A CALL OUT for responsible pet ownership! Unwanted roos, ducks, etc.

[alisonmtv]

Quote:
The "big deal" is the start of this post - calling those who try to find non-kill homes for extra roos, etc irresponsible pet owners who should have looked into raising chickens more thoughtfully before entering the arena .... I eat chicken, meat, and fish (free-range, organic or wild caught only) and have no problem with humane slaughtering and raising of animals for consumption - my issue is only with those who can't understand that a chicken can be a pet - that also goes for a cow, lamb, goat, or rabbit - and that their owners who don't want the chick they raised to a rooster to be killed are not irresponsible but dealing with the current limitations of breeding techniques, vet medicine, and town regulations in the best manner available by trying to use forums such as this to find their pet a new home - if you don't want to read about "unwanted roos" trying to find new homes, don't open the thread ....

 

[KDailey]

Quote:
The "big deal" is the start of this post - calling those who try to find non-kill homes for extra roos, etc irresponsible pet owners who should have looked into raising chickens more thoughtfully before entering the arena .... I eat chicken, meat, and fish (free-range, organic or wild caught only) and have no problem with humane slaughtering and raising of animals for consumption - my issue is only with those who can't understand that a chicken can be a pet - that also goes for a cow, lamb, goat, or rabbit - and that their owners who don't want the chick they raised to a rooster to be killed are not irresponsible but dealing with the current limitations of breeding techniques, vet medicine, and town regulations in the best manner available by trying to use forums such as this to find their pet a new home - if you don't want to read about "unwanted roos" trying to find new homes, don't open the thread ....

Thank god we finally have someone with a little bit of sense!
There's no need to insult people because they love their animals and would rather try to find them a good home if at all possible!

 

[alisonmtv]

Quote:
The "big deal" is the start of this post - calling those who try to find non-kill homes for extra roos, etc irresponsible pet owners who should have looked into raising chickens more thoughtfully before entering the arena .... I eat chicken, meat, and fish (free-range, organic or wild caught only) and have no problem with humane slaughtering and raising of animals for consumption - my issue is only with those who can't understand that a chicken can be a pet - that also goes for a cow, lamb, goat, or rabbit - and that their owners who don't want the chick they raised to a rooster to be killed are not irresponsible but dealing with the current limitations of breeding techniques, vet medicine, and town regulations in the best manner available by trying to use forums such as this to find their pet a new home - if you don't want to read about "unwanted roos" trying to find new homes, don't open the thread ....

Thank god we finally have someone with a little bit of sense!
There's no need to insult people because they love their animals and would rather try to find them a good home if at all possible!

why thank you!!

 

[RHRanch]

Quote:
The "big deal" is the start of this post - calling those who try to find non-kill homes for extra roos, etc irresponsible pet owners who should have looked into raising chickens more thoughtfully before entering the arena .... I eat chicken, meat, and fish (free-range, organic or wild caught only) and have no problem with humane slaughtering and raising of animals for consumption - my issue is only with those who can't understand that a chicken can be a pet - that also goes for a cow, lamb, goat, or rabbit - and that their owners who don't want the chick they raised to a rooster to be killed are not irresponsible but dealing with the current limitations of breeding techniques, vet medicine, and town regulations in the best manner available by trying to use forums such as this to find their pet a new home - if you don't want to read about "unwanted roos" trying to find new homes, don't open the thread ....

lol I have tons of pet chickens!!!! How anyone might have felt there was any insult towards those who keep pet chickens, is beyond me. Lighten up. I agree, chickens can be pets, but if its a pet, it's your pet, and you can't expect the world to regard him they way you do, sad to say. There isn't a pet home for every rooster out there. If someone gives me thier pet that they can't keep, I tell them exactly what will happen - then they get to decide what they want to do. They have a choice to keep him, also - maybe they can move, maybe they can board him, they don't have to hand him over to me. But usually thats not what happens. It doesn't bother me if people try to find a pet home for thier rooster, either. But you have to be realistic, there just are not a lot of "forever" homes for roosters. I wish there were. One thing I don't do is sell chicks to people who live in cities that don't allow roos, for example. I have met lots of people who knew they couldn't have roosters, and bought or hatched chicks anyways. Thats fine, if they have figured out ahead of time where that roosters "forever home" is, or if they have reconciled themselves to eating it or selling it for food/production. As someone who has endured many hardships to keep my pets, (Including less than ideal housing, turning down jobs that would prevent me from keeping my pets, etc) I and many others on here feel like some roo owners are "passing the buck" onto someone else.

