| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| 2steps |
Naming chickensDo your chickens have names? |
||
| N.V.M. |
when i lived on a farm, i was taught not to name the animals. you never know, one day you might butchering/eating Fluffygirl. | ||
| Treacodactyl |
I've named my hens - Ginger, Marmalade and Treacle - but they will not end up in the pot so I'm fine. As NVM says, I wouldn't name anything I was planning to eat.
With a couple of tame hens I find they know their names and I can even call them, either to come off a flower bed or to come down to the house. |
||
| Gertie |
Our hens remind me of elderly spinster ladies - Ours are called Betty Fudge, Maggie, Peggie, Maisie, Poppy, Dottie, Lucy and Jo-Hen. Betty, Maggie and Jo-Hen are named after friends (Elizabeth, Margaret and Joanne). We did have Nettie (named after someone - hmmn, who was it now  ), but sadly this hen recently passed away.
We also have Cornelius, our Light (ha!) Sussex Cockerel - who was an early anniversary gift from my mate, Liz. What are yours going to be called 2steps? |
||
| barefoot_boo |
Ours had names: Henrietta, Jemima, Plum Plum, Phyllis, Agnes, Sage, Onion, Lavender, Henny-Penny, Alfreda and Bruce the cock. I miss my babies! | ||
| Anna-marie |
Hi 2steps,
I name everything 
But then, I don't eat them!! 
Anna-marie |
||
| 2steps |
we have origianally planned to eat them but as I learnt more about them and saw some for real it started looking more and more unlikely I think it's very unlikely they'll get eaten.
one is calle marjorie, so far. I like marmalade as a name 
|
||
| Lozzie |
If you have no plans to eat your chickens, what will you do with them when they eventually shuffle off their perches? Just bury them somewhere meaningful opr picturesque, like with a cat or a dog - or hand them over to the vet for disposal? | ||
| 2steps |
Just bury them. Though I did read recently that you aren't suppst to bury pets in your garden
|
||
| Bugs |
I've not heard anything new on pet burials, did you see if that was a new thing, 2steps?
However, chickens are livestock, and therefore, since about 2 yrs ago, supposed to be disposed of by somewhere that will provide a proper incinerator. How likely it is that the thousands of backyard keepers across the country are doing this with their "fallen stock"  , I don't know. But you should be aware of it - we have not yet decided what will happen to ours. They're in good health, and could easily still be with us in 10 years time and who knows how things will be then  
I see Omlet who make the, erm, modern chicken houses, still recommend the dustbin as an option. Nice. |
||
| sean |
Bit harsh, they have using the vet as first choice. And mention burial. | ||
| sean |
Sorry if this seems mean, but at the end of the day it's a chicken and it's dead. Unless it's illegal what's the problem with the bin, they're biodegradable? | ||
| Treacodactyl |
Not harsh at all as they shouldn't recommend something that is illegal, not without telling people at least.
As far as I can see, if you prep your dead hen ready for the table you can then bin it - and if you live round here put the rubbish out the night before and watch the foxes spread it all over the road. Another daft bit of legislation.
|
||
| 2steps |
I don't think could just throw a pet in the bin. Not cruel, after all they are dead but doesn't seem right
In the case of a chicken as long it wasn't ill I can see any problem in throwing in the bin though, from a legal point of view. Plenty of leftover chicken and carcasses are throw away everyday from food so whats the difference? |
||
| Treacodactyl |
As far as DEFRA is concerned a pet hen is livestock and can only be disposed in a few ways. I assume the law is to stop large amounts of fallen stock polluting the water supplies etc. I've not heard of a back garden hen keeper ever get into trouble though. | ||
| Rachel |
naming chickensMine are called daphne , Gloria and Hilda. It's unlikely that they will be eaten when they stop laying so I guess they will have to be disposed of in one way or another...not until they stop being really good waste disposal units though! My Dad has been keeping chickens for decades and he is well up on the DEFRA policies (which he despises) and tends to sneak his dead hens into the dustbin!!!! However, I think the 'inform the authorities & pay for incineration' clause applies to all smallholders unfortunately. |
||
| dave d |
hi all if i ever get a chicken die on me i usually burn it in the field where it lived seems cleaner somehow | ||
| kiwi |
Hi
our hens are called Ginger, Merry, Pippin and the week old turkey chicks are Trudy and Tim !! the pigs are Ruby, Reggie and Jet. Ducks are Jack  , Vera, Matt,Dolly(couldn't resist!) and Lizzie
Puppy is Sam Cat is Maisie Pony is Beau Rabbit is Harvey we've got a dozen fertile eggs arriving tonight so will need more names I might have to make some plaques so I can remember them all!! |
||
| 2steps |
we decided to name 2 and leave 2 nameless (for eating) they are called marjory and meg. will also need some new names when my eggs hatch
Also have a dog called chino, rabbits called amethyst and poppy rats called fred and shaggy (with 2 more arriving this week) giant snails called winky and clifford |
||
| Mrs Fiddlesticks |
our hens are Queenie, Chutney and Ruby Fiddlesticks... ( Queenie was boss hen - although she's been deposed, and I was making courgette chutney when we got them and Ruby cos they are a lovely auburn red colour) | ||
| Andy B |
Ive got two new dorkings, and while the rest of the girls have names, nothing seems to have fitted these two yet. Although double and trouble would fit . | ||
| mandycharlie |
When we first had hens, we (as parents) decided not to name them... although our boys had other ideas.. henrietta,, peggy and princess layer.. were bantered around... but we stayed firm in our choice not to name them.. so now its... the big black rock,, the smaller black rock or the other one... then followed by the breed name... light sussex, buff sussex, orpington etc, etc,
Its not perfect but it works for us.. We had a light sussex that died on us, it just so happened on the day that we went to the Royal Show at Stoneleigh. We came back and she was stone cold, we were quite upset,, hubby the more so, because she was his favourite hen... (they had quite a strong connection) What to do... well,, we don't have anywhere to dig up to dispose of dead livestock... it was a sunday,, so vets were closed and as I don't drive, would have been difficult to get the hen to the vets monday morning,, not least cause I was not available for the next three days due to other commitments. So, regretably she was taken to the tip. There was nothing more we could do for her, the other hens looked fine and with the benefit of hind sight were/are in perfect condition, if this happened today, I might have other ideas,,, Like taking said chicken to the vets for analysis... but at that point,, chicken flu was not something that we thought about.. Also this chicken had been feeding and very lively that morning,, (hubby likes to watch them come out to feed) and was stone cold dead some six hours later... It was very sad, but quickly dealt with. (although they may not have names our boys are quite close to our hens and love them) Is it illegal then to do what we did? |
||
| judith |
|