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

[kpgoldstar]

I came across this comic recently and it reminded me of this thread.

Not to mention the fact that most hens lay every day, not every few days!

 

[subhanalah]

Not to mention the fact that most hens lay every day, not every few days!

this is really only true for super production hens that are in their prime. I'd say it's more a generalized statement to say "every few days" since (I think) there are more breeds that are not necessarily considered production. Like, bantam and other specialty breeds.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

The lady I sold some mixed bantams to last week messaged me to tell me just how amazing one of the pullets is. According to the lady, this particular pullet lays FOUR eggs at a time.

I told her that it was most likely that she just happened to be the fourth one to lay in that nest. She was adamant that this girl lays four every day because she saw four eggs underneath her

I did have an EE pullet that laid a normal egg for me in the morning and then late afternoon she was squatty acting funny and "Voila!" laid a rubber egg. But never has she laid 4!

 

[Bogtown Chick]

On funny stuff: I try and let my girls free range when I'm home, and since I'm on a major walking route they can get a lot of attention. I'm surprised how many people are FLOORED that they come in different colors. I have a lot of fun pointing out that not only are their colors different, but two have beards (EE's) and one has feathery feet (Light Brahma).

I picked up two silkie hens from a breeder and had them in the back of my SUV. Made a stop at Fleet Farm for chicken bedding/feed. And this lady walked by seeing the birds. Her head wound all the way back around. I smiled at her and she back tracked to my car and asked me what they were. She was amazed they were chickens. LOL.

 

[sarahswank]

Not to beat a dead horse, but I believe the culling of egg laying roosters isn't so much about it being done as it is HOW it's done. From my understanding, they are thrown live into a grinder and then made into dog food/cat food/ fertilizer?
if I'm wrong, someone please correct me.
I have no problems with the baby chick's being used for pet food, just wish there was a more humane way to kill them first.
I have been culling my cockerels as they make themselves known. A quick end and down the gullet of a snake. (I pluck the feathers because they make the poop stink SO bad!)
I don't have the space to raise these guys to butchering weight and feel that it is perfectly acceptable to use them as food for another animal. I feed my dogs raw rabbit that I've butchered, and maybe chickens too, if none of the snakes are hungry when a rooster let's himself be known.

The grinder is essentially an instantaneous death and the chicks dont know its coming. I would consider an instantaneous death AND being completely shredded into bits in less then a second much more humane then cutting a chicken's throat and allowing it to bleed to death over a few seconds. In that scenario, the chicken's brain stays intact and will send signals the the body telling it how it no longer has oxygen or blood for a few seconds. Just because it doesnt look pretty doesnt mean it isnt the quickest way to go.

X3

My thought is if big business hadn't taken chicken ,egg and everything else production away from the farmers I would see a whole lot less empty farm able land and a whole lot more money for local economies. I know I know you cant feed the masses like that, or could we ? Probably never know.

I have a very big issue with this statement. who to you is big business? Someone who has a certain amount of acres, someone who only earns a certain amount of money each year? Someone who isnt part of a corporation?

Farmers are still around, very much so. Milk in your grocery store was still produced on a family dairy, the beef in the butcher counter was bred and raised by a ranching family, owned by that same family but sent to a feedlot (which, dont be suprised, is generally owned by other families who happen to specialize in feeding, not corporations) and only then sold to a packing plant for processing. Even your chickens were raised by a family farmer (although likely they were bred in a large hatchery) and only then sold back to a "big business"

Farmland is left empty for a very good reasons... and it definitely is not because no one is left to farm it. Some land is left empty so that the soil and recuperate and become more fertile (although rotational farming is common, some dirt is just naturally such poor quality that it needs a rest every few years). Some land is left empty because it just happens to be between growing seasons. such as right now, my dry-land corn land has been "empty" for almost 4 months now, and it will not appear to be growing anything for at least another month. A LOT of land is just naturally not suitable for real farming (to dry, to wet, to many ravines and drop offs in the field, poor quality soil, to rocky, to many trees or bushes, or a parcel was split and sold off in too small of sections) and it is MUCH more cost effective to allow a rancher to put cattle on it (but cattle are VERY hard on land and have to be rotated frequently or put on huge parcels to keep from destroying the grasses). Lastly, land can be left empty because the government pays us to keep it natural and empty. Wildlife need land also, farmer fields are not enough. In parts of the country that ARE very conducive to farming, the government pays farmers to keep property suitable for wildlife so we don't cause issues by plowing under all the land. The United States produces more then enough food to feed itself. There is NO food shortage or inability to "feed the masses" that comes from lack of land usage. Food issues come from either economies who are closed systems (which you find in some countries) or lack of sellers in parts of the country, such as the "food islands" you find in cities. The food is available, but there is no one who is selling it for one reason or another.

