[MAK]

In recent weeks it strikes me that a lot of people on the forum name their poultry and animals.
Has anyone any thoughts on this?
i keep poultry and pigs to provide eggs and meat and slaughter and butcher myself. No way could I bleed and butcher a duck called Mavis or a pig called Snuffles. I have to keep detached and am happy to handle new arrivals to our plot just as they were given or purchased. By the ankles!
I visit all the poultry and pigs a few times a day - luv them all - and even play with the pigs but will dispatch them next week just as I have the chickens and ducks. I would never give them or my vegetables names.
Martin

[little blue]

I name most things, except all the birds ... unless you count having three called "Mrs light sussex" or "mrs Maran!"
but the ones we eat have names only to identify them - "number two" "boy" etc.
I know which are which, so it isn't a problem, and we're talking very small numbers at a time hear anyway.

the ones I talk about on here are keepers, and so deserve a name

[chickenfeed]

no names for the poultry here or the meat pigs, sheep, goats or cattle but the breeding pigs get a stable name.

[plumseverywhere]

The thing I found hardest about the sheep co-op lambs being taken off for slaughter was that they'd all been given names by the group. Not by me I must stress!!  not just names but cutesy, human names like 'shaun and larry'.  I don't think I could name meat animals at all.  My chickens don't really have names apart from cuckoo the cockerel as he belongs to my 8 year old and she named him.
the animals that are not for meat ie.goats get names. any boy kids will not.

[jaykay]

I name breeding animals that are staying around a long time. I never name animals that are intended for eating.

[jenny]

Hi there, welllllllll I got 6 point of lay poullets last april and I named them after my 5 best friends and my daughter. The naughty hen that tries to escape and never likes to go to bed is Irene etc..... my patrner made a website about the hens and all their antics which was the talk of the pub amongst my pals. It is all light-hearted and why not have a laugh. I know my hens and they run to me when i arrive at night to shut them in. They follow me into the wood and love scratching and bathing under the trees. Am I CRAZY!!!!!!

[VSS]

Giving names to animals destined for the table doesn't affect the flavour or eating qualities in any way 

Nothing gets given names as such, but sometimes a name just attches itself to an individual for some reason or other. It makes no odds if it will be eaten or not ( litter runts that end up in our freezer rather than at market often seem to be called Peter).

[doganjo]

My dogs and cats have names!   But not the ducks and hens even though they are not for eating, but for eggs.  And if small children or my grandchildren come to visit and ask what their names are I make up one or two (except Jemima who is the mother duck, and Jack is the drake as he is blue grey with a white bib and collar - Parson Jack ) or tell them I haven't thought of names for them yet and do they have any suggestions.  They remember what they called them next time  they return, so I don't have to.

[Rosemary]

Our cows have pedigree names. Likewise our tup.

Female sheep have names but they'll be here longterm. It just makes it easier to identify them.

I don't name pigs or tup lambs or any of the 70 laying hens. Except Hector the cockerel, and Indy and Wibbly Wobbly (two slightly disabled hens). Oh, and Minty, the Copper Black Maran. And Ada and Olive the two White Leghorns, but none of the others.

I have named the three new hens - Jasmine (Black Orpington), Bonny (Cream Crested Legbar) and Lucy (White Wyandotte). Oh and our bulock is called Henry but he came with the name.

 

[manian]

we give everything names......
if we are going to eat them they deserve a really good life and the pigs and lambs come when called.
even when we haven't got food. Blackie (our entire lamb ram) would often come over for a cuddle and snuggle- he still went off to the freezer.
would seem more heartless to me not to let them have names when their lives are so short
(although the table birds are all mrs chick cos i can't tell them apart  )
Mx

[colliewoman]

I name everything that will stay (I even named my bike ) Meat animals get a group name.
The last lot of cockerels were 'the christmas dinners'. this lot are 'the cornflakes', cos they look like kelloggs are huge rooster, who is staying.
Henry the wyandotte, is a tricky one at the moment. He has a name, he is supposed to be staying, but as he is getting called 'you bastard' more often than henry at the moment, i may be eating him soon. vicious little sod that he is

[princesspiggy]

except the hens and turkeys this last year(mainly cos there are alot and they are identical), ours all have names, even yesterday my 3 yr old daughter starting naming the pigs she has eaten, but we always say "thankyou" to the pig/turkey etc when we begin a meal. just seems more respectful to us cos we looked after them like they were v special.
i cooked a meal for a friend once and when we mentioned who it was she refused to eat it, even tho she'd never met the pig.
i think provenance is all about who/what u are eating - ie which country/farm/ear tag number/name etc

[bigchicken]

All my pedigree Shetland sheep have names as part of there registration. I find if anyone names one of my wedders it mostly has to stay. Once had a ram called Jim who got called big Jim after the wife saw the size of his testicles. funny how some animals get there names    Ponies have names so that they know who I,m speaking to but none of my chooks get named.

[princesspiggy]

ouir vets' receptionist always wants to know their names then u feel a bit guilty if they dont have one!

[CameronS]

mine all have, but i never really use them, infacti can harldy remember half of them! and i'm sure name keep changing birds.

but i can still do the deed when it comes to it...