almost flipped out at work--UPDATE

[wyododge]

She's just a jealous old bag. Probably got her butt kicked by a chicken when she was a kid.

Flush that down the toilet where it belongs, and move on. You got work to do and winter to prepare for.

 

[galanie]

I'd be mad too. What a mean person your boss is. And what a horrible manager to be doing that to an employee.

for you:

 

[suzettex5]

Maybe a post it note with the BYC website address would be a good gesture? Or if the subject comes up, just send her to BYC with a suggestion that she do a search on feeding and care? Maybe, just maybe, she will see there are lots of ways to do things, and not any one way is all right or all wrong. Maybe she will get an education. Sometimes seeing what alot of other people are saying might shut her up.

If nothing else, if she acts like a big mouth idiot here, there are lots of really nice people here who will kindly tell her to shove it!

 

[daddykirbs]

Quote:
x2
Always remember you have friends, and you have co-workers (including bosses), but they're not always the same people. No more discussing home stuff at work. Period.

so much good advice!

 

[kuntrygirl]

I am so angry that she treated you that way.

So sorry that you had to go thru that. She is very insensitive. That was just mean and rude of her.

ETA: Invite her to join BYC so that everyone can educate her.

 

[rungirl]

Something to keep in mind.... Poultry gets no respect. To most people, they are low on the pecking order of important animals. Many people who claim to have raised chickens when they were kids or had grandparents who had chickens, probably never raised them like we do. I know I don't raise them like my grandmother. They were a basic food source that was expendable and relatively cheap. Mine are spoiled. Most of my farmer neighbors snicker about how spoiled my chickens are. I don't care. I enjoy them and that's all that is important. City people are different. They are either fascinated that I raise chickens and they want me to sell them my eggs, or they could care less and probably think raising chickens is disgusting. So if you're working in a corporate environment, keep in mind who you are talking to and choose your conversations accordingly. It's easy for me to get excited when "talking chicken" to someone who expresses any interest in chickens, but I have to constantly remind myself that I can overdo my enthusiam and risk coming across as a crazy chicken lady! I have certain friends who share my love for raising chickens and I enjoy talking chicken with them. I guess that explains why I enjoy this website.

Lisa

 

[kuntrygirl]

Quote:
I come in contact with people on a daily basis who say they raised chickens when they were kids or that their grandparents had chickens and all they did was throw out a few handfuls of corn and the chicken were ok and that I overfeed and I am wasting money on layer feed, BOSS, etc and all I need to do is throw out a couple handfuls of corn.

My response to them is:
1. How long did the chickens live eating just corn?
2. How many eggs did they produce weekly eating just corn?
3. How skinny were the chickens eating just corn?
4. How many and what illnesses did the chickens have eating just corn with no care mainteance?
5. Do you have any records or documentation from back then?

That pretty much ends the conversation.

 

[Capvin]

Sorry that you felt hurt but I think now that you know what your "boss" thinks about these things, you will be much better off just avoiding the topic of chickens while at work. I also think that Oregon Blues has given some great advise and based upon your description I would take that advise and not worry about keeping notes regarding your boss's behaviour regarding chickens. I would only add this bit of advise to just feel good and lucky that you live in a great place like Mateo; that you can raise your chickens, and that you have a job. As a side note, most of the stuff your boss recommended is nonsense.

 

[debs_flock]

When I have worked with someone that is truly a miserable human being, I've always read that as a sign they are miserable in their own life. I take solace in the fact I only have to be around them eight hours a day, they live with themself 24/7!

Deb

 

[HHandbasket]

Quote:
I've run into that exact same thing out here, too! I went to the feed store down in Plymouth one day & they didn't have the feed I was after but said they had plenty of scratch and cracked corn. This was in July when the median temps here are in the mid/upper 90s. I told the lady at the feed store that I don't feed my chickens cracked corn or scratch unless it's cold outside, and the gentleman in line behind us said, "That's all I ever feed my chickens and they do just fine." I told him that's great for him and his birds, but I like mine to live longer and be healthy and won't give them substandard food, that everything I'd ever learned about chickens was that scratch and cracked corn help them keep their body temperatures up, which they certainly do not need in 90-degree heat. I asked him out of curiosity if his chickens live a long time, and he said, "Yes they do. I've had some live as long as 2-1/2, sometimes even 3 years." When I told him I personally know people who have had some of their flock for 7 or 8 years and going, he laughed, did everything short of calling me a liar, and said he'd never heard of a chicken living longer than 3 years. I asked him to join us here on BYC and meet other chicken folks who've had a lot of success with long-lived flocks. He just stared at me, and I didn't want to argue with a stranger so I left the store and drove up to Placerville to get the right feed.