Meat Birds

IMG_6131Meat birds, are birds, mainly chickens, raised for the purpose of consuming their meat. As someone who draws a fuzzy line between chickens and pets, this was a difficult decision for me. So why raise birds destined for slaughter? The short answer is that one could never eat more humanely raised meat, nor more nutritionally superior meat. The longer answer is that these standard/heritage breeds will disappear off the face of the earth if we do not continue to breed, and yes, eat them. Join me as I learn my way through this process, and try do it ‘right.’

The chicks you see here are newly hatched Chanteclers. They are a standard/heritage breed from Quebec, and do very well in our climate. Chanteclers are great at protecting themselves from predators, are excellent foragers, and  have a lovely disposition. Who could ask for more? Considered dual purpose birds, the females could be kept for egg-laying, and Chanteclers could reproduce naturally on their own. No need to access a broiler house – more on that later.

Interestingly, we have a restaurant in Toronto, Chantecler, a resort in Quebec, Hôtel Le Chantecler, and a restaurant in Nice, Le Chantecler. There must be something rather tasty about Chanteclers.

10 comments

  • Joe says:

    There isn’t a chicken that is “native” to Canada. They were bred to work well in the Canadian climate, especially the winter.

    • Toronto Chicken says:

      Joe, thank you for the correction. Chantecler birds were indeed bred to work well in the Canadian climate. My Chanty’s continue to thrive in all seasons here in Toronto.

  • Monique says:

    HI! I am very interested in Backyard chickens. I was wondering how far you got with the petition. Do you think it is time to do another one with the new “rent a chicken” movement?
    I think it is ridiculous that chickens are outlawed!

  • Lui says:

    I grew up with Chickens when I was a kid, we enjoyed fresh eggs and fresh chicken every day, and we did this on flat roof of a house in the city.

    It was very easy to take care of, give them food, and keep them warm and out of the rain.

    I’d like my children to have the same experience in our own backyard here in Markham.

    Now that the cost of food is skyrocketing, this is beneficial in every way.

    Also most local farms lands in Markham have turned into new houses and condos, the GTA should allow people with knowledge to have hens in their backyard, to compliment the backyard fresh vegetables.

    When I was a kid my parents got me 2 little chicks, then as they grew the hen started putting eggs, and surprisingly the other chick was a male soon to be rooster, so after a few months we had half a dozen live chicks, which then turned into a dozen and more.

    We had eggs to spare for neighbours and plenty of pollo (rooster) to eat, old hens are great for chicken soups.

    When we moved to a condo it was the saddest weeks of my life, as we had to get rid of them, eating them all, giving them away.

    Now that I own my own house I’d like to have a backyard with a dozen chicken, I got a pretty big yard, more than enough room for vegetables + chicken coop with heater to keep the hen nice and comfy for winter.

    If we ever get too many chickens we’ll just have a feast ;) and it’ll be the Halal way, no I’m not muslim, but I learned to release the animal from agony and fear before its slaughter.

    The meat is more tender and juicier when you release it slowly, than slaughtering it the uncivilized way of the Farm Factory execution by breaking its neck or electrocution.

    Also free range chicken taste better than the artificially inflated chicken you buy at the supermarket from those Farm Factories.

    Anyway, the point is please allow home owners to legally have backyard chickens.

    It just doesn’t make sense to allow pigeon but not chickens in the backyard, which by the way pigeons causes more droppings issues since they fly around, while chickens stay in its designated area.

    The only reason I can see why pigeons were allowed in the past was for communication purposes, because as egg goes, they do not produce eggs often enough to be viable, and only a few times during a season, the eggs are very small, and the meat taste of a pigeon is just not something you want often, unless you have run out of food. Basically you’ll die of hunger before the next set of eggs or pigeons are ready to eat.

    Therefore the only sustainable food source are chickens, eggs, and its fertilizer that helps your garden of vegetables.

  • Katharine says:

    Do you know if quail are allowed in Toronto? The bylaw website says galliformes such as chickens and turkeys but it is not clear if it means every galliforme that exists in nature.

  • Peter Munro says:

    Hi

    In winter do Chanteclers require a heated coup?

    Can they thrive on only pasture?

    Can I put them in a 6 large sided chain link cages and visit them every week? How long can they be on their own?

    • Toronto Chicken says:

      Thank you for your comment. Chanteclers do fine in the winter as long as you cover the coop and run with plastic to keep the wind out. Be sure to leave ventilation for them and let them out to roam each day. We like to hang a cabbage in the winter for entertainment and treats. They cannot thrive on pasture only. They need layer’s mash, which is specially formulated for laying hens. They need to be visited and taken care of on a daily basis in order to have fresh water, feed, a clean environment, predator vigilance (make sure that predators cannot dig under the fence, by adding a wire mesh skirt on the ground perpendicular to the walls), and of course you need to collect the eggs each day. And lastly, always remove the feed at night to nighttime discourage pests. Hope this helps.

  • Peter Munro says:

    a large 6 sided cage

  • Niro thavam says:

    Please do keep this petition on going, this is the right of every citizen to know where their food is coming from.

Leave a Reply

Allowed tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>