I ate a chicken..

[Vamoosh]

I keep hens for eggs, we acquired the current hens and cockerel because a friend was moving house and couldn’t take them. One of the hens was broody last year and hatched 3 chicks that turned out to all be male.
We have recently had them humanely dispatched and I prepared them and ate them. They have always been free range in our garden so have had a decent life and a stress free death.
A few different friends have been appalled that I’ve eaten my ‘pets’ and have reacted like I’ve cooked up my dog! (I will add that all of these friends eat meat!!)
AIBU for eating the cockerels?

Bet your friends will be the ones first in the queue when Nandos re-opens.

Some people cannot distinguish between pets and animals for food.
I have one rule. I don't eat what I named.

It's much better that you ate it than that it went to waste.

My grandparents kept rabbits & chickens - back garden in the middle of London - so I grew up thinking that all pets are edible.

Not enough flesh on a budgie to even make a sarnie.

Oh my goodness- of COURSE you arent!

In fact, I'd say you are far more responsible than your meat eating friends because you know where your meat has come from and how it was raised and you know how it died.
Have your friends ever visited a slaughterhouse? if not they can STFU.

(btw- i eat meat, but i dont lecture others about it)

I couldn't do it. But I couldn't eat meat anyway. Your chickens were looked after and had a better life than any of the chickens the people who judged you eat.

People who really annoy me are the ones who don't agree with people of other cultures eating things they deem too cute, but will happily eat a baby sheep.

Real free range is a million miles better than buying from a supermarket.

We couldn't keep our chicks that turned into cockerels long enough. They were so bloody aggressive, they terrorised all the other hens! We gave them back to the egg/chicken man and I'm sure they were very tasty

I look after my neighbours chickens when they go on holiday and that’s all in a few weeks a year. And I couldn’t do this. It would put my right off knowing it was one of the chickens I had fed, watered, and, yup, talked to as I did it.

No way I could eat one. I eat chicken, but not ones I’ve cared for. I get the hypocrisy but the thought of eating some thing you’ve cared for makes me queasy.

*CoronelSuarez I 100% agree

The thing that always gets me is that people put different values on different animals.

It's perfectly reasonable to eat chicken, beef, lamb, etc

But a dog, cat, horse... oh no, that's no ok...

I agree with a PP, if you treat them as a pet and form an emotional attachment and think of them as a pet then I don't care what type of animal it is - I'd be less than impressed if you then slaughtered and ate it.

But if it's lived a good life and was always destined for food then why should a cow or any other 'meat' animal be more acceptable to eat than another.

OP the PETA brigade will be here soon telling you that meat is murder tasty, tasty murder and you're 'orrible for killing and eating the birds, you inhumane flesh feeder.

Many families rear chickens in this way, even the hens will be used for meat once they've stopped laying eggs and it is a perfectly normal and sustainable way of eating meat. Even if it has a name it isn't necessarily a pet. It's also much better than killing the cockerels as chicks which is practice in some places.

Nothing odd about eating your chickens, and of course you will always get odd ball comments from some types of people.

@LST - Looks like I cross-posted with you there.

People who really annoy me are the ones who don't agree with people of other cultures eating things they deem too cute, but will happily eat a baby sheep.

YANBU
But I wouldn’t be able to do it. I reluctantly restarted to eat meat as my body needs meat (struggles to process veggie sources). I appreciate this is silly logic really but no way could I have eaten an animal I reared.

Your friends are ridiculous.

We had 2 sheep when I was younger, called Mint and Sauce. They tasted lovely

Reminds me of the Inbetweeners with the dead fish- ‘I’m not eating that it came out the f**ing sea!’

Aren't they called capons?
No, a capon is a castrated cockerel. Please do not google the procedure, as it is definitely not something humane by current animal welfare standards (spoiler: a cockerel's sexual organs are internal rather than external).

Capons are castrated and fattened up, we used to have one for Christmas dinner, so tasty.

*Curiosity101 it does frustrate me so! Taking children to live lambing events and then eating one on Easter Sunday 🙈 Fair enough if the children know what is going to happen to the cutesy little lamb, but loads of them don't!

Oh dear!

getdownonit my parents kept free range chickens many years ago. One of the cock birds was very aggressive to the hens and also my parents. One weekend he pushed his luck too far and attacked my Dad from behind.
That Sunday we had roast chicken. 🐓

We always ate chickens raised by my grandad, humane, excellent welfare, no food miles.

How did they compare to a supermarket chicken? Any meat eater who gives you trouble about eating your chickens is a hypocrite. Far better your way, you know you gave them a good quality of life and a humane death. It's the most ethical way to justify eating meat surely?

Aren't they called capons?

Only if they're neutered - ie pumped full of lady chicken hormones. Produces more breast meat.