a bit biased as I am a vegetarian anyway

 

 

Me too have not eaten meat for 20 years it was not the taste l hated it was killing animals.What the difference between eating your dog and treating it badly to doing the same to another animal that feels pain too which you get less meat of.The only reason is people dont want to change or to think of the horor that an animal gose through while being killed everything wants to live.I look at it from the animals point of veiw.

[jennydavies]

She's got two chickens - that makes her practically a farmer! And fruit bushes as well as flowers? No way! That's more or less like having Sainsburys in her own back yard! How original and enchanting!

You made me laugh even though it's a very delicate subject

Here in France the attitude to chicken keeping is very different, they are kept for eggs or table meat and people don't appear to get so attached to them. Our neighbour laughed when we told him the cockerel he was taking from us was called Raymond and the bullying hen was called Ginger, shock horror - he had never even seen the film Chicken Run and he has three children He regularly halves his flock of thirty for table meat and does "the deed" himself. If a hen stops laying it's not worth feeding, so it goes to the table. His children have an understanding that they can have a "pet chicken" but don't get too attached, you may have a different one next week.

The lady in the article should have learnt better how to despatch "her pet" without the suffering that the delay must have caused, did she feel "fashionable" as a "chicken farmer" to be able to tell friends from the city that she did it herself ?

[laurmurf]

I saw this and can not believe what l was reading would she kill her dog or cat ggggrrrr

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1279939/Hen-pecked-How-pair-chickens-urban-garden-taught-family-lessons-life.html

 

 

I thought it was a lovely article! But then I'm not a vegetarian....

Clearly she cared for her chooks, was concerned about their welfare, was saddened that the fox got them, and this restricted their free ranging life, and then got more... it sounds as if she was just being pragmatic about the non-layer and I'm delighted for her children that they took part in the natural cycle of life. I would just suggest she needs to learn to 'neck' a chook properly (she might even have done it properly but the movement made her think it was still alive )

 

I can imagine how 'heartless' it must seem but I'd rather feed my children on an animal that I lovingly cared for than some poor chook that went through nameless horror in a factory farm and abbatoir.

[WitchHazel]

I'm one of the people on here who keep chickens for the table, as well as for pets. We keep our table birds separate from our Garden Girls although all get the same care and attention. (Actually we keep the table flocks on our allotment to reinforce the difference).

 

I think her decision to kill her older girl was a bit mean. It doesn't cost much to keep one freeloader chicken, and it wasn't as if she had loads of chickens and would be faced with a problem of tens of freeloaders at once. Personally, I think her decision to eat her chicken was a bit stupid. Warrens are bred for eggs not for meat, so I can't see how she would have got anything more than chicken soup out of the bird. Having said that, these are just my opinions, and it's up to her.

 

What is absolutely appalling is how she went about dispatching the poor chicken. What a stupid, ignorant woman. I can feel my blood boiling as I type.

 

She describes how she wrings the chicken's neck, which would have caused the poor bird unimagineable pain. And then it took 20 seconds - TWENTY SECONDS of continued pain for the bird, before her friend used the axe. If anyone has ever pulled a muscle ofr broken simething they'll know how awful it is having someone touch the sore spot for just a couple of second. If they had an axe, why didn't they just use that in the first place?? (Not my first choice of dispatching tool, but very effective if you can do it in one strike...although the mess it makes has to be seen to be believed... I notice she doesn't mention that in her account)).

 

On a side note, I'm also appalled that she got herself a bit drunk in the first place. Great idea. Great way to make sure her reactions are slowed down and she's thinking clearly. And clearly too drunk to think about a bit of research before embarking upon this.

 

You don't have to do much internet research to learn that "wringing a chickens neck" is one of the cruellest methods of dispatch.

 

I'm sure she's managed to tell herself that it was all about a good lesson for the children in coming to accept where their meat comes from. I imagine she'll dine out on stories of how dreadful it was for her and her friend that it took more than one attempt to kill the chicken. As she describes it, how everyone will laugh! How brave she was! She'll no doubt revel in the squeals of horror from her friends, who will be amazed that she could do something so macho.

 

When we embarked upon keeping chickens for the table, we learned all we could about methods of dispatch, and we went on a course to learn how to do it humanely (and to see if we could actually bring ourselves to do it). We even invested in a cone dispatcher - ridiculous outlay for the number of chickens we were going to cull - as it meant we could be as sure as possible that we would be delivering a quick and painless death.

