Cow vs chicken - funny debate

I heard this on the radio today.  Fantastic.

cow vs chicken

Whereas the cow is a mammal and the chicken is a bird, be it resolved that the cow is superior to the chicken. Comedians Nikki Payne and Mike Wilmot are breaking all the rurals as they argue in favour of their favourite farm animal.

Mike Wilmot said: "Cow meat remains number one, and just as is! Cut it in half and grill 'er up, beef tartar! That's a raw cow, you can eat it! Raw chicken, dead in a week."

Bourdain ate chicken sashimi over a decade ago - still alive today.

That's one vote in favour of chicken.

Here's another one.

r ranson wrote:I heard this on the radio today.  Fantastic.

cow vs chicken

Whereas the cow is a mammal and the chicken is a bird, be it resolved that the cow is superior to the chicken. Comedians Nikki Payne and Mike Wilmot are breaking all the rurals as they argue in favour of their favourite farm animal.

A chicken would respond thusly: 'Who cares about cows! Nobody talks about the Cow that crossed the road, eh? Needless to say, we should all be thankful that cows DON'T fly!'

Bourdain ate chicken sashimi over a decade ago - still alive today.  

not any more, but it wasn't the sashimi chicken that killed him.

a cow can give you beef and milk and if you tan the hide it can give you shoes and chaps.

a chicken can give you meat, eggs, pillows, bone whistles, if it was a rooster it can give you fly tying materials to catch fish.

I've never seen a cow so brave as this:



Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.


although I'm not sure if it's a point in favour of chickens for being brave or against them for being stupid.  It's a tough call, so I'll give one point to each side and call it a draw.

I have enough pasture to raise one cow without buying any feed.
That means I can eat beef for about 6 months once I haul it to the custom butcher and drive back to pick up the packages of meat, that cost me around 550 dollars in processing fees, fuel and wear and tear on the vehicle and trailer.

On that same pasture I can raise 500 chickens.
That means I can sell eggs and whole, dressed birds, let brood hens hatch and raise replacement birds and feed us meat for years with very little, if any expense.
Plus we get hours of entertainment from watching the chickens be chickens.
Then they show us how some of the dinosaurs probably looked when they were on the move too, when they run to get their treats in the evening.
So I have to vote for chickens.  

We're fortunate enough to have both. It would be hard to give up either. Not from a food or usefulness perspective but just because I like them both. My opinion is chickens are a better choice for most people & most situations. For the reasons Bryant outlined & they are just easier to work with & are more forgiving of mistakes. They breed much faster. They require less infrastructure & planning. They also can't accidentally crush you to death. That is a serious factor to consider with cows.

My (somewhat limited) experience with chickens leads me to believe they are dumber than they are brave. Not to stay they are stupid because they are absolutely brilliant sometimes. Especially if it involves getting food. Then 2 seconds later they give a look or do something that screams "I'm the dumbest creature on the planet."

That's a great pic & caption. But that chicken has nothing to fear there. If that snarky comment needs explanation it will be cider press material.

I vote for chicken. Big time. I love a whole roasted bird plus that crispy skin. Not as easy (and as tasty?)  to eat cow skin. Easier to eat the different parts of the bird. (on the other hand, no hide/learther from a chicken).
A walking chicken versus a walking cow: the earth gets trampled and hard and less alive with very heavy animals. Less diversity of plants that can survive hoofs.
Eggs: some call them "hen-fruits", you just pick them... easier to get than dairy.
Butchering a cow versus a chicken? Never butchered anything, but a chicken I could handle, a cow, not.
Dangerous bulls, can attack and seriously harm and kill people.
Bird versus mammal: as a former vegetarian and vegan, feels better to choose the more "alien" species. I definitely feel less related with a chicken than a cow. (no, I don't feel very cow-like, but you get the point).
If one needs dairy, goat/chicken much easier to keep. Maybe less plentiful milk, but people consume far too much dairy nowadays. And most cows around nowadays are freaks of nature... I feel sorry for these cows.
A rooster in the morning or those cow sounds ?... I go for bird!

