“So lucky, you get free eggs”

[OrpingtonManiac]

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Yes, Petstock is a great word for people who keep their chickens as pets. With or without the benefits like eggs, thick control or manure.

Livestock is a good word for people who aim for eggs and kill their chickens when they get older and start to lay less (unproductive) or get sick.

Of course there is a grey area in between. But if your chickens are real pets, I assume you wont kill them to serve the carcasses to another pet.
:sad
Hard to imagine people who actually kill an old and unproductive dog to feed him to the petstock chickens.
However I do believe lots of people kill their (watch) dog if he gets very sick and actually needs vet attention.

We all have our own personal limits, goals and animal-empathy.

Agreed

 

[thistlewick]

I'm curious, how many of you actually name your chickens?

I don't name mine, they are farm animals and meant for consumption either for their eggs or for meat so naming them would not be wise.

I would not name broilers

But laying hens produce for *years*, and only... lay.... eggs.... so why would it be weird to name them? You're not killing them for their eggs.. they live and happily produce food for you?

The *least* you can do is name them and be kind to them.

They are indeed livestock.

And farmers have been naming their animals for centuries.

 

[Sally PB]

I'm not sure what we'll do when the time comes.

If I were interested in just eggs, the 3 almost 5 yo hens I have would be culled and replaced by chicks. I can't do that. I just... can't. It doesn't make sense for self-sufficiency, or economically. But even though they are my least friendly birds (my fault: I should have handled them more as chicks), I can't end their lives just because they've outlived their productive years.

 

[gtaus]

they all have names and I consider them "petstock." Not livestock, but not just pets. If chickens did not lay eggs, I would not have gotten them in the first place.

I got my chickens before the COVID-19 pandemic. I thought it would just be nice to have a backyard flock and get some "free eggs" as well. I never went into the adventure with the idea that the chickens would be my pets. I bought mostly dual-purpose hens so that I could harvest them after they were no longer productive in egg laying.

"Petstock" is a great term for my laying hens. Somewhere between the family pet that you might have for 10 years, and meat chickens that you have for only 10 weeks. You do grow attached to animals that you care for over years. However, I refuse to name my chickens because at some point I plan on harvesting them.

I need an emotional distance from my laying hens, so they don't get names. That is for my benefit. But they are all well treated.

I get enough eggs for our needs. I don't figure the cost, as I'm pretty sure store eggs are cheaper, even at the current prices.

I kept great records when I first got my chickens and would figure the cost of eggs from my backyard flock versus store bought. Even if I did not include my initial startup costs for the coop, run, and other supplies, it was always cheaper to buy eggs at the big box stores.

Now, however, store eggs have really gone up in price and I think my eggs would be cheaper. Not free, of course, but at least cheaper than the current high prices in the store.

And not that I bought laying hens as any self-sufficiency idea, but during COVID-19 pandemic I still had eggs a plenty while the store shelves were empty. There are eggs on the shelf these days, but the prices are at all-time highs. I guess I got into chickens at the right time.

I can't end their lives just because they've outlived their productive years.

Well, I tell everybody that I have composting chickens and get eggs as a bonus. I get more value out of my chicken run compost than the eggs we get. Even a non-laying hen can still help make compost out in the chicken run. It's an excuse to carry some of the older hens for a few years longer than their egg laying production lives would justify.

I like watching those YouTube videos where people get free restaurant scraps to feed to their chickens. I think it's the "Edible Acres" channel that does that, and primarily has older hens making compost for their nursery. Eggs, from the older hens, are just a bonus. Since they get almost all of their feed for free, they let their hens live a longer life. That would be nice. But I have to pay for my feed.

Fortunately for most of us here on the BYC chicken forum, we can accept people that raise chickens for meat, for eggs, or as pets. I did like the term "Petstock" as it seems to fit my goals for my backyard flock of laying hens.

 

[RennaeHanson]

I don't think most consumers here in the US know, or even care, about the welfare of the chickens. It's never something I thought about when I went to the store to buy eggs. We have some labeling on our eggs, but there are no real standards and most of it just seems like marketing meant to fool us.

I think the people here on the BYC forums do know how to treat their chickens better, give them a better life, and maybe the "free" eggs we all get are better for it.

I still have a couple of commercial wire chicken cages from back in the 1970's. Each compartment was about 12X18 inches, for 2 chickens. That was their life. I think they were called battery cages. My dad bought some of those cages from a local commercial chicken farmer that went out of business. We used the wire to remake them into much larger hanging rabbit cages.

Although there is a movement to cage-free or free-range systems here in the states, the laws vary from state to state. I read the European Union banned battery cages in 1999. I guess that puts the Europeans at least 25 years ahead of most of us, in that respect. But, again, it varies from state to state.

My home state of Minnesota did not ban battery cages until 2020. And when I looked it up online, we still have 36 states in the USA that have not banned battery cages at all.

I think most people I know buy the cheapest eggs they can get. However, some people are willing to pay extra for free range, or cage free, eggs. I like to think my backyard eggs are more healthy because my girls have a variety in their diet, including insects, seeds, and plants. The yolks from my chickens are a much darker orange color compared to store bought eggs with pale yellow yolks. The people we sell our excess eggs to say that they prefer our backyard eggs for that reason.