 

[JDXX]

The grinder is essentially an instantaneous death and the chicks dont know its coming. I would consider an instantaneous death AND being completely shredded into bits in less then a second much more humane then cutting a chicken's throat and allowing it to bleed to death over a few seconds. In that scenario, the chicken's brain stays intact and will send signals the the body telling it how it no longer has oxygen or blood for a few seconds. Just because it doesnt look pretty doesnt mean it isnt the quickest way to go.

I have a very big issue with this statement. who to you is big business? Someone who has a certain amount of acres, someone who only earns a certain amount of money each year? Someone who isnt part of a corporation?

Farmers are still around, very much so. Milk in your grocery store was still produced on a family dairy, the beef in the butcher counter was bred and raised by a ranching family, owned by that same family but sent to a feedlot (which, dont be suprised, is generally owned by other families who happen to specialize in feeding, not corporations) and only then sold to a packing plant for processing. Even your chickens were raised by a family farmer (although likely they were bred in a large hatchery) and only then sold back to a "big business"

Farmland is left empty for a very good reasons... and it definitely is not because no one is left to farm it. Some land is left empty so that the soil and recuperate and become more fertile (although rotational farming is common, some dirt is just naturally such poor quality that it needs a rest every few years). Some land is left empty because it just happens to be between growing seasons. such as right now, my dry-land corn land has been "empty" for almost 4 months now, and it will not appear to be growing anything for at least another month. A LOT of land is just naturally not suitable for real farming (to dry, to wet, to many ravines and drop offs in the field, poor quality soil, to rocky, to many trees or bushes, or a parcel was split and sold off in too small of sections) and it is MUCH more cost effective to allow a rancher to put cattle on it (but cattle are VERY hard on land and have to be rotated frequently or put on huge parcels to keep from destroying the grasses). Lastly, land can be left empty because the government pays us to keep it natural and empty. Wildlife need land also, farmer fields are not enough. In parts of the country that ARE very conducive to farming, the government pays farmers to keep property suitable for wildlife so we don't cause issues by plowing under all the land. The United States produces more then enough food to feed itself. There is NO food shortage or inability to "feed the masses" that comes from lack of land usage. Food issues come from either economies who are closed systems (which you find in some countries) or lack of sellers in parts of the country, such as the "food islands" you find in cities. The food is available, but there is no one who is selling it for one reason or another.

Sorry if I offended you I certainly had no intentions. I am surely not qualified to comment on farming and lack the education on these matters. I think my point was lost in the lack of explanation. I do not live in a highly agricultural area really very little food is grown here or anywhere near here. Yet in our experience food grows rather well here, not well enough I am sure to be able to "feed the masses" by ourselves but certainly well enough to provide food for our own community and some excess (maybe for the masses?). But unfortunately that is not how it works anymore. There used to be small farms EVERYWHERE in America right? I know we USED to have local farms and Dairies, but we don't anymore. That is sad, don't you think? As far as what do I consider "big business" basically any products I find in the supermarket are big business. So that includes most "farmers" I suppose.

Getting back to topic here now. We were at a family function a few weeks ago. My dear step daughter and I were having a heated discussion about our lifestyle.
She says, "you are getting way to into your chickens and gardens"
me "I am trying to provide for your mother and little sister, we have to eat"
her "I know you just lost your job but you really need to get off the chickens and gardening all the time"
me "so what do suppose we eat?"
her " haven't you ever heard of food stamps?"
me "ok"

Sure wish these kids would have grown up realizing food comes from hard work. Our little one sure will.

 

[donrae]

Getting back to topic here now. We were at a family function a few weeks ago. My dear step daughter and I were having a heated discussion about our lifestyle.
She says, "you are getting way to into your chickens and gardens"
me "I am trying to provide for your mother and little sister, we have to eat"
her "I know you just lost your job but you really need to get off the chickens and gardening all the time"
me "so what do suppose we eat?"
her " haven't you ever heard of food stamps?"
me "ok"

Sure wish these kids would have grown up realizing food comes from hard work. Our little one sure will.

I was absolutely, positively mortified when we had to get an EBT card last year when I was sick. Mortified! That was the first thing to go as soon as we got our finances straightened out. Yes, I was so grateful it was there, and yes I've paid taxes for 20+ years for that benefit. Still, it was incredibly hard!

Guess she'd rather you sit around drinking beer, watching tv all day and occasionally smacking them around? Wow, now a garden and chickens don't sound near so bad, do they?

 

[Crickett]

Know what you mean! Several years ago, about 25 actually, my