Don't Get Chickens

[roosterjerry]

Let me start by saying that I would consider myself a city guy. Over the years I have had and do have had many kinds of Animals.After moving to the country last Year I got a small flock of laying hens.Like many others here they get the best of care. I would call them spoiled. from my short experience with them I will say that I am glad I got them but I would not suggest anyone get them if you are not a country/farm person.In less that a year I have had to cull three hens. We all know about the circle of life and that everything dies. Unless you are prepared to take a life yourself you do not want chickens. For a farmer that has chickens for meat that is to be expected. For someone like many here that have a small flock for pets/eggs you may want to reconsider. All our chickens have names and are our pets. We do get eggs and that is why we got them. If you do the research you will find that unless you have twenty+ and a market to sell the eggs it is not cost effective. You can buy many more eggs than the cost to keep just a few. All that said I just had to cull my best laying hen. She had been so worked over by the Rooster that she had no feathers on her back. She had gotten a wound on her back and all the other hens started pecking at it. I moved her as soon as i saw but it was too late. I am out in the coop many times a day and still there was nothing I could do. It is then when you have to make up your mind what to do.You can try to help them get healed or put them down. So before you name them and hand feed them and treat them like a dog or other family pet you need to ask yourself if something bad happens can I take this Animal in my hands and end it's life. The only thing I could think about while I was doing the deed is that we have two new three day old chicks. The circle of life

 

[SangaChicken]

I wouldn't be so quick to tell others not to get chickens because of your bad experience. For starters, most of us aren't looking at whether or not it's cost effective. Eating eggs that come from your own birds, hormone and pesticide free, is priceless. Not only do they taste better, but they're better for you.. in that you KNOW where it came from. Plus there is the self satisfaction factor as well. If you're raising chickens to save money, you should get out of the chicken business! (Unless you want to go on a much larger scale).

Also, animals die. It's a fact. If you have a dog, cat, leopard gecko, or pet giraffe.. things are going to happen and you're going to have to make a decision to eventually end it's life. That is just part of pet ownership.

There are plenty of "city folk" who do just fine raising chickens. Maybe a better caution would be for people to do their research before getting ANY pet, understand the joys and pit falls of the specific animal and determine whether or not it fits with your lifestyle.

I'm sorry you went through that, and I'm sorry you're hurting. I hope your post was mostly because you're angry and/or sad, and not because you really mean it. Things will get better, I promise.

(I should also mention that I'm a 28 year old "city girl" gone full time farmer.. but that my farm is literally within the city of Memphis TN (Grandfathered in), so I'm 1.5 miles from the largest mall in TN.. and yet maintain a ton of animals and a Children's Petting Zoo. So I'm neither "city" nor "country", I'm just a girl with a lot of critters. )

 

[cposz]

Well, RoosterJerry - I tend to agree with Sanga. It's not about where you live and owning chickens. It's about owning any animal - whether you live in the city or in the country.

We live in the city and have a 10 year old cat, a 10 year old dog, and four young hens. We have put our share of pets down over the years - it's what responsible animal owners do.

But country/farm people don't love their animals any more or any less than us city folk. It's not about where you live at all. It's about knowing that taking responsibility for your animals means that you will eventually have to say goodbye to them, and sometimes under less than ideal circumstances.

I'm very sorry about your hen - I know how hard it is to do what has to be done with animals you love.

 

[Sillystunt]

i think most get them for pets and it's a bonus on eggs! To tell people not to get them is silly! Maybe you don't want them and thats fine but why hate on the poor chicken?

I think this post was posted under extreme fustration and sadness so for that

If you wanna throw the towel in that is your right, i understand! But remember that your not the only one who has had to say good bye to a loved animal. It's part of being an owner of them. So maybe you should just go petless since you can't deal with the pain of it

 

[mom2chicksandpups]

My chickens are for pets first above anything else. Who cares if I make money from them? I also have 2 dogs and my daughter has a cat and a hamster. All of them cost me lots of money, but don't do a thing for us except provide lots of love and stress relief. I feel the same about my chickens as I do my other pets. We lose one from time to time, but if you have dogs or cats you will also lose them at some point also. Death is just something that happens, a part of life.

Some people also raise their chickens for meat, which is healthier than buying chicken from the grocery store. Home-raised chicken doesn't have the hormones and "junk" that others have. Also, you know what kind of conditions they were raised in, what they have been fed, etc. I personally can't eat mine because they are pets, but some people can and I personally have no problem with that.

The same goes for their eggs. They are fresher and probably healthier, too. My husband eats eggs nearly every day and I occasionally eat them. We also plan to give eggs to family members and hatch some of them to raise more chickens.

We all have bad experiences sometimes. I have had dogs and cats that died and left me heartbroken. It didn't keep me from getting more, though.

 

[chickenbottom]

i being a city girl with my 14 chickens i love them i personally dont think you should of culled your girl i would have culled the rooster instead and helped her back to a joy filled life one problem doesnt mean they have to be culled. also i would recommend getting chickens to anyone and i have. the eggs are healthier an if you want them for meat that is to. and my chickens basicly pay for them selves i sell eggs to my neighborhood as 1.25 a dozen and 9 dozen buys a 50 pound bag of chicken feed. i have named every one of my chickens and i love em to death they are my babies my kids. im a proud mama of 14 and one person cant change how i feel about my babies just because their bad experience but this is my opinion and i respect yours im sorry you had it hard with your chickens and im sorry for your loss its the circle of life and we all revolve around it. good luck

 

[TreeHugger]

I love my chickens & enjoy my little backyard flock. I don't kill & eat any of them & I have invested way more money then I will get back. I do find it difficult to cull anything, but occasionally I have to. Everything dies - it's the sad fate of the living.

Part of raising chickens (anything in fact) involves educating yourself and trial & error. It is a shame that your last hen got that bad before you relized there was an issue.

 

[SangaChicken]

Oh, and before you get discouraged by the people who are not in agreement with you.. keep in mind that you came to the largest active chicken forum in the world and posted to a bunch of chicken owners who are enthusiastic enough about their flocks to visit this board.. that we should not get chickens. That's like going to a park and complaining about the grass!

 

[jjthink]

Oh dear, usually that type of injury from a roo can be healed with cleaning, neosporin, separation so no one pecks till healing has occurred.....
Why 3 hens 'culled' in less than a year - that seems like a lot of troubles......? How many birds do you have and what amount of space do they have?
I am certainly saddened for the hens that are lost..

.. My feathered friends are pets too.
JJ

 

[VeggieAnnah]

my question is why did you decide to still keep the rooster after realizing what it's capable of doing to the hens? i'm just curious...