Backyard-chicken stories are the latest bogus trend, media critic says

[preppy*hippie*chick]

It seems like it's sort of trendy as far as the news people picking it up. But isn't that sort of what they do?

 

[goobhen]

My office threw me a "chicken" shower one month before my 25 chicks arrived from MM. By word of mouth, I have found that there are four other people who have chickens. Two people live in the city (Indpls) and three live out of the city. One is a doctor and he has 18 chickens. My chickens are my hobby, and will provide my family with fresh eggs (I hope!). I am committed to my chickens, their well-being is my responsiblity, just like my dogs and cats. After all the expense and hard work my husband has put into my coop, this is not a passing fad! I do all the work with the chickens, my DH just does the building part. The two major things that I would do differently are: buy from a hatchery that sells smaller numbers, put them outside in the coop at two weeks old. The first five were 6 weeks, the second set (20 down from 33!!) are going out to the coop at 3 1/2 weeks. I am giving some roosters & hens to a co-worker. I love my chickens, they are not true pets like my dogs, but I do love my interactions with them. Their antics just make me smile!~ I found BYC through my research on purchasing chickens. I just love this place!! Theresa

 

[AngieChick]

Quote:

 

[ChickyLaura]

Quote:
I agree! I didn't realize eating was a fad! Maybe it was a slow news day?

 

[Chicks_N_Horses]

What is the world coming to when chicken raising is just a fad

 

[FrenchHen]

It means all that old timer wisdom that many folks (myself included) once discounted in favor of new, shiny things is being recognized as just that, old time wisdom.
I mentioned to one of my farm kids that I wouldn't need to buy fertilizer for the garden because chicken and goat poop are the best, and he was jealous!
Imagine a teenager being jealous for chicken poo!

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

I especially like the references to avian flu in the comments section below the article. Nice. Real Nice.

 

[Shared Acres]

I don't even know where to begin.

What a moron.

 

[mjdtexan]

Quote:
I am finding it cheaper to raise 19 birds (I had 20, one died the other day) and average 17 to 18 eggs a day than to buy the eggs. feed is for sure cheaper around here.

I started raising ours because I saw the writing on the wall with the current administration. I am also doing some serious gardening on account of it. I guess thats a fad too.

 

[swampducks]

Quote:
Mr Shafer seems to miss the point in his "counting" of chicken people:

But the closest the Post comes to actually counting chickens is reporting the press run of Backyard Poultry magazine, a bimonthly: It is 100,000. The Jan. 2 USA Today, which reports a "growing number of city dwellers across the country choosing chickens as pets," measures the hen-keeping renaissance by enumerating the size of the BackYardChickens.com community: It is 19,000 worldwide.

He needs to see what the circulation of the mag was 1 year ago and now as well as the jump at BYC when I first joined 1 year ago and today. THEN you see the "trend". At least I know at BYC it's a huge difference!