migsy Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 Just that really. I can't see any reason why a farmer would do this but a friend of mine reckons she took her chickens to a farmer who gave her 50p for each of them. Perhaps she didn't like to tell me that they had been despatched. My mum says that they would be made into animal feed (she is from a farm). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chicken bark Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 Maybe he has a free range farm and doesn't mind having non layers. Other than that I think he'd be offered money from the companies who buy chickens for food or by a charity looking to rehome them. Perhaps the latter offers him more than 50p a chicken so he'd make a small profit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LottyJ1 Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 Charities pay £1 to the farmers per hen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 Sorry but I can't see why a free range chicken farm would be any more receptive to non-layers than any other sort. Farmers still need to make money, and most farmers don't hesitate to dispatch spent or sick hens. It doesn't add up to me, and a profit of 50p per hen (if he was selling them to a charity) would hardly be worth it. I wonder if your first guess was right, and that your friend didn't want to say that they'd been dispatched. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
migsy Posted February 4, 2013 Author Share Posted February 4, 2013 I think Olly is right. I don't mind what she did really. It would have been hypocritical of me to criticise her as anyone who eats eggs or chicken clearly contributes to culling in some form or other. However, I suppose I am just a little disappointed that her chooks have met their end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chortle Chook Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 Doesn't seem to add up to me at all. I would have thought that if the farmer was despatching them for your friend he would have charged her the 50p each not paid her that Were they silkies? He might quite genuinely have wanted pets for his family. The farmer down the road here has chickens for eats and a different set of fancy ones for pets that he bought his wife. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
migsy Posted February 6, 2013 Author Share Posted February 6, 2013 Mystery solved. The farmer makes them into chicken casserole so he gets a cheap meal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 well that explains it! Rather him than me ... I'd have thought they would be a bit stringy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chortle Chook Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 Mystery solved. The farmer makes them into chicken casserole so he gets a cheap meal. I'm not a vegetarian so I shouldn't be shocked but there is something a bit grim about that don't you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leeloo Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 well that explains it! Rather him than me ... I'd have thought they would be a bit stringy. I've heard that if you pressure cook them, they can get tender. Not that I plan to try it! I only have two girls and they have names so I don't think I could sentence them to death for failing to lay, but I know that has been the fate of chickens for hundreds of years! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craftyhunnypie Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 Last year seemed to be my year of hatching a large ratio of cockerels. I'm a softie, so I've still got a lot of them - I removed the girl from their ark & they get along tikkety boo. However, my bad luck seems to be continuing into 2013. As this morning I was letting all the chooks out, when my beautiful showgirl girl ( or so I really thought) crowed. Arrrrrgh. I was truly shocked, as I really believed it to be a girl. Ahh well. I dont really get why a farmer would buy none layers for his casseroles? Surely if thats what he wanted, he'd have some chooks of his own & put them in the pot once their laying days were over. Wierd! Emma.x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
migsy Posted February 6, 2013 Author Share Posted February 6, 2013 Maybe he likes eating a LOT of chicken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...