tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30711036.post5304995282358317237..comments2023-10-12T01:58:49.433-07:00Comments on Free Range Living: Full CircleCherylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08034794313638177847noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30711036.post-90399192912466022732011-11-20T12:49:34.928-08:002011-11-20T12:49:34.928-08:00Thanks you guys, I appreciate the words of support...Thanks you guys, I appreciate the words of support. :)<br />Erin - I agree about the meat birds ("meat blobs"); I hate the idea of them and would probably go with dual purpose birds, which most of ours are anyway. The only "upside" to the blobs is that their poor, distorted bodies would give out within weeks if we didn't process them, so I'd be less likely to grant them all a last minute stay of execution. :)Cherylhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08034794313638177847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30711036.post-51391595333430933692011-11-16T20:26:31.582-08:002011-11-16T20:26:31.582-08:00Bless her heart... but good for you for being brav...Bless her heart... but good for you for being brave enough to not let her suffer anymore.Paulahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02693565002250035794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30711036.post-57814720496162682822011-11-04T22:23:36.830-07:002011-11-04T22:23:36.830-07:00the only chicken we (okay my dh, but i was there) ...the only chicken we (okay my dh, but i was there) have killed was a roo we tried to keep as a second in command, which worked well, until after about a year and a half he decided to start pecking and went for my youngest's cheek, near the eye. sorry, my kid's safety comes first mr. roo no matter how much i love you. (the other roo seemed more relaxed after this too.)<br /><br />so that afternoon, with a friend's help, who had slaughtered many a chicken in her day, we did it. It was scary in that he didn't go fast and to this day i think we didn't cut properly and really hurt him :(. DH tried to reassure me it was just the nerves, but it didn't seem that way and be bawked alot. sigh. some day our hens will age and need our help to die.<br /><br />i doubt i will ever do meat birds, as i simply feel too much empathy for their crippled existence and the freakish life they live. cornish crosses have been inbred so badly they live miserable lives, getting wings caught under chicken tractors and broken, their brittle-boned legs often breaking or fracturing under their own growing weight. just so i can have chicken breast? when i buy chicken (organic, pastured) i feel guilty and i would really like to find a dual purpose breed and grow them and just eat less meat. which we do, mostly salmon. but a chicken in the oven is a once every three month treat, and at that rate, heritage dual purpose breeds would do us well.<br /><br />glad you got through it, mama :)<br /><br />and sorry for the rant, i just don't love the idea of meat chickens, yet i'm still eating them.<br /><br />~erinErinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06671726791773046278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30711036.post-30579906584675234232011-11-02T12:59:41.079-07:002011-11-02T12:59:41.079-07:00This is my fear as well. It was inspiring to read ...This is my fear as well. It was inspiring to read your account and congratulations on being able to do the right thing. I nursed a sick chicken back to health this spring, worrying all the while that I'd have to put her out of her suffering. Now I wonder, if I'd been braver, whether she'd still be with us, as she did recover and is now in fine health.Bevhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09106200660390587077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30711036.post-43133049742370111882011-10-26T19:06:58.176-07:002011-10-26T19:06:58.176-07:00Oh my goodness.Oh my goodness.Anniehttp://annie.paxye.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30711036.post-2581322207522954712011-10-26T09:25:06.084-07:002011-10-26T09:25:06.084-07:00Awwww... I know how it feels. We had a mink attac...Awwww... I know how it feels. We had a mink attack in our henhouse and I found 3 babies who weren't roosting yet dead and the hen we bought with a bad leg and couldn't roost(Limpy) half dead. I was sobbing and had to kill her on my own. Since then I have had to put another one down on my own but the first was the hardest. <br /><br />I am nowhere to be found when my husband does the meat birds. <br /><br />Sorry for your experience. You will be stronger in the long run, and you did the right thing. <br /><br />I enjoy your blog posts.Free Range Mamahttp://www.myhealthygreenfamily.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.com