 

[southerndesert]

I am thinking the OP and others never meant to insult anyone, just open some eyes. How can anyone get their pants in a bundle about another persons opinion at a forum anyway?

Reading just a couple posts in a thread will often not allow you do digest the true content of a thread...

Read and learn without entering personal feelings and like magic you will not be insulted...

Gee hope I haven't insulted anyone

 

[RHRanch]

Quote:
X2

Especially when if you read my post, i am actually saying that if people hatch too many or try to find homes for thier extra roos, everything will resolve itself one way or another, and I didn't see why make a big deal of begginers mistakes (Like having roos where you cant have them, hatching too many when you don't have a plan, etc.) I was actually more on the pet people's side of things!

 

[teach1rusl]

If I ate my birds, I'd have no problems hatching my own chicks or buying straight run birds. But my birds are pets with benefits, so I pay extra to order pullets only...

 

[KDailey]

Quote:
Well let's see here, and I quote:

Quote:
Couldn't agree more. As a "poultry educator" I often feel rather discouraged at the number of thoughtless (and often gutless) people that I encounter who have taken no time to consider that farming/animal stewardship (even on a micro-scale) is not for the faint of heart. The number of misguided, sometimes neurotic, and needy people who come to me wringing their hands about what to do with unwanted birds, health issues, etc. is rather overwhelming at times. For every responsible poultry owner that does their research prior to getting birds, I would guess conservatively there are at least 5 more that have no clue.....

Oh I'm sure they didn't mean to insult anybody.

 

[onthespot]

Would you be as comfortable buying "only pullets" if upon delivery, you and your family opened the box and a professional chick sexer magically shows up from behind a tree, walks up and put all the boy chicks in a blender and put it on puree for a second or two in front of you? That is more or less what happens to them the day your pullets are sent, just you don't get to see it. Just ordering pullets doesn't make the problem disappear. I moves it further back in the life of the bird, and out of your line of sight.

 

[alisonmtv]

Quote:
The "big deal" is the start of this post - calling those who try to find non-kill homes for extra roos, etc irresponsible pet owners who should have looked into raising chickens more thoughtfully before entering the arena .... I eat chicken, meat, and fish (free-range, organic or wild caught only) and have no problem with humane slaughtering and raising of animals for consumption - my issue is only with those who can't understand that a chicken can be a pet - that also goes for a cow, lamb, goat, or rabbit - and that their owners who don't want the chick they raised to a rooster to be killed are not irresponsible but dealing with the current limitations of breeding techniques, vet medicine, and town regulations in the best manner available by trying to use forums such as this to find their pet a new home - if you don't want to read about "unwanted roos" trying to find new homes, don't open the thread ....

lol I have tons of pet chickens!!!! How anyone might have felt there was any insult towards those who keep pet chickens, is beyond me. Lighten up. I agree, chickens can be pets, but if its a pet, it's your pet, and you can't expect the world to regard him they way you do, sad to say. There isn't a pet home for every rooster out there. If someone gives me thier pet that they can't keep, I tell them exactly what will happen - then they get to decide what they want to do. They have a choice to keep him, also - maybe they can move, maybe they can board him, they don't have to hand him over to me. But usually thats not what happens. It doesn't bother me if people try to find a pet home for thier rooster, either. But you have to be realistic, there just are not a lot of "forever" homes for roosters. I wish there were. One thing I don't do is sell chicks to people who live in cities that don't allow roos, for example. I have met lots of people who knew they couldn't have roosters, and bought or hatched chicks anyways. Thats fine, if they have figured out ahead of time where that roosters "forever home" is, or if they have reconciled themselves to eating it or selling it for food/production. As someone who has endured many hardships to keep my pets, (Including less than ideal housing, turning down jobs that would prevent me from keeping my pets, etc) I and many others on here feel like some roo owners are "passing the buck" onto someone else.

I hate to admit it, but I do mostly agree with you ... we have gotten stuck because our "forever home" for the roos we can't keep fell through - we're moving next year and only looking at towns where backyard chickens are allowed and I have dealt with (and am currently dealing with) less than ideal living terms because of the dog and cats I took in from shelters ..

BUT, my gripe with this thread is that those who view backyard chickens solely as a food source shouldn't cast stones on those who want to rehome their roos - if more people respected keeping chickens as pets, I think there would probably be some decent medical progress in finding ways to limit a roos crows ....