Beware Lancaster Fancy Fowl

[enola]

Free Feather, you have no idea what my financial situation is, so to insinuate what I can or can not afford to do for my chickens is extremely rude. I rent where Iive, which is really not any of your business either; so I can't do anything unless my land lord approves. Also, I guess you didn't notice that I mentioned predatory dogs in the neighborhood. It would be much more cruel of me to free range my hens. They would 't last two days.

 

[enola]

By the way Free Feather where DID you get your chickens ?

 

[John 4 Jesus]

While it is a fact that hatcheries carry birds with transmitable deseases like mg or ms, it is never right to sell a bird that is actively symptomatic. In other words, mg can be dormant or active and when active the bird will exhibit severe symptoms of ilness. What causes mg to be detrimental to the bird's health is poor hygiene (letting the bird live in a high volume of fecal buildup), tight confinement, and severe stress. Without these variables an mg carrier can live a full and productive life. As a hatchery, we always minded this rule and never deliberately sold a bird that exhibited signs of ilness. And on occasion, have had to request a refund from other breeders who have not. However, I will acknowledge that the stress of shpiping a juvenile bird or started chick may cause a bird to lose the ability to maintain mg bacterial levels at a safe minimum, hence becoming symptomatic. Stress plays a big role in the health of your birds and for this reason we have always observed the 2 sq ft per bird rule as well as other proactive health measures like suplementation with herbal and botanical products to iliminate as much of the stress factor as possible. But quiet honestly, there's only so much that can be done in a typical commercial hatchery setting to avoid birds becoming sick on occasion. Where i feel breeders and hatcheries have erred, is in their lack of transparency regarding poultry health issues.They have not readily disclosed the full liability involved in owning the typical backyard chicken for fear of discouraging the potential first time consumer. Now, as a result, the lack of transparency has come back to bite alot of us. And the issue has become almost scandalous.

 

[John 4 Jesus]

If I had it to do over, I would have drafted and implemented a full health liability disclaimer. So that the consumer could not come back to claim a refund weeks or months after the bird was in their care citing a necropsy report done by their state lab for mere pennies. Hatcheries should take heed to what has been happening relative to this issue just like Ideal and others and safeguard against consumer manipulation and arm twisting.

 

[sagealbright]

I think it's outrageous that John even needs to defend himself on here. They are CHICKENS. They live OUTSIDE. They get SICK. It's not like you ordered a pedigree dog. There's no comparison. Chickens are chickens. There's no way to keep a hatchery or even a backyard flock disease free. Other chickens in your area may have been sick and the ones you ordered were already stressed and had a weak immune system making it impossible for them to fight off illness. Diseases can also be carried by wild birds. You can never be 100% sure. Pointing fingers and making crazy accusations won't get you anywhere. If you're that worried about the health of your birds find a local breeder and visit them to ensure everything is up to you nearly impossible standards. That way you aren't getting shipped birds from somewhere you have never even seen before. I can not believe the immaturity of some of the people commenting on this forum. Educate yourself better on diseases, how they are carried/transmitted, and how the immune system of chickens work before blatantly accusing someone. I'm sorry to say but some of you are just making yourself look idiotic. John has amazing birds and he has dedicated almost all of himself and his time to this business. Just because a few of you got some sick birds does not mean he is a horrible breeder.

 

[Free Feather]

Free Feather, you have no idea what my financial situation is, so to insinuate what I can or can not afford to do for my chickens is extremely rude. I rent where Iive, which is really not any of your business either; so I can't do anything unless my land lord approves. Also, I guess you didn't notice that I mentioned predatory dogs in the neighborhood. It would be much more cruel of me to free range my hens. They would 't last two days.

I am not assuming anything about your financial situation. I just said that if you can not let them outside, and cannot make them happy, why have them at all? I did not say that you had to free range them, but they should have a run. You said they have never been outside, and that is horrible. If you cannot let them outside at all, then you should not have chickens.

 

[enola]

Everybody is entitled to their own opinion. My chickens are not pets. They are livestock. They are fed an appropriate diet, have fresh water, are wormed regularly. I am sorry YOU don't think they are happy. And I am sure I am not the only chicken owner on this site that has a flock of chickens that don't get to go outside.

 

[enola]

And you forgot to tell us where you got your chickens.......

 

[Ifish]

Just because everyone else does wrong, does not make it okay for them to do it, too. It may be better, but it is still bad and should not be done.

So where did your flock come from?

 

[Ifish]

By the way Free Feather where DID you get your chickens ?

I shoulda read a little more before responding.