Bryant RedHawk wrote:
Then they show us how some of the dinosaurs probably looked when they were on the move ...

I'm just fascinated by this.  I've pointed it out to dozens of people, and I don't think a single one understood what I meant, or thought that it was significant.  Looking at a chicken running immediately brings dinosaurs to mind for me, every time.  

Lana Weldon wrote:I definitely feel less related with a chicken than a cow.

You are less closely related to a chicken than a cow.  On the other hand, you're more closely related to a mouse or a cat than a cow, so, by that logic, next time you trap a mouse, it was worse than killing a cow...

I vote for the cow. The sheer variety of products that can be made with milk is beautiful.

Bryant RedHawk wrote:I have enough pasture to raise one cow without buying any feed.
That means I can eat beef for about 6 months once I haul it to the custom butcher and drive back to pick up the packages of meat, that cost me around 550 dollars in processing fees, fuel and wear and tear on the vehicle and trailer.

On that same pasture I can raise 500 chickens.
That means I can sell eggs and whole, dressed birds, let brood hens hatch and raise replacement birds and feed us meat for years with very little, if any expense.
Plus we get hours of entertainment from watching the chickens be chickens.
Then they show us how some of the dinosaurs probably looked when they were on the move too, when they run to get their treats in the evening.
So I have to vote for chickens.  

This mirrors my views.  In addition, the maintenance for chickens is SO much less, the cost of upkeep as well as the initial purchase is much, much cheaper, housing is smaller, cheaper, more easily built, fencing is much cheaper and easier (and in my case, unnecessary) with chickens.  Chickens are also soil-building dynamos.  

WHYYYY must I choose!!!???

Chickens are fascinating! Cows mostly just stand around... except when they’re excited about treats or a new bail or a fresh paddock. Then they’re soooo cute, the way they gallop-skip-cavort toward me. I love my girls... it’s lucky they’re breeders. What I will do about adorable Scottish Highland calves I fear to say. I will have to harden myself; I realize this. DH says the sweetest one is like a shaggy puppy dog. With horns... She stands at the fence and stares until I go out and pet her and give them all treats.

I love my chickens too. They all run out to see me when I open the door or even look out the glass door. They’re definitely in it for the treats but it still feels like they like me. Still, they’re chickens and not so cuddly as a furry cow. They’re safe so long as they lay, or at least clean up pasture after the cows, and they ARE fun to watch. I just got 26 chicks at the PO this morning. They’re for meat—a ranger type. They’re cute, but I must not let myself fall in love.

In a SHTF scenario the cattle would be easier to feed but as I don’t have a bull, pretty hard to perpetuate. We really don’t have room for a bull—or maybe we do, if the pasture (which is already good) gets better. If we did, it would be one bull and three cows. Not a lot of genetic diversity there. With chickens, you have a lot more scope for keeping different lines in play. Cows of whatever kind can give milk but chickens give eggs. Both give meat. Cattle also give hides if you know how and have the gear to tan them. (I am not up to chewing them; my teeth are too old for that. :-p )

I don’t know; I’m pretty sure I need both, plus some wooly sheep and American Guinea hogs, rabbits & quail. It’s hard to grow much of a garden here; the season is too short, so it will have to be mostly meat until I get a greenhouse done. So.. which is better: chicken or cow? Yes.

I can tell by the wording of the original question that you were listening to a certain CBC comedy show.

Every Critter that my family has ever had, has gotten out at some point. If you have a garden you want to protect, or the neighbors have a Big Field of asparagus, the cow getting out is a major deal. People expect chickens to get out, and although they may do a little bit of harm, it tends to not be catastrophic and it's also very difficult to say whose chicken did what. With the cow it's more clear. So, from a liability point of view, chickens are superior. :-)

After listening to this song From my Hometown hero Dana Lyons, I don't trust either.

Ohmygoodness that was great! Still giggling. WOLVERINES!!!