My thought is I don't have a personal relationship with my tomato, zucchini or bean plants so why should I have one with my chickens? After all this is the reason we got chickens was for eggs and meat, right? So then my hubs associated killing the chickens with killing the dog. No way, I won't eat my dog, besides it being illegal in the US, he is a Groenendael (read: hairy) I wouldn't want to shave him....
So now I have this dilemma, am I a heartless coldblooded killer? What is the difference between the chickens we raise here at home compared to one being raised on a farm? Is this an issue because we disassociate ourselves with the food we eat? Because the food at the supermarket or farm is already dead it couldn't have been someone's pet? I really don't know.
I don't expect my hubs to do the deed. I am either going to learn how to do it myself or try to find someone who will process them for me. We still have quite a while before we have to worry about this. Hmmmmm, maybe I am a coldblooded chicken killer?
I follow a blog, written by a family living off their land. They grow almost all their own food. They have chickens and cattle and a milk cow (maybe some other things too). They showed pics of their cows grazing. So cute. They once showed how they kill one of the cattle. I was horrified. I couldn't believe that they could do that to their own animals that they raised from babies. I still followed the blog, but was wary of scrolling down before reading what the post was about.
ReplyDeleteThen, their milk cow had a calf and then died. It had been their milk cow for a very long time. They were devastated. That cow was part of their family. They milked her every day, for years. They buried her. The mourned her. There were several posts about the loss of this beloved cow. They named the calf and photographed her and posted updates as she matured. It was so touching. They loved her too.
Then I got it. The cattle they cared for because they are food or income. They want them to be healthy and well, but they don't look at them the same way as the cow that they will keep for years, and lovingly pet, brush, look into those big cow eyes.
Maybe it's too late for these chickens, since you have already bonded with them. You could keep these as layers and then any future chickens you get could be meat birds.
Sorry for the long comment!
I think it will be hard the 1st time, & would recommend looking into a butcher, but also think you should ask questions, & get to know the process, it will help you set aside the "pet" from the "food" aspect. If it helps between you & the tangy ranger, you both agreed to get bear as a pet, and you both agreed to get the gals as a food source. And that my love, is the bottom line. Your trying to raise your family on good solid food & solid values, & in the process save your pennies when & where you can, & taking on chickens as pets would not serve the greater good of your lifestyle choices. Am I right? But you do have plenty of time before the time arises for a call to local trusted butcher, & I firmly believe that you will both see in order to reach your lifestyle goals, you will both agree to in time do what the original game plan was when you set out on this feathered adventure. xoxo
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