Dumbest Things People Have Said About Your Chickens/Eggs/Meat

[WalkingOnSunshine]

We bought store eggs and they claimed "all natural vegetarian diet" and "certified raised humane." A picture of their chickens showed their clipped beaks. Real humane.

Some of our hens have clipped beaks. They were bought as started pullets and there was no option to not have the beaks clipped. I worried about them, but they honestly get along just fine and free range without trouble.

But I'm with you, that if you HAVE to clip beaks, then there's too much stress in your set-up.

Also, it just looks gross.

 

[Keric]

But I'm with you, that if you HAVE to clip beaks, then there's too much stress in your set-up.

100% agree! My fiancee and I had a big argument about that. He said "Well there is a reason to clip beaks." I said Yes I understand that, but if there was no stress to begin with, there wouldn't be a reason. He said "You've never seen chickens peck other to death. That's inhumane." Again, they aren't going to just randomly peck each other to death if there isn't stress! And of course I'm sure there is that random one that will cause a problem, but get rid of that one and all is well again!

 

[All4MrD8a]

On a side note, companies say that hens eat a vegetarian diet because the thought of animal by-products grosses people out. My hens are "vegetarian fed." To us, that means that the feed is vegetarian--but not that the birds are! They are pastured, so they get lots of bugs. And I don't count the treats they eat as their main diet, so we won't discuss the steak trimmings they got yesterday. Shhhh.

There is a huge difference between kitchen scraps and animal by-products. Kitchen scraps were good enough to be in my kitchen in the first place.

 

[farmerChef]

There is a huge difference between kitchen scraps and animal by-products. Kitchen scraps were good enough to be in my kitchen in the first place.

eggs are animal by-products

 

[oldrooster]

I did hear of one person (friend of a friend) who got a bunch of chicks that where either imbread or had some real bad genetics and he spent a laot of money on the chicks and didn't want to cull nearly the whole lot if he didn't have to and they had some sort of deformity of the beaks and he clipped them so they had a fighting chance of survival. other than a case like that I think it's stupid, and wrong to clip the beaks.

 

[janinepeters]

But I'm with you, that if you HAVE to clip beaks, then there's too much stress in your set-up.

Exactly. I don't know of any backyard chicken keepers that debeak. It's done when they're "cage free" but crammed together at high density in a barn. It looks like this:
http://wvfarm2u.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/cage-free.jpg

Disgusting, yes, but perhaps better than this:
http://www.allvoices.com/contribute...-cage-use-must-stop-hsus-tells-ia-egg-council

 

[mabhera]

Exactly. I don't know of any backyard chicken keepers that debeak. It's done when they're "cage free" but crammed together at high density in a barn. It looks like this:
http://wvfarm2u.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/cage-free.jpg

Disgusting, yes, but perhaps better than this:
http://www.allvoices.com/contribute...-cage-use-must-stop-hsus-tells-ia-egg-council

Those 2 images are the main reason I have hens.


Mine live a lot better.
About the dumb things about chickens I'll say one about me....I got the chicken for humane reasons but never thought they had personalities and have ways to communicate with us what they want or need or even that they enjoy different kind of foods. I'm still amazed the trust they have in me ...when they feel danger they run to me and have one or two that fly to my shoulder to take shelter.

 

[Sandstorm495]

Exactly. I don't know of any backyard chicken keepers that debeak. It's done when they're "cage free" but crammed together at high density in a barn. It looks like this:
http://wvfarm2u.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/cage-free.jpg

Disgusting, yes, but perhaps better than this:
http://www.allvoices.com/contribute...-cage-use-must-stop-hsus-tells-ia-egg-council

Those pictures are terrible, nothing like that should ever happen to chickens!

 

[Lifestudent]

Those pictures are terrible, nothing like that should ever happen to chickens!

One of my friends actually said she wouldn't want to live next to chickens. She was hoping the town she lived in didn't start allowing people to keep chickens. Sure, a large chicken barn where they're cramped in cages and you have a lot of deaths, but none of my neighbors has any complaints about our chickens. Most don't even know we have them unless they hear our rooster.

 

[7 Biddies]

One of my friends actually said she wouldn't want to live next to chickens. She was hoping the town she lived in didn't start allowing people to keep chickens. Sure, a large chicken barn where they're cramped in cages and you have a lot of deaths, but none of my neighbors has any complaints about our chickens. Most don't even know we have them unless they hear our rooster.

Pure ignorance on her part. Ask what her objections are and how she developed/learned them. Then, you can address, and debunk, each.