Why are we raising chickens?

[blackandtan]

I always loved animals, all my life, but as a kid all I could have, (even though we had a big place in the country), were Irish wolfhounds, (parents were breeders and fanatics). I wanted a cat, or a bunny, or horses most of all; I was tried to save every hurt thing I came across though, so I branched out a little. Now that SO and I, (he was a farm boy with EVERY animal), have our own place in the country, I couldn’t wait to get lots of animals! After starting my own businessand staying home I was able to get chickens (ostensibly for eggs and meat, but in reality so much more!). Followed by turkeys, a cat for the mice that are part of birdkeeping, donated ducks, and then geese....finally got my horses too!
The chooks mostly pay for themselves, (I tell the SO that they’re value-neutral, so we might as well keep them lol), they solved our grasshopper problem which is a huge plus, and during our long lonely winters I find it very therapeutic to just hang out with them for a bit every day
Guess I should say too that now I am the one doing all culling, for meat, for the sick, and for the mean! I keep the oldies because...well...why not? They’re not terribly edible, and a couple more beaks to feed is no big deal.

 

[blackandtan]

I should add too that though he feigns indifference to the flock, he is the first to feed them bugs harvested from the front of a truck, or add a new wading pool on a hot day, or pull out a frog that was too big to eat and got stuck! So I know he likes the farm-feeling that they give

 

[red horse ranch]

Love reading all these posts about why people have chickens!

I didn't really intend to get into chickens big time. I simply wanted a rooster! We live in the country and to me the sound of a rooster crowing is pure country. I love it! But after having 'Speck' for a few years some friends thought he really needed some hens to keep him company. So they brought me two hens. And it began. The hens each hatched out a few chicks. and since those chicks were female they eventually hatched chicks.

Hubby thought it would be interesting to try to hatch chicks ourselves. So he built a wooden box with a 40 watt light bulb in it. That was 12 years ago and I still have 'Peep' who was our only chick to hatch in that wooden box. But I was hooked on hatching! I now have 4 incubators and have hatched hundreds of babies each year. I have eggs in the incubator right now due to hatch next week. Most of them will be sold. But I will have the pleasure of watching them hatch and grow.

Why do I keep chickens? It gives me a reason to get out of bed in the morning. It gives me a reason to get out of the house even when there is a blizzard blowing. It gives me pleasure in addition to meat and eggs. They just give me pleasure to have them and that's the only reason that counts!

 

[ValerieJ]

Lulabell, I'm with you on allowing our girls to live out their lives, but is it practical? I have had this debate many times with my husband too. I began my flock 3 years ago with 6 chicks - 2 Australorps, 2 Buff Orpingtons, 2 Rhode Island Reds. The rooster nearly killed one of my chickens, so he ended up in the soup pot, well actually Coq Au Vin. Since then I have added 3 chickens a year and a couple roosters, inadvertently. Additionally, one of the chickens gave me an additional 3 chicks. Well, at what point to we have too many chickens? I have a very large run and 3 coops, so space is not a problem, yet. But I like that they have so much room. I don't want them to be crowded. So this year when I add 3 I'll cull 3. I've decided on the Reds because they are a little aggressive with the other chickens, more than just the pecking order thing. They learned some bad habits from the roosters. That's why I always cull the rooster early now when I get one. But who to cull? I have 3 of my original chickens that I love dearly and they will definitely get to live out their lives in peace. Of the original 6, I culled the rooster and lost one of the reds to an eagle. She would sit up in the apple tree and give speeches, and that attracted too much attention from the enemy. Rosie, the remaining red from that first group is such a good friend, but she occasionally leaves one of my chickens bloody too. She really thinks she is a rooster. But Lucy, Ethel and Shirley are my girls. They have their own "retirement run" and even give me the occasional egg. I wish I could keep them all forever, but that would end up being so many chickens. I understand they can live 7 or 8 years. I'd have 3 dozen chickens by then! What would I do with all the eggs? I live in the country. We ALL have chickens. LOL

 

[ValerieJ]

Love reading all these posts about why people have chickens!

I didn't really intend to get into chickens big time. I simply wanted a rooster! We live in the country and to me the sound of a rooster crowing is pure country. I love it! But after having 'Speck' for a few years some friends thought he really needed some hens to keep him company. So they brought me two hens. And it began. The hens each hatched out a few chicks. and since those chicks were female they eventually hatched chicks.

Hubby thought it would be interesting to try to hatch chicks ourselves. So he built a wooden box with a 40 watt light bulb in it. That was 12 years ago and I still have 'Peep' who was our only chick to hatch in that wooden box. But I was hooked on hatching! I now have 4 incubators and have hatched hundreds of babies each year. I have eggs in the incubator right now due to hatch next week. Most of them will be sold. But I will have the pleasure of watching them hatch and grow.

