Home › Forums › Open Discussion › Urban Chickens…what happens at the end?
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March 20, 2013 at 4:56 pm #606848
kellymParticipantSo although my parents grew up rural, my dad extremely me not so. Backyard chickens for fresh eggs has increasingly intrigued me. But as I walk by them in my neighborhood, I wonder what happens when they age and stop laying? I know what happens on the farm, but are people in W.S. butchering these old chickens in their garages or kitchens? Sending them to a retirement coop? Or ??
March 20, 2013 at 5:05 pm #786134
DBPMemberThere are two things that happen at the end of a chicken, Kelly.
This . . . .
and this . . .
And strangely enough, they both happen from the same end.
March 20, 2013 at 5:08 pm #786135
DBPMemberTo answer your REAL question, most backyard chickens in W. Seattle go into retirement after they’re done laying.
City slickers don’t have the skills needed to butcher their own chickens. And they don’t have the heart to ask someone else do it.
If you had chickens of your own, you could probably unload them on Craigslist to someone who knew how to butcher, but if you tried it on this particular forum, you’d run into trouble.
March 20, 2013 at 5:24 pm #786136
JoBParticipantDP said
“but if you tried it on this particular forum, you’d run into trouble”.
i am not so sure about that since a huge part of the sustainable food movement is knowing exactly where your food comes from…
March 20, 2013 at 5:27 pm #786137
HuindekmiParticipantCoq au Vin
March 20, 2013 at 5:27 pm #786138
datamuseParticipantThere’s a few places on the peninsula that’ll do butchering for you. Dunno about this side of the water, though.
March 20, 2013 at 5:37 pm #786139
kellymParticipantDBP – I figured that would be offensive even though the cycle of life is just that. I guess that’s where I hesitate, if I can’t see it all the way through I can’t just stockpile chickens in my backyard as pets. I don’t picture myself with a cleaver and a pot of boiling water. Sigh, guess I’ll just keep buying organic/free range eggs.
March 20, 2013 at 5:57 pm #786140
JustSarahParticipantMy husband’s uncles butcher on their Puyallup farm. If we ever go the urban chicken route (and I’ve considered it), we’d consider that option. But knowing myself, I’d get attached and end up considering the chickens pets. :)
March 20, 2013 at 6:20 pm #786141
wsmama3ParticipantOur girls are pets – so they lay then live a life of comfort and die of old age.
Most people would not want to eat a layer – they are “tough old birds” that literally you can’t boil the tough out. I am sure you could eat them – but that would be like eating my dog and unless the zombie apocalypse has happened and my kids are hungry I am not eating a family pet.
They give my family a lot of laughs and eggs – I figure I can act as a retirement home for the old gals.
Seattle Tilth has a lot of info & classes on the topic.
March 20, 2013 at 6:26 pm #786142
wsmama3ParticipantOh and I could cull a chicken (city slicker and all) and you tube has a lot of info on ways to get ‘er done. I looked into it before we got them knowing that it might be a possibility. Butchers we’ve used for hunting require that you bring in a dead animal. That all said, I’d probably make my husband do it. :)
March 21, 2013 at 5:57 am #786143
stinaParticipantThis topic is making me laugh. A lot of chicken owners do butcher their old layers. Classes are taught a few times a year in various places around the city on how to process birds. For those who can’t make the classes, a fellow urban farmer will often show you how it’s done.
For those too squeamish to do the deed, it’s not hard to give away those old layers. Despite what wsmama3 says, old layers go real fast on the Seattle Farm Coop listserv (yahoo group for anyone interested). When I lived in Seattle, I didn’t buy chicken for two whole years because I got all my meat free and live. I’d get both roosters and old layers. Both will turn out really tender if cooked in a slow cooker for 8-10 hours on low. We’d eat delicious soup all winter long…
March 21, 2013 at 7:41 pm #786144
herongrrrlParticipantAfter keeping hens for about ten years now, I can tell you that the post-laying “retirement” doesn’t often last too long. Most laying breeds have been bred for short lives with maximum egg production, and in my experience they usually will die of natural causes not long after they stop laying. On a commercial farm, hens are usually culled after only one or two years. Our oldest hen lived to be about six, and gave eggs reliably for five of those years.
March 22, 2013 at 1:38 am #786145
KK50ParticipantI have given old hen’s to an acquaintance from Mexico who’s wife is happy to take on the job of turning them into Sunday’s dinner. Another time I put a couple of old hen’s in a large size cat carrier, stopped into an Asian market in White Center and the 1st person I asked was so happy to take them.
March 23, 2013 at 7:24 am #786146
DianaParticipantMy dear hen Connie, a Barred Rock, at the age of seven, continues to lay. She is the last of her flock of three. She roams free during the day and has a safe haven in her coop at night. Every day is a great day for her, and for all of us who enjoy her antics and adventures. Let them be, let them be. Let life take it’s course and be thankful for lessons learned from them and the gifts they have given.
March 23, 2013 at 2:59 pm #786147
JoBParticipantthat’s where stewing chickens come from
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