[scaradim]

It's proved that kids that name their chicken, pig, lamb, rabbit, fish, dog or horse cannot accept them to be killed and cannot eat them. thus numbers on farm cattle.

[bityard]

No, farm cattle have numbers because that's the most efficient way to keep track of them. The farms might be large, and the cattle might change ownership at various stages. It just doesn't work to name them, just like naming computers in a datacenter doesn't scale past a certain point.

And as a counter-example, I know families in the rural midwest that name their livestock while raising them. The important bit is that they teach the children the difference between pets and livestock early on so it doesn't come as a shock to them that their dinner was grazing out on the back 40 just the other day. It's only shocking to those who aren't acquainted with the realities of agriculture life.

[alaxsxaq]

Once you let your kid name an animal, it is a pet.

I have a bit of experience with this since we have been running a chicken retirement community for the past four or five years as our chickens, now beloved pets of my teenage daughter are well into their senior years. We get eggs, but they are very expensive eggs given the feed cost/egg ratio is changing significantly as egg production wanes and feed prices are on a continuous trajectory upwards.

We do have limits - my daughter has accepted that I draw the line at vet visits. If a chicken is sick enough to need a vet, it will be allowed to die peacefully or be euthanized if there are severe injuries.

[snordgren]

I grew up on a farm and we routinely named the cattle that stood out. I don't recall any one of us protesting when they were sent away. But I suppose cattle aren't very sociable compared to the animals that you listed.

At the end of the day, it's just the cycle of life, and we knew that from an early age.

[mcpackieh]

For every 4H kid who cries, there are a dozen more who don't.

> thus numbers on farm cattle.

Try to imagine a farmer setting aside time to individually name a thousand pigs. Lol.

[MrJohz]

Anecdotally, I am sceptical that this is true (at least universally). My dad grew up with animals, and his family named and are plenty of them.

[mrguyorama]

My neighbors named one of their cattle "Ribeye". I bet he was delicious

[dingnuts]

This is obvious nonsense to anyone who grew up in a rural area

[tekla]

Complete and total nonsense. I've eaten plenty of family pets that I've named, and so have many of my family members and relatives