Ask FDA to approve implants for chickens to prevent egg production

[ILoveDaffy]

What I don't understand is why chicken lovers are against FDA green lighting this drug? It's an option. If it was green lighted you don't have to use it, but wouldn't it be nice to know you could if you wanted to? The drug is allowed for Ferrets and Horses... why not Chickens? Even if you are lucky to have a doctor where you live who will let you implant, why not make it easier for them to say yes?

To me it's all down to chickens are for food and that's very sad. We don't want to eat that drug. They don't have to be for food.

If the FDA hasn't approved it, it is most likely for good reason. I feel that just having the use of it wouldn't fix the main problem. The main problem is that chickens are being bred to lay too many eggs.

 

[arosenzweig]

If the FDA hasn't approved it, it is most likely for good reason. I feel that just having the use of it wouldn't fix the main problem. The main problem is that chickens are being bred to lay too many eggs.

You are right. The main problem is exactly that.

 

[ILoveDaffy]

Clover is a sweet name. She must have been very pretty, that cross sounds nice. Sometimes there really isn't much we can do but love them the best we can. Clover left this world too soon but it wasn't anyone's fault. It was her time to go.

She was lovely but that cross made her lay too much.

 

[NatJ]

I don't think the OP just wants fewer eggs, I think they want better lives for all chickens no matter their breed.

They talked about selectively breeding for fewer eggs.
I said such chickens already exist, because they do.

Many were adopted so I don't know for sure what breeds they were. The one who complained the most about laying was a Lakenvelder. We had a Silkie who laid a lot of eggs but when you read about them they say they are not prolific layers but that was not our experience. The eggs were small but they came out often.

That's quite interesting. I agree, Silkies are not usually known as prolific layers.

To be natural, like mother nature intended, they would have to lay no more than 15 eggs per year. I'm pretty sure nearly all chicken breeds today lay more than that.

Why do you think mother nature intends them to lay 15 eggs each year?
That sounds like the right amount for one clutch, but I would expect them to raise more than one clutch per year.

But let's say, for the sake of argument, that there were some sex-links that needed a good home. They are bred to lay as much as possible. Would you refuse them because of their breed? Or would you implant them if you could? I would if I could without driving out of state.

If you want to buy sexlinks, and get implants for them, I have no problem with that. I hope you can find a vet that will do it for you. I don't mind if the FDA allows the implant to be used that way, although I also don't care enough to do anything about it.

But if you really do want chickens with a particular trait (low rate of laying), I think it makes sense to get chickens with that trait, rather than ones that are strongly selected for the opposite trait (high rate of laying.) Getting high-producing hens and then complaining about their rate of lay is about as silly as someone getting a cat and then complaining that it is not a dog.

I think the best option would be start breeding chickens for Less laying instead of for more laying.

Do you mean a few kinds as pets, or all hens?
If you want a few as pets, such chickens already exist.

If you want it for all hens, I would strongly oppose it on both financial grounds, and animal welfare grounds. If each hen lays only a few eggs, then companies would have to raise many more hens to get the eggs people want to eat. Eggs would become much more expensive to produce, and the living conditions of the hens would probably be even worse than they are now because there would be so many more hens involved.

 

[ILoveDaffy]

Better bre

They talked about selectively breeding for fewer eggs.
I said such chickens already exist, because they do.


That's quite interesting. I agree, Silkies are not usually known as prolific layers.


Why do you think mother nature intends them to lay 15 eggs each year?
That sounds like the right amount for one clutch, but I would expect them to raise more than one clutch per year.


If you want to buy sexlinks, and get implants for them, I have no problem with that. I hope you can find a vet that will do it for you. I don't mind if the FDA allows the implant to be used that way, although I also don't care enough to do anything about it.

But if you really do want chickens with a particular trait (low rate of laying), I think it makes sense to get chickens with that trait, rather than ones that are strongly selected for the opposite trait (high rate of laying.) Getting high-producing hens and then complaining about their rate of lay is about as silly as someone getting a cat and then complaining that it is not a dog.


Do you mean a few kinds as pets, or all hens?
If you want a few as pets, such chickens already exist.

If you want it for all hens, I would strongly oppose it on both financial grounds, and animal welfare grounds. If each hen lays only a few eggs, then companies would have to raise many more hens to get the eggs people want to eat. Eggs would become much more expensive to produce, and the living conditions of the hens would probably be even worse than they are now because there would be so many more hens involved.

