A HUGE victory for BYC!

[Wolfwoman]

The point I was trying to make is that once people see something on TV they ALLLLLLLLLLLLLL gotta have it. That in no way, shape or form is good for chickens.

 

[DragonEggs]

The point I was trying to make is that THAT isn't true. How many name brand designer clothes do famous people wear but not everyone can afford them and a lot of people don't fall for fads. Now if some famous hollywood actress walked down the red carpet for the Twilight finale carrying a silkie in her prada bag I'd be worried. We have to see how they play this off before we know if it will turn out good or bad.

Were those german shepherds treated badly? Were they abused in anyway? Does anyone know what happened to them in the end? Did they go to the pound or to a new family?

Just because someone might be a bad mom (which I suspect she is even though I have never seen the show?) doesn't mean they don't treat animals well.

This can be a good promotion for BYC we just have to back it up properly and not jump to negative conclusions about it.

 

[barredrockgrl]

Quote:
Nope! She hasn't exactly proven herself to be a responsible pet owner.

 

[Wolfwoman]

It's critters, which is WAY WAY different than designer clothes. Anyone can afford to buy a chicken, doesn't mean they're going to get all the RIGHT things to go along with it.

Kinda like watching Westminster. Each year, the breed of dog that wins, people run out and buy one not even taking into consideration the temperament or it's needs. It's just the newest fad thing to do.

Not to mention the fact that she is letting the world see her life - her private life and her kids and to me that is just wrong on too many levels. She saw a chance for fame and money and capitalized on her kids.

 

[cafe]

Awareness is a very good thing IMO. I hope it does get more people interested in keeping chickens, because I'm a big advocate of self-sufficiency. I'm seeing a lot more vegetable gardens in my area than I remember seeing in years past and I'm hoping in the next few years I'll be seeing more chicken tractors.

 

[Ec_Prokta]

While it is awesome that chickens are getting more attention in the media, this quite honestly scares me. I'm getting a feeling that the chickens will have a designer coop and never get table scraps.

 

[DragonEggs]

I personally find chickens easier to take care of than dogs, and if everyone went out and bought whatever dog was champion that year a lot of people would be swamped with dogs. Purebreed dogs are expensive, certain chickens can be expensive too. Maybe this is what the economy NEEDS. 2 chickens per person can keep a house in fresh eggs. With our economy the way it is a lot of people could use this, not to mention the great joy and stress relief chickens provide. Like cafe said awareness is a good thing. People are trying to become more self sufficient.

Also, if you had 8 kids I imagine no kind of job could make that expense easy. Her fame and "capitalization of her kids" as you put it is probably helping to put food on the table.

 

[Wolfwoman]

Oh I'm sure it's putting any kind of food on the table that they want at any given time. Not to mention any type of designer clothes and shoes.

She isn't trying to be self-sufficient with chickens, they're trying to get ratings.

There was some article a while back that each year there are more dogs in shelters from the previous year's Westminster winners than other years. So yeah, people do it.

I have dogs and chickens and neither is 'hard' to take care of because I enjoy it.

 

[cafe]

I don't think her intent is to be self-sufficient, I think she just thinks it's cool and will be fun for the kids. And ratings, well, I can guarantee that she could get a pretty fat welfare check and a pretty generous foodstamp and childcare allowance with all those kids, and taxpayers could pay for her vocational rehabilitation (she's been out of the workforce for a few years). I am not saying the woman is my favorite person or that I approve of the way she's doing things, but now that she has a family this size, her options are kind of limited and at least she isn't trying to dump the burden off onto taxpayers. There'd be no end of bellyaching about that without a doubt.

Regardless of her motives, this will result in increased awareness. Keeping chickens just hasn't occurred to a lot of people. People in my neighborhood can't believe I'm doing something so crazy as keeping chickens.

If they see it on TV, it suddenly changes it from crazy to cool. I'm sure some folks will try it and will find that it's not for them and they will have to rehome their flock. But a lot of people will love it as much as we do and will be healthier and happier because of it. And all those people that think I'm crazy for having chickens right in town, well they might decide it's not such a bad idea.

IMO, there's good and there's bad, but it's a net win.

 

[JetBlack]

Quote:
Are all 800 chickens from the same mom? They chicks are australorp-reds right? Some sort of really cute mix?