Chickens - Pets Or Slaves

[TheCrazyClucker]

Sums it up in one sentence!!

And anyways I already had that list saved on a MC Word doc

 

[Rachy]

My chickens are our family pets. If they never laid another egg they'd still be our family pets.
They have proved themselves to be the most entertaining, engaging and in some cases loving pets.
My children adore them and they are delightful to have in the garden and are more than helpful in the bug/weed eating department.

Our chickens are definitely pets

 

[BuckeyeFoodie]

I, too, bought into the fallacy of chickens as garden friends. Now, I patrol the pasture fence ruthlessly looking for holes, and any hen over the fence has her wings clipped before I put her back. If you've ever waited patiently for a long-season heirloom tomato to ripen only to find a chicken eating it the day before it's truly ripe, or baby a new variety of watermelon along only to find all the straw you put under it scratched out and the plant itself lying in pieces in your garden, you'll understand the rage and overwhelming desire for chicken stew that comes over you.

I'm not new to owning chickens (although my current flock of chicks are my first after a few year hiatus), but I am new to having my garden at the horse barn. I'll definitely be sticking to weeding the old-fashioned way now, and will just toss my weeds up over the fence into the runs for my hooligans to eat! It's hard enough keeping a bunch of nosy horses out of my garden - they knocked down my temporary fence. although they haven't nibbled or stepped on any plants, it is a pain removing all the hoof prints from their "inspections"! And I really don't want to lose any of my rarer tomatoes to the chicks!

 

[kmollyhughes]

I think my chickens view me as their slave LOL

Sooooo true!! Spoiled rotten chickens. Lol

 

[kmollyhughes]

I think of my flock as livestock. I care for them, give them a great diet, protect them, let some of them produce offspring. They lay eggs which I collect, I eat their eggs, sell their eggs, and use some of the chickens for meat. An animal cannot be called a slave. My chickens look to me to provide for their needs, which I do. I care about my chickens, yet I also realize that not all can stay around forever. They live good lives, and seem quite happy, though I can't read their minds.....

I do my part, they do theirs.

I love this... I care for them, but they have a purpose also. ....even if I spoil them and have become a chicken addict.

 

[TheCrazyClucker]

Another thing- I think about my chickens as livestock. Most don't have names (just the roosters and the special hens do) and most are not thought of as pets.

 

[ashcons]

They're our feathered backyard workers; paid in shelter, food, and water to:

Eat bugs and weeds
Turn thatch on the lawn
Create waste for our compost pile
Entertain us with their chicken antics
(within the next couple months, I expect to add: provide us with fresh eggs to the list)

 

[Chikenbutwut]

I think of my chickens, though they're just chicks right now, as pets with benefits. That said, even though I only have bantams, if they didn't lay eggs, I wouldn't have gotten them (though I realize that buying eggs would be much cheaper). We're a small family, with a small yard and prefer yolks over whites, thus why bantams were chosen.

People raise chickens and other livestock for all different kinds of reasons though. When I was young my family raised Rhode Island Reds for eggs and raised Cornish Rocks for meat. They weren't considered pets, but all their needs were met. To me that's the bottom line...making sure it's needs are met. I really don't see how livestock could be considered slaves.

 

[fatcatx]

This question is kinda bizarre. Slaves are forced to do things at another's will that they probably wouldn't do otherwise. If I let my chickens loose they would still be popping out eggs as long as they foraged enough food. The only difference is they'd be doing it on the ground and the racoon would get the eggs instead of me!

I treat our chickens more like pets but I wouldn't say they have full-on pet status. I've treated my dogs and cats for cancer-related diseases but would not go those lengths for my birds. They do gets treats, pettings, and conversation. They seem to only care about the treats.

 

[truth64]

I think of them as egg laying pets for sure, but other times it is fun to think of them as live stalk. I've got two dwarf goats and eight chickens in my 2 acres of land, and call it my "wannabe farm". If I had more land and more money I would definitely have more animals, but for now its just fun to watch what I've got