 

I don't find it something to boast about. I have to explain to people that we do this because we want to be sure the chicken we eat has had a really great life, and a stressless painfree death. And it makes us much more aware of what we are eating, and a lot less wasteful. And we don't eat as much chicken now.

[Madchook]

Hmm, well I have culled chickens with names, hens that have given me a couple of yrs of servitude. I don't say I 'farm' them, but they are not on a par with my dog and cat as far as pets go, as much as I love having them. I also raise them for the table (but omg, I would never eat a stringey old layer).

I am not interested in the 'moral battle' on this subject, imo, if you are going to take the highground regarding vegetarism, then you would be vegan. You certainly would not be drinking cows milk or eating eggs -yes the brothers of your layers have been culled at hatch or ended up in the food chain.

But on the subject of this article- I found it quite distasteful, much as I am all for knowing where your food comes from. I honestly do not like the idea that she just took a bit of not very well researched advice and drank half a bottle of wine first, that is hardly taking responsibility!! And laughed about the fruit bushes, I'm glad she is feeling so smug

NB. to , she may have done the job and just freaked out at the flapping which is absolutely normal and nothing to do with being alive (for thse who have never witnessed it), although wringing takes some strength one would think ... I know my first one I used...errr overkill, despite the fact that I absolutely KNOW it was done instantly. Don't know why I am giving the benefit of the doubt though, she was half cut by all accounts!

[C&T]

Difficult one. Firstly, I am a meat eater. I recognise completely that a vegetarian/vegan will have very different views and that is a whole different debate!

 

Secondly, I recognise in her a bit of me. I keep a couple of chooks in the garden - as Egg Producing pets - and also try to grow a bit of fruit and veg. I will never be self sufficient, but enjoy producing things from the garden. She says "I've also changed the way I see my garden. It used to be a place to relax with flowers but now we have fruit bushes too, and I increasingly see it as a productive space." and I can relate to that statement. My garden was all flowers, but now has a reasonable amount of fruit and veg. Many people are re-learning the gardening skills of their grandparents, that skipped a generation or 2 in so many families, with the advent of cheap supermarkets etc.

 

About the culling. I can respect her descision. Not sure I would want to eat an old layer - but that is her choice. I wonder about the dispatching though. She refers to being advised on how to cull the chook. Maybe she did look into this far more than she refers to (it wouldn't make a "good" article if she went into all the research after all). We know there are many views on so many things, and if the person advising her was old school who said wringing the neck was the best way to go, and she trusted them, why would she think differently?

 

And the half bottle of wine between 2? It wouldn't make her drunk to be fair. A glass each? Think she would legally still be allowed to drive?? (note - I don't drink and drive at all, so apologies if this is wrong). I too would be very nervous about dispatching my first chook, although I wouldn't recomend a drink to settle nerves, I am not sure I would critisise either....?

 

I appreciate this is different to many of you - I just wonder how much info you can really get from an article that is not aimed to be instructional, but just to provide the views of someone experiencing Chook keeping and fruit/veg growing for the first time. At least she doesn't gloss over the dispatching, and does not make out it was easy.

[bronze]

madchook

don't get me going on the vegetarian/vegan rant

[rachael_farnsworth]

Ah, the Daily Fail/Wail/Heil...

 

Honestly? I'd eat my girls if there was anything worth eating on them (which by the time they stop laying, there won't be). I eat their eggs, after all. And I can't bear this sanitised meat-comes-on-a-little-plastic tray-from-the-supermarket attitude that we have. I just find it so disrespectful to the animal.

 

I would much much rather eat meat from an animal who's been well looked after and had a happy life than some godforsaken little thing that's been dosed with goodness-knows-what hormones and treated awfully. As you can imagine, this means I don't eat all that much meat as it gets expensive...!

[tara]

Everyone hes there opnion l am a vegetarian for my reasons.Dont care what anyone thinks of that l know im making a difference

 

 

I get wound up by the hypocrisy and thats not good....This is some info l have,

 

Aren't vegetarians being hypocritical because they still wear leather or exploit cows for their milk?

There is a very valid argument for becoming vegan - for giving up all dairy products, eggs and any other animal by-products. But realistically speaking, few people can go from being a meat eater to a vegan overnight. Vegetarianism is a very important halfway house. And even if you never go on to being vegan, you've already made an impact and saved the lives of many animals simply by giving up meat. Far from being hypocritical, you're making an effort to change the way you live for the better. How far you go with vegetarianism is up to you, but however small the step you take, it's not wasted. And don't feel that you have to become a perfect vegetarian overnight. If you forget to check the ingredients list and realise that you've just eaten something containing gelatine, don't feel that you've failed. Take it one step at a time and enjoy learning more about the vegetarian lifestyle. The important thing is that you're doing somthing.

