downsizing doesn't mean dumping your chickens in the bush

[Adalida]

People who dump animals are cowards. I actually knew someone who dumped their dog. I was a kid at the time, we were a military family living on base. One of my friends had a dog, but when it came time to move, her parents didn't want to pay to ship it to their new base (we lived in Newfoundland, so going back to the states required air travel or sea travel). So they took it "to the farm", which was code for taking it out in the country and dumping it. They had a happy little story made up about how farmers love and need dogs, and would be so happy to get a free one, etc etc. For the record, Newfoundland didn't have any farms where we were, so they dumped it in the woods. My parents didn't know until after the fact, or else they would have done something about it (they did go look for it). But they had truly convinced themselves that the dog was happy and they were kind people for doing this.

 

[MeepBeep]

Preface, I absolutely do not condone dumping of animals be it domestic or so called 'relocated' wild animals...

That said, sometimes animals simply wander off and decide to become feral... I saw peafowl mentioned above, they are notorious for 'wandering' and looking for a new home, they have a 'Lets see if the grass is greener over their attitude' most of the time... That isn't to say all will leave home but it's not uncommon especially during mating season where they have been known to wander many miles chasing down a mating call... Same with guineas, they can be hit or miss and go feral just because, especially if you live in a heavily wooded area...

There are also instances where people die, I'm not saying it's right but sometimes when people die if someone else isn't there right away to care for the animals and they are able to wander they very well could wander and become feral... Plus there is the whole physiological aspect, sometimes people just fall apart and sad but true the animals almost always take 2nd fiddle to peoples health or needs...

I now the common response is simply 're-home' them but the reality is it's not always that easy...

I saw this poop storm first hand, my llamas came from a home where the women's husband died and the property went into foreclosure, the women loaded up her car one night with a few things and disappeared, left all her stuff in the house behind and left the animals behind ... The neighbor was taking care of the animals and working with the bank allowing here to continue to use the barn until she was able to find homes for the animals and/or locate their owners... But, the bank only granted here 90 days of barn use, and she did not have the ability to care for all the animals and was trying to give them away, but there were few takers... I only took the two llamas but I could have walked away with a half dozen Arabian horses as well... Moral of the story, I don't know what happened in the end, but it's not always easy to give animals away and people do crazy things sometimes...

Again, I'm not advocating or supporting people that dump animals, there is absolutely no reason to do it, but sometimes poo-poo things happen and things spiral out of control leaving people to do stupid and irresponsible things...

 

[Adalida]

MeepBeep, you're very right on that. Last winter, hay prices were high because there had been draught that summer and farmers didn't get as many cuttings. There were many free horses advertised for sale. Someone dumped two horses, who ended up caught in a cattle guard and had to be put down. They suffered terribly and people were outraged. The owner was tracked down, and said he didn't know what else to do because he couldn't find anybody to take them and couldn't afford to keep feeding them.

It's a tough dilemma, what is the right thing to do in a situation like that? Do you put down a perfectly healthy animal? Especially if the animal shelter is already overcrowded? This is a topic I've pondered a lot. Particularly because I've volunteered at shelters, and heard the fierce debates about "kill" vs "no kill" shelters.

 

[sjm123456]

Thats horrible! Once while I was hiking far from any farms or any people, I saw a poor chicken that looked lost and I tried to catch her for about 3 hours but she was just way to fast, I came back every day for the rest of the week but she never returned

I later heard from another hiker 3 months later that it was her chicken and she actually dumped 3 of them! I gave her my number and told her to call me if she was going to dump another animal and that I would take any of her future unwanted pets..

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

Good job.We had a cat that was on the highway in a bag with all of her dead baby's luckily she survived and lived a long life

Thank goodness at least the mom survived, and that you were kind enough to rescue her...but people who do something like put a cat and her kittens in a bag and leave them in the road make me ashamed to be human.

 

[Isaac 0]

She had a best friend that she would play with in the trees but someone stole her friend and she was very lonely.

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

She had a best friend that she would play with in the trees but someone stole her friend and she was very lonely.

Oh, that poor girl.

 

[MysteriaSdrassa]

We have people that dump their unwanted birds a lot either right in our range, which is a 3 acre pasture. Or worse, along the side road thinking they will make it in on their own. Usually roosters they no longer want. Last year we found a gorgeous black cochin sitting in the middle of the road as night night was coming on fast and Temps plummeting to well below 0 already. There would be no way he would have survived the night. You could tell he had been pampered he was so tame. We don't mind taking in birds, but we really dislike people just dumping them. We finally put up signs saying that we would take them, but to bring them to the house and not just dump them. This has helped, but this summer I still found a few strange hens among ours.

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

We have people that dump their unwanted birds a lot either right in our range, which is a 3 acre pasture. Or worse, along the side road thinking they will make it in on their own. Usually roosters they no longer want. Last year we found a gorgeous black cochin sitting in the middle of the road as night night was coming on fast and Temps plummeting to well below 0 already. There would be no way he would have survived the night. You could tell he had been pampered he was so tame. We don't mind taking in birds, but we really dislike people just dumping them. We finally put up signs saying that we would take them, but to bring them to the house and not just dump them. This has helped, but this summer I still found a few strange hens among ours.

Dumping animals is just cowardly (and lazy), IMO. Kudos to you for being willing to take them in.

 

[ShanandGem]

I ended up with a lovely flock of 8 Brahma crosses who seem healthy as can be and lay the biggest eggs I've ever seen. The last hen survived in the woods for over a month before I managed to catch her.