You raise some good points!

 

[casportpony]

The drug is allowed for Ferrets and Horses... why not Chickens?

It's FDA approved for just those two species, but that does not mean it cannot be used in other animals. It *can* be used and is used in cats, dogs, turtles, & poultry.

Spoiler: Turtle

http://divers.neaq.org/2013/10/a-sea-turtle-has-checkup.html

If the FDA hasn't approved it, it is most likely for good reason.

I doubt they ever will. The list of FDA approved drugs for laying hens is really short:
http://www.farad.org/vetgram/egglayers.asp#:~:text=21 Approved FDA Drugs&text=Information is exclusively for labeled,FDA-approved food animal drugs.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

That's debatable. Certainly egg laying is something chickens naturally do and so it would be natural to keep them laying eggs... if only they didn't lay so many. We certainly "fix" dogs and cats before they ever get pregnant, at a young age. We "fix" our human problem but "break" the animal from how they were born. People don't have a problem with that. It's difficult to spay a chicken in the same way though technically possible. I'd be ok with surgery if it was a simple and less-error-prone procedure on a hen.

In some sense we really do fix dogs and cats because they tend to live longer: https://www.denvervet.com/site/blog/2021/11/02/spay-neuter-live-longer

Dogs and cats live happy healthy lives without reproduction anatomy. Why can't chickens? Why is that unhealthy for them?

Could you imagine if your chickens had an average lifespan of 15 years instead of 5 because they stopped laying eggs?

So, I have several birds that are now nine and ten years old. These same hens lay nearly every day. Just because you stop egg laying doesn't mean that their lifespans will double, much less triple

 

[tripletfeb]

That's right, they are pets

I'll never forget the time I purchased some wild bird seed from Southern States. The cashier overheard my wife and I talking. When we rang up at the cash register she couldn't help but say "This is rather expensive for chickens don't you think?" All I could say at that moment was "People buy this for wild birds because they think they are pretty to look at. Our chickens are every bet as cool to watch plus they like to snuggle. Why not spoil them with good things to eat?" - the cashier rolled their eyes but... that's how I feel.

Just jumping in to add that wild bird food has too much fat and oils in it for it to be healthy for chickens as their only source of food. Wild birds fly and need more calories and fat than chickens do. As far as the debate, my chickens are not pets to me, they are farm animals. If they don't lay eggs, I get rid of them. No hen stays without paying rent. That's how I roll, you roll any way you want

 

[HiEverybirdy]

I wish we had the vets some of you all have! The only avian vet we've been able to see is a professor at a nearby veterinary school who has co-authored a textbook on chicken medicine/surgery.

She said she'd lose her veterinary license if she administered deslorelin to our 2-year-old Brahma with suspected salpingitis. She said no vets are allowed to give deslorelin to chickens and was very stern about it.

I had our Miss Peep euthanized rather than put her through surgery (only to relapse because she couldn't have the hormones to stop her from producing eggs).

Every one of our birds is a companion (unfortunately, for my heart) and while I acknowledge deslorelin may not be the perfect solution for that condition, I would've appreciated the option be available to her.

My eyes and ears are open for vets who interpret the rules differently. FDA rules are often created to address unhealthy practices in the commercial food industry to keep our food supply healthy (e.g., by reducing hormones and antibiotics in meat). But while my chickens do produce a small amount of food, our chickens' treatment, production, and living quarters are completely different than a commercial farm.

It shouldn't be too much to ask that the FDA offer separate guidance for small-scale/companion chicken owners.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

I am 100% for the making it easier for vets to administer implants or artificial hormones of any kind because a chicken needs it. However, I am 100% against using them in perfectly healthy hens just because there is a small chance it might prolong their life. My reasoning? Because I have personally had an artificial hormone implant and I would not wish the side effects on my worst enemy. I went from perfectly healthy to daily migraines, random vomiting that led to vitamin deficiencies (the deficiencies then led to other issues like randomly passing out), depression and terrible anxiety. I did not have any of those issues before. I know there are many women who love implants, but I also know just as many who experienced the same side effects as I did. It took a couple years to balance my hormones and feel normal again. I couldn't imagine how miserable my life would be if someone made me keep that implant and I had no way to voice my opinion on how I felt.