Why do I keep chickens? It gives me a reason to get out of bed in the morning. It gives me a reason to get out of the house even when there is a blizzard blowing. It gives me pleasure in addition to meat and eggs. They just give me pleasure to have them and that's the only reason that counts!

Oh my...I love what you are saying. Chickens keep me going too! I love going out to see them and give them treats every day, and generally take care of them. I did not know they could live 12 years! LOL Lucy, Ethel and Shirley will be with me for a long time then. Thanks for sharing your chicken experience.

 

[K813ZRA]

I keep chickens because I enjoy doing so. I have had an interest in chickens for some thirty odd years (that might be a tiny exaggeration as that is the entirety of my life but not by much). When I was a little boy often times I found myself in a local feed/supply/hardware store staring at the chicks and wanting to bring them home. This was not a reality for me, at least a home. Grandpa raised birds for meat but we all knew not to name anything...I guess my desire for raising birds stems from that.

Moving on to adulthood I moved to Europe and the big city, so chickens were still not an option. Though I often saw them at local markets and the like. But as chance would have it I moved back to the countryside of my hometown and chickens became an option. So, I took the plunge and got the birds.

Now, I guess this does not entirely answer the question but to be honest I am not sure myself just why I raise chickens, other than for my own enjoyment. I have tried to raise a few dual purpose birds for meat but that didn't really work out. I mean, it did work out in that they were eaten but I'd rather not go that route anymore, lol. I guess I tend to look at them as pets/entertainment first, egg factories second and food third. I get attached easily.

Now, even after 40+ birds I am looking to raise more this spring (bantams) because I really enjoy raising chicks! But if you ask my wife why I raise chickens she will tell you it is because I am crazy--lol.

 

[drumbochick]

s

There is debate in my house over why we have chickens. I like the life and companionship my flock offers. I like to watch them grow and interact and just be chickens. My husband likes this too, however he has more of an economical point of view. He sees all the money and time it takes to raise them. We make a little from the eggs we sell to help offset the cost of feed, by no means are we making a profit.

But what happens when they slow or stop laying? I would prefer to let them live out their life. My husband sees something we feed and get nothing from and would prefer to cull them for the freezer.

He grew up on a farm and I did not. That has had a tremendous impact on our lives as we do not share the same view of life and death (when it comes to our animals). I can’t find the line between pet and stock. I prefer everything to live and in the world of farming that is just not realistic.

My husband and I have laid out somewhat of a plan to raise a new flock every year and cull the oldest flock at around 3 years of age, like a cycle.That way we have them through the laying years and are getting the most from our investment by stocking the freezer.

What do you do? What is the purpose of your flock? How do you manage your attachment and feelings toward the animal you have raised and now have to kill?

I have 10 hens, 8 of them are just new to my coup. They are my pets, they come to me for their treats and follow me everywhere. We have a no kill farm so everything grows old here. I have an old meat hen that was hurt buy a dog that I keep in a penned in area in the coup with the other hens. I could never kill them and put them in the freezer any more than I could kill my dog and freeze him. They are my pets. I do sell the eggs to my friend who has an egg house but they do help offset the price of the feed. I am 77 years young and my girls make me get moving in the morning to check on their feed and water and to collect the eggs and again at night to lock them up in their coup. They have free range on the farm and especially enjoy getting into the horse barn. Men just don't understand about attachment to an animal.

 

[kathy454]

I don't kill mine. There treated as pets. Irrivelent if they stop laying. I wanted a different type of pet so knowing they layed eggs was only a bonus. Nobody kills there pets. Living a life they deserve. But each to there own.

 

[sharon101]

If you enjoy interacting with your birds isn't that enough enjoyment to "pay" for their upkeep?

 

[bkydfarmer-4]

There is debate in my house over why we have chickens. I like the life and companionship my flock offers. I like to watch them grow and interact and just be chickens. My husband likes this too, however he has more of an economical point of view. He sees all the money and time it takes to raise them. We make a little from the eggs we sell to help offset the cost of feed, by no means are we making a profit.

But what happens when they slow or stop laying? I would prefer to let them live out their life. My husband sees something we feed and get nothing from and would prefer to cull them for the freezer.

He grew up on a farm and I did not. That has had a tremendous impact on our lives as we do not share the same view of life and death (when it comes to our animals). I can’t find the line between pet and stock. I prefer everything to live and in the world of farming that is just not realistic.

My husband and I have laid out somewhat of a plan to raise a new flock every year and cull the oldest flock at around 3 years of age, like a cycle.That way we have them through the laying years and are getting the most from our investment by stocking the freezer.

What do you do? What is the purpose of your flock? How do you manage your attachment and feelings toward the animal you have raised and now have to kill?