Are people ever surprised that you own chickens?

[TinyChickenLady]

Yup. Surprised, disgusted, confused.....
They think and say so many things when they find out that I have chickens. The funny thing is I've always been a country girl/ tomboy and they still find it weird when I say I have chickens, sometimes pigs and chase cows almost daily.

"Ew you have chickens?! I mean... umm so you have chickens huh? Well isn't that... um... something.... You don't eat the eggs, do you?! What if there's bacteria or worse, a baby chicken?!"
My response is always along the lines of, "You don't get out much, do ya? My eggs are the same as the ones bought from the store except fresher and with less chemicals."
Then I usually give them my 'you're an idiot' smile and walk on. I've learned there's no sense in trying to educate know-it-alls. They already know it all and it's usually the complete opposite of what I've heard on here.

Silly folks....

 

[yomama]

Every one in my family knows I'm the "animal person". We have a mini farm here, but compared to the rest of my family, it might as well be a wildlife preserve. My family is a little more reserved in owning anything outside a dog or cat, so they were a little surprised at first. That didn't last long, once they realized it was me. It's been fun clearing up their misconceptions about chickens, though. All of my husbands side grew up on farms, even raising chickens themselves. All live in the city part of our little rural town, now. I guess the best compliment, or insult, not sure which yet, I received was from my 'uncle. He, and his wife are our biggest egg customers. It was when I started selling them eggs when he said "your not quite what I had in mind as being a chicken farmer". I asked him what he meant by that and he said that he guess he just expects a chicken farmer to look, well, a little more "earthy and farmy". Guess he's never had the pleasure of seeing me out in my pjs, no makeup, hair not done, cleaning up chicken poo,!

 

[amillecay]

YES! whenever I tell someone I have chickens their like what?! I didn't know that!
I just think it's so funnyv

 

[yomama]

My old boss used to say I was a combination of "valley girl" meets "farm girl".

 

[mikeschick]

People are only surprised if they know I live right smack dab in the middle of town. I was at the supermarket one day and I mentioned to the cashier that I had chickens and he replied, "Me too! What kind do you have? I have a silkie and...." I always go to that cashier now. lol. And he always asks me how my birds are.

 

[BantamoftheOpera]

I get a lot of mixed reactions, but I think the biggest problem people have is the number of animals. Most people have one or two animals. When you tell someone you "only have ten chickens" they start asking questions like "Are you one of those animal hoarders?" NO!!!

The other thing that people are confused about is my loving nature towards my chickens, they see them as food and nothing else, that all changes when they come over to my house and sit on the swing to watch them. I have a welcoming committee that will hop up on some on someones laps if they get the signal. That normally changes people's perception

 

[Marcymom3]

Yes! People are always surprised when they find out about my chickens. The folks who live in my area and those who work with me are not really surprised since I live in a semi-rural area. But my family members and friends who "knew me back when" are totally surprised. They remember me as the suburban princess who liked the modern cosmopolitan life. I left that behind 38 years ago. They generally have a million questions, usually beginning with "Are you going to eat them?" By the end of the conversation they have gotten a little chicken lesson to take home and a few have asked me to help them get started with a few chicks in the spring. After they eat their first fresh from the pullet egg they're hooked! The number of lurkers on BYC may increase because I tell them they can get the answers to all their questions right here!

 

[Razadia]

With the way I look 98% of the time people are bound to give me weird looks when I talk about my chickens. I love my fuzzy butts and there's nothing anyone can say to make me get rid of them!

 

[brambleberries]

This happens to me all the time! I've noticed people think that only "hillbillies" have chickens. We get made fun of a lot, too, by family members and friends. Even though they are technically just "poking fun" or whatever, it's still not nice Chickens are awesome! People are so close-minded.

 

[mommyofthreewithchicks]

People are more surprised with my husband who has a wife "raising chickens". I guess since his job requires him to wear a suit and be clean cut that means he couldn't get his hands dirty or that his wife shouldn't be able to heft a 50 lb bag of feed

My family also has great fun poking me about being the crazy bird lady

But when I was sharing turkey dinner with them they thought it was really good!