I’m a carnivore.  There, I said it.  I like how meat tastes, I like how it smells when it’s cooking, and I enjoy the nutrition I get from responsible levels of consumption.  For a long time I didn’t really think about the fact that the food I was eating was coming from an animal.  I always had that knowledge in my mind, but I never considered the far reaching implications of my decision to buy meat at the store.

Most people don’t want to think about it.  It’s uncomfortable because for most of us, the only interaction we get with animals is in the “pet” capacity.  Whether it be animals at the zoo or spot/rex/fido greeting you when you get home after work.  As a result, carnivores in modern times view chicken as a packaged luxury to be purchased from a well lit cooler in a major grocery store, and that is as far as the train goes.  But that’s not really where the train stops is it?

Most grocery store chicken comes from large factory farms where the birds have had their wings clipped or surgically broken, their beak tips removed, and their access to the outside beauty of the sun and the grass closed off.  A lot of people are outraged that animals are kept without access to the outside.  In actuality, the chicken breeds in these factory farms are breed specifically for these deplorable conditions.  If released into an open field, most would likely starve to death, unfamiliar with the concept of scratching for bugs and worms, unaware that food comes from places besides a metal tray.  Even chicken that is sold as “free range” can spend its entire life inside, having no desire to venture into the run that it has been given access to.  Are these birds truly chickens in the light that animal rights groups portray them in order to garner donations?  Curious, personable birds, clucking about?  To me, these factory breeds seem more like Frankenstein’s monster… provided you could eat Frankenstein’s monster and have it taste good.

That’s not to say that chickens aren’t the way animal rights groups portray them.  There are plenty of breeds that are personable, curious, and a real joy to be around.  Enter the small local farm.  Chickens and humans go together like lamb and tuna fish.  Chickens have been around for a long time, and domestication has worked out well for both (maybe until the advent of factory farming).  The chicken appreciates the shelter, security, and space the farmer provides, and to show its gratitude provides eggs and free pest removal services (read: they eat ticks, mosquitoes, flys, etc).  It all ends there doesn’t it?  The chicken happy and content, and the farmer pest free.  Harvest never need befall the chicken and life can blissfully continue without the weight of early morning slaughter on anyone’s shoulders.

For some people, yes it can end there.  The chicken can live out its life, die (maybe of old age, disease or predation), be buried and eventually replaced by another, and another, until the farmer has either been harvested from the earth or lost interest in his egg laying pets.  But for a self-sufficient farmer this doesn’t exactly work.  The reason being that one would always have to buy more chickens just as one buys/rescues a dog or cat.  That’s not always possible and rarely economical.  So the self-sufficient farmer keeps a rooster or two.  Every now and again eggs aren’t harvested and are left to allow a hen to go broody on them and hatch a little family (of which only a few will actually be “hers”).  This family is the next generation of the flock.  What happens now?

Hens don’t understand that too many roosters on the farm means no eggs and a big mess.  So when the eggs hatch you might find you’ve got 5 new roosters.  Roosters need their harem and a one-to-one ratio just isn’t going to work for them.  Depending on demand it may also be difficult to sell these roosters in a timely manner.  If allowed to grow to maturity you’ll have them potentially mating hens to death and trying to kill each other as well.  As any benevolent ruler would do, the farmer must return peace to the flock by harvest.  The farmer likely does not relish in this task, but understands it to be a necessary part of self-sufficient life.  A rooster is not a pet.  A rooster is, for all we can observe an incredibly jealous lover.  To this point he is an excellent protector, but really has little desire or want for human affection in lieu of his hens.

Roosters aside, the new generation of hens will have to grow up into a flock of its own.  If left in the existing flock at a young age, they run the risk of being bullied and killed by the other hens.  Hardly a good environment to grow up in.  As a result they will need to be separated and grown separately.  For the farmer with space and time to manage two flocks, this presents a great challenge (the degree of challenge is dependent of course on how many times you allow chickens to hatch their eggs).  To the small self-sufficient farmer without much time, the solution is simple.  When the new birds have reached a certain age they will be harvested.  If the existing flock is old, no longer laying eggs, or sick, it may be time to harvest the previous generation to allow the new generation to flourish.

There are other conditions that might facilitate a harvest.  Perhaps a bird is born disabled, or with a problem that is hereditary.  If that bird is allowed to mix with the flock and breed, those traits will, overtime, become ingrained in the flock.  The more often sub-standard birds are allowed into the breeding mix, the weaker your flock, and ultimately the breed in general will become.  This is especially important if you plan on selling live chickens, or are caring for a breed that is already endangered or recovering.

Aside from all the practical reasons that facilitate harvesting chickens for meat, there is also a more spiritual purpose behind it.  If you’re a carnivore, understanding that an animal has given its life for you to eat is a very powerful thing.  Just as with all things in life, taking personal responsibility for our actions and decisions results in a greater understanding of self, and all the things around us.  Personally, I felt that I could not continue to eat meat unless I was able to assume the responsibility of harvest.

I know there are those that will believe I am cruel for doing this.  If your concern stems from the fact that I eat meat at all; I believe I have the freedom to make that choice for myself.  If your concern is animal wellfare, isn’t it far better for that animal to live the full and natural life it was designer for- truly, bred for- than to simply pass the buck out of personal convenience or fear of responsibility?  The chicken has been domesticated for so long if it weren’t for small farms keeping flocks, the only chickens living would be the Frankenstein ones in factory farms.  Personally I think such a useful and personable animal deserves better.