I charge $5.00 per dozen and my customers are very happy with that price. I don't raise or lower my prices based on someone wanting cheaper eggs, if they don't like the price they can go somewhere else. I feed organic, plus they get lots of extras & scraps, and they have a huge covered run that allows them to get exercise.

As far as I know the yolks from all of our "backyard" chickens have the dark yolks, are much richer and creamier in taste than anything you can buy at the store.

 

[RennaeHanson]

I would not name broilers

But laying hens produce for *years*, and only... lay.... eggs.... so why would it be weird to name them? You're not killing them for their eggs.. they live and happily produce food for you?

The *least* you can do is name them and be kind to them.

They are indeed livestock.

And farmers have been naming their animals for centuries.

I don't name my laying hens because like others have stated on here, I will eventually have them butchered. I'm not interested in having my chickens be pets, they are farm animals and meant for consumption in some manner. I realize this may offend some but it is how I look at it. I don't care if others choose to name their chickens, I was just curious how popular it was.

 

[igorsMistress]

I got my chickens before the COVID-19 pandemic. I thought it would just be nice to have a backyard flock and get some "free eggs" as well. I never went into the adventure with the idea that the chickens would be my pets. I bought mostly dual-purpose hens so that I could harvest them after they were no longer productive in egg laying.

"Petstock" is a great term for my laying hens. Somewhere between the family pet that you might have for 10 years, and meat chickens that you have for only 10 weeks. You do grow attached to animals that you care for over years. However, I refuse to name my chickens because at some point I plan on harvesting them.

I need an emotional distance from my laying hens, so they don't get names. That is for my benefit. But they are all well treated.



I kept great records when I first got my chickens and would figure the cost of eggs from my backyard flock versus store bought. Even if I did not include my initial startup costs for the coop, run, and other supplies, it was always cheaper to buy eggs at the big box stores.

Now, however, store eggs have really gone up in price and I think my eggs would be cheaper. Not free, of course, but at least cheaper than the current high prices in the store.

And not that I bought laying hens as any self-sufficiency idea, but during COVID-19 pandemic I still had eggs a plenty while the store shelves were empty. There are eggs on the shelf these days, but the prices are at all-time highs. I guess I got into chickens at the right time.



Well, I tell everybody that I have composting chickens and get eggs as a bonus. I get more value out of my chicken run compost than the eggs we get. Even a non-laying hen can still help make compost out in the chicken run. It's an excuse to carry some of the older hens for a few years longer than their egg laying production lives would justify.

I like watching those YouTube videos where people get free restaurant scraps to feed to their chickens. I think it's the "Edible Acres" channel that does that, and primarily has older hens making compost for their nursery. Eggs, from the older hens, are just a bonus. Since they get almost all of their feed for free, they let their hens live a longer life. That would be nice. But I have to pay for my feed.

Fortunately for most of us here on the BYC chicken forum, we can accept people that raise chickens for meat, for eggs, or as pets. I did like the term "Petstock" as it seems to fit my goals for my backyard flock of laying hens.

Yup. Every time I think I might not have chickens for a while I think of the weeds I’d have to deal with and the composting help they provide. They are worth keeping around even if they quit laying.

 

[thistlewick]

I don't name my laying hens because like others have stated on here, I will eventually have them butchered. I'm not interested in having my chickens be pets, they are farm animals and meant for consumption in some manner. I realize this may offend some but it is how I look at it. I don't care if others choose to name their chickens, I was just curious how popular it was.

that was my point, they are farm animals and even though they might be butchered, having a name does not preclude them from that fate.

Most farmers name their animals, even ones destined for the abattoir

 

[Pebble_Bunny]

I own chickens and ducks just as pets, any eggs my ladies lay I feed right back to them i dont even keep a single one as im vegan and my family dislikes eggs. All 30 of my chickens are ex-battery hens and no longer in their prime, some dont even lay at all. I dont agree with killing and i believe these animals desurve love and respect and a long life, atleast if you do plan to kill them dont do it the second the rooster starts crowing or the girls loose their prime bc that is such a short life... All my ducks are drakes and i get nothing from them other then happy quacks. I spent £1,400 recently to build a huge cage to seprate my ducks and chickens out bc of fights, i spend so much on new coups and food and straw but it has never bothered me bc i go outside i see these happy free animals who used to be neglected and abused and i could tell you each and every single chickens name and they are all brown basic girls yet i know which is which bc they are all unique in their own way. I understand why people kill them but i could never and i do hope things will change in the future and more people will see what i see.

 

[OrpingtonManiac]

I own chickens and ducks just as pets, any eggs my ladies lay I feed right back to them i dont even keep a single one as im vegan and my family dislikes eggs. All 30 of my chickens are ex-battery hens and no longer in their prime, some dont even lay at all. I dont agree with killing and i believe these animals desurve love and respect and a long life, atleast if you do plan to kill them dont do it the second the rooster starts crowing or the girls loose their prime bc that is such a short life... All my ducks are drakes and i get nothing from them other then happy quacks. I spent £1,400 recently to build a huge cage to seprate my ducks and chickens out bc of fights, i spend so much on new coups and food and straw but it has never bothered me bc i go outside i see these happy free animals who used to be neglected and abused and i could tell you each and every single chickens name and they are all brown basic girls yet i know which is which bc they are all unique in their own way. I understand why people kill them but i could never and i do hope things will change in the future and more people will see what i see.

Thats so sweet, and i agree with a lot of what you said!