Dumbest Things People Have Said About Your Chickens/Eggs/Meat - Part 2 : Chicken Boogaloo.

[ShrekDawg]

I don't let Luna out anymore but when I did some this past spring/summer, she was mostly scared of the birds and they were scared of her. Well, they got used to her. But she was scared even when they were in the pen lol

Actually wait. I just remembered. She would actually lay in the grass and kind of stalk them so maybe she wasnt that scared but any movement scared her! And she more just watched and didn't move. That was when they were in the run. When they were loose, she was terrified LOL

 

[allosaurusrock]

@allosaurusrock Butch was an Iowa Blue. The hens in the picture are 2 RIR. the yellow one is an EE, and the rest are Iowa Blues.

Thanks! Those are gorgeous!

 

[7 Biddies]

...

Ew to the faux-food!!

Yuck. And people talk about GMOs. Ick.

What's the point?

They could take those bajillions of dollars used to come up with that stuff and instead fund real farms that raise real animals. Instead of developing all the farms into subdivisions and warehouses and such.

Just my opinion it seems like a much better use of money that way.
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A "better use of the money" isn't the point with these corporations. Neither are they concerned with the health and/or welfare of their fellow citizens. The name of the game is profit, and the only citizens they are concerned with is stockholders. (Kaa-ching!)

 

[7 Biddies]

So...I have 3 cats and am wondering what the best way to keep them from killing chicks is. They are outside cats, I have 9 one week old chicks right now, but will have about 40 in another 2 and a half weeks. I am wondering how big you all think they need to be before they are safe from a cat that is used to hunting its food? Don't want to lose any!

Consider putting food out for the cats so they don't have to hunt for their supper. They'll still stalk, but may not have to kill. As for the chicks, I'd keep them up until they're about 8-10 weeks old, at least. I keep mine in an old dog run that I have a cover over to keep the cats out.

 

[lilwildrabbit]

Yea invest in big bags of cat food lol

 

[chameleon]

Consider putting food out for the cats so they don't have to hunt for their supper. They'll still stalk, but may not have to kill. As for the chicks, I'd keep them up until they're about 8-10 weeks old, at least. I keep mine in an old dog run that I have a cover over to keep the cats out.

This might work, but often cats who enjoy hunting will hunt even more if they are well fed, because they don't have to eat their prey. My cat is very well fed, but she still hunts for fun. She just plays with whatever she catches till it dies and then goes and catches something else. They only way to keep the chicks safe is to keep them in a secure coop and run until they reach adult size, and even then I would keep a close eye on them to see how the cat reacts to them. Mine still enjoys chasing the adults but is too scared to actually catch one. I also tried training my cat to get used to the chickens but in some the prey drive is just too strong.

 

[hahmmy]

Where I work with a lot of different people when I really don't want to offend them them, it was useful hearing some of these stories so that I would be ready for when I would be chatting away with a client and that subject would come up.  So, I want to start a new thread, just to keep that spirit of sharing and knowledge around.  

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...eople-have-said-about-your-chickens-eggs-meat

So, with that in mind, I submit this thread, and remind you all to be on your best behavior, and to remember, that somehow and someway, you too probably did something pretty darn stupid and were probably mocked for it.  Remember that this is supposed to be a silly thread to let everybody blow off steam for whenever somebody has to deal with somebody who thinks eggs only come from the carton at the store.    

Edited by staff

I started my backyard chicken experience for my grandkids. I grew up on a farm and i want them to get at least a tiny bit of that kind of learning and fun. They are loving the whole deal .My son soent9 many many summers on our farm growing up. I am shocked by him now tho..he wont eat any of our yummy eggs because " i know the chickens they cane from" he is grossed out cause he saw a few streaks of blood on one of the overly big eggs produced early on. I asked him why he can eat the eggs from grocery store and where does he think they came from? He waves his hands and says "magic..those just show up in the cartons" i cannot believe him. My grandsons who are 6 and 4 1/2 tease him mercilessly. What a big baby!!!

 

[SunHwaKwon]

This might work, but often cats who enjoy hunting will hunt even more if they are well fed, because they don't have to eat their prey. My cat is very well fed, but she still hunts for fun. She just plays with whatever she catches till it dies and then goes and catches something else. They only way to keep the chicks safe is to keep them in a secure coop and run until they reach adult size, and even then I would keep a close eye on them to see how the cat reacts to them. Mine still enjoys chasing the adults but is too scared to actually catch one. I also tried training my cat to get used to the chickens but in some the prey drive is just too strong.

Exactly. My cat has plenty of food but loves killing shrews, baby rabbits, dragonflies, etc. He doesn't mess with chicks, though; he's too scared of the chickens that guard them!

 

[Louise Waffles]

You have 8 house cats? Awesome!

We have 5 house cats.
One of our house cats has a major prey drive but is terrified of the adult birds we've brought in before. The others are kind of curious but not phased much.

On cats and chickens: I had a recovering hen that was in the process of being reintegrated. At times, we were keeping her in a plastic sided dog crate. When I went to get her for some outside time first thing in the morning, I found her snuggled up with one of our cats in the crate. They were all nestled down in the straw, in kind of a nest. I don't KNOW whether the cat or the chicken made the nest, but I suspect the chicken since they are more industrious. I'm really sad I didn't get a picture of that. It was the sweetest thing.

 

[7 Biddies]

I started my backyard chicken experience for my grandkids. I grew up on a farm and i want them to get at least a tiny bit of that kind of learning and fun. They are loving the whole deal .My son soent9 many many summers on our farm growing up. I am shocked by him now tho..he wont eat any of our yummy eggs because " i know the chickens they cane from" he is grossed out cause he saw a few streaks of blood on one of the overly big eggs produced early on. I asked him why he can eat the eggs from grocery store and where does he think they came from? He waves his hands and says "magic..those just show up in the cartons" i cannot believe him. My grandsons who are 6 and 4 1/2 tease him mercilessly. What a big baby!!!

Have them grow some fruits and veggies, too: strawberries, blueberries, tomatoes, green beans, etc. They seem to be more willing to eat them when they do.