Chickens are work

[Chick-N-Fun]

This discussion reminds me of the time when 101 Dalmatians with Glenn Close came out. Breeders of Dalmatians couldn’t keep up with the demand for puppies. Within a year, so many Dalmatians were in the shelter or abandoned b/c many of the new owners did’t have any idea what they were getting into. I had a Dalmatian. She was a high-needs breed, but like with all of my animals, once they become a member of our family, they are loved and cared for forever.

Because baby chicks are also very cheap, compared to most animals, they are treated as disposable or with the mentality that they are “just chickens.” So sad.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Now they just shuffle them around Sorry, pet(haha) peeve for the 'rescue industry'.

I mean, that's partially true, but it's also true that euthanasia numbers are WAY down and the numbers of dogs entering shelters is way down too. There are, admittedly, a lot more organizations handling rescue and rehoming these days and dogs often get moved from one to another, but that too has it's benefits. There's a lot more people looking to adopt a rescue dog in Manhattan than there are in rural Texas and there's a lot fewer dogs to rescue in Manhattan than in Texas... So they move them around until they can't any more or they find a home and, ultimately, it's working. Every relevant number is down. Numbers of dogs actively in shelters, number of dogs in resuces, number of dogs abandoned, numbers of dogs euthanized, etc. Heck, I've been trying to get a rescue dog for some time and I haven't been able to actually even find one in my area to adopt in the breeds I want. Lots of dogs are almost non-existent in the rescue system.

I have my own issues with the rescue industry, plenty of problems with it, but there's no doubt in my mind that they've done a good job when it comes to education and management of abandoned animal populations.
I imagine there may be some catching up to do with the chicken craze, but it's gonna wane a little and always be less problematic. It's much easier to find a hen a home than a dog or cat - without even looking at a shelter or rescue. If someone came to me with free hens I'd always shrug and say yes and throw em into quarantine for a month because even if they never lay I can make 'em happy for a bit and then eat em.

 

[MROO]

I knew a girl in college who'd grown up in town. Her family took vacations almost every break, her father did something with computers and her mother was a businesswoman of some sort. She'd once been to a (cough*hobby*cough) farm on a field trip. From this experience, she concluded that she wanted to make a living as a dairy farmer because, "since I wouldn't be raising meat cows, I wouldn't have to eat them!"

And I'll bet she wanted a few brown ones, so she could have chocolate milk, too! Ya gotta love it!

 

[tacothechicken]

@MROO i like the people who tell me my chickens are sick cause they lay green/speckled/ etc colored eggs! Im like 'WOOOW did you grow up on a farm!!!??'
'Uhh no? It's obviously not normal though!chickens only lay white and brown eggs'
'Lol your bleached white Safeway eggs arent normal sweetheart, my birds are fine

 

[Acre4Me]

You are right on!


See a lot of that right here on BYC.

I saw at TSC the other day that they have reduced their minimum to 4 instead of 6 chicks.
They do have signs up warning that chicks are not easter gifts,
can't remember the rest of what it said but most will be ignored.

In OH, last year I was told by TSC employee that the state has minimum sale requirement of 6 chicks. So, wonder if this is true in MI (having certain number of chicks for min sale)?

 

[aart]

In OH, last year I was told by TSC employee that the state has minimum sale requirement of 6 chicks. So, wonder if this is true in MI (having certain number of chicks for min sale)?

Not sure who sets those 'rules'.

 

[Acre4Me]

Not sure who sets those 'rules'.

I remember them saying something like Dept of Ag, and the number was set to discourage people from buying 1 or 2 cute chicks at Easter and discarding them later. Also, this seems to vary by state. However, I haven't seen any posts on BYC mention that they can buy just 1 or 2 chicks from the farms stores.

 

[MROO]

@MROO i like the people who tell me my chickens are sick cause they lay green/speckled/ etc colored eggs! Im like 'WOOOW did you grow up on a farm!!!??'
'Uhh no? It's obviously not normal though!chickens only lay white and brown eggs'
'Lol your bleached white Safeway eggs arent normal sweetheart, my birds are fine

Oh - and I was once asked if the brown ones were "organic!" Bless her heart, at least she was open to a proper education and went away a better understanding of how her food originates ... organic or not. And she was even graceful enough to be embarrassed by her own naivete'. That's why I love "working" our county fair. It's so neat to see people's expressions when they get their facts straightened out - and it feels good to know that I've helped open up a mind or two to agricultural reality!

 

[MROO]

You are right on!


See a lot of that right here on BYC.

I saw at TSC the other day that they have reduced their minimum to 4 instead of 6 chicks.
They do have signs up warning that chicks are not easter gifts,
can't remember the rest of what it said but most will be ignored.

I know it's a small comfort ... but at least most places don't dye them pretty pastel colors anymore. When I was a kid, that was a sure-fire way to end up with an Easter basket full of baby roosters ... one in each color!

 

[Tortoise]

Wait what? They dont naturally come in those pastel colors? LOL
Thankfully for the most part they have stopped dying them.
The ignorance is not just in chickens though. Country comes to big city and has just as much ignorance as city to country and not just about chickens. People dont know much about what they haven't lived. Even with the internet it seems people dont search before mouth opens as much as they should.