 

 

This is a great fourm and l wont get involved with any arguments this was about the article not anything else

[Madchook]

Yes funnily enough, it is hypocrisy that gets me too

[Mollie333]

I don't agree with this article.

Surely if it was you're first chook you'd want a good retirement? it doesnt cost much to save one chicken.

my eyes did start bubbling, because i didn't know that articall was about that, and being a 13 year old chicken owner, it really gets to me.

I have no problem with people eating chicken, although i dont, but wouldnt the meat be like eating rubber? i thought you was suppost to boil the ex layers? sorry if this sounds horrible.

atleast she had a good life, i thought warrens didnt make good table birds?

[foreveryoung]

I read this article and I got to admit I was not fairly impressed, I am a meat eater and I have many friends who are veggie and I respect their choice!! I think the "hypocritical" remarks a little unfair (IMO) mainly because - so what if they eat cheese, eggs and drink milk.. but choose not to eat meat. their not killing or harming these animals, I don't see any veggies sending these animals for the slaughter, I don't see the number of vegans making any difference to what the "milk farmers" send to the slaughter as the cows are male. I don't think the OP was pointing that out and that the subject has wandered off.

 

I think the women in question in the article wasn't "very humane (as if it can be called humane ) in the way ppl cull their animals for the table, wringing its neck???? how is that humane? if anything its more cruel, if your gonna do it, make it as quick as possible and just because a "family pet" had stopped laying, was quiet cruel in my book, so if the husband stopped working would you cull him, (hummm maybe not the best point lol) the dog stop herding a flock of sheep for instance? maybe that too..... if your gonna use them for "the table" then rear them for that, if for pets "rear them for that.................. I feel sorry for the children, knowing what they are like when I tell them about loosing one or more chickens or ducks, the heart break in their eyes. can you imagine then turning around saying oo then have *** for dinner... how heartless is that... there's one thing having them for the table, you can educate the children with regards to that but then getting what they know as a family pet and doing that.. Im sorry but thats wrong

 

sorry I'm waffling but i hope this makes sense

[Lewis]

I couldn't eat one of our pets - a laying hen with a name and personality.

 

There are a few of us on here that have been on dispatch courses, I think its kind of a natural progression (not for everybody) keeping chickens to think about raising them for meat; we've got a couple of table bird chicks and cockerels - they don't have names and will be in the away from the others once older, just to separate them for me in my mind, rather than for the birds.

I'd rather know exactly were its come from and how its lived - and would raise a lot more meat birds if only the parentals would let me

I do think its a bit irresponsible of her not to have been on one of these courses ... and then to write a cutesy little book about it and think its fine to laugh it off.

 

I think its different raising meat birds and eating a laying hen - first the actual bird and quality of the meat, but the 'bond' you have with them.

 

I'm half a veggie - only eat chicken - but thats my choice + always has been, I always try to eat FR too.

I don't think its right to say you should go all the way and become a vegan etc, I can live without meat, its not just that I don't want to eat a cute little lamb and think it will make a big difference

I am aware though that if we didn't eat animals and their products, that we wouldn't have farms with these animals and so many would die out.

[Daffodill]

"Like many others before me I became a chicken owner on a whim" I' m sorry but I stopped liking this person in the 1st line of the article.

[rachael_farnsworth]

"Like many others before me I became a chicken owner on a whim" I' m sorry but I stopped liking this person in the 1st line of the article.

 

Oh so much this (I keep reading bits, gritting my teeth and saying to myself 'it's the Daily Fail, what do you expect', etc). I've been in my current house for 3 years - which means I've been researching the prospect of chicken owning for about 3 1/2. That sentence really makes me cross - how many chickens are there out there who were bought on a whim and are now unwanted? (I know of at least two...)

 

The whole thing is just so... well, flippant. I adore my two ladies and they are considerably lower maintenance than I had expected but my word, you need to go into it knowing what to expect - even just down to the sheer amount of poo they produce and just what they'll do to your lawn (I personally don't like my lawn, so all is well).

 

I wouldn't rule out raising table birds and I'd like a pig one day. But I can't see me dispatching Athene or Artemis once they start to lay sporadically - not necessarily from a 'pet' point of view, but more that I can't see any benefit to doing that. I don't sell the eggs so it just makes no sense to me. And I can't really see why it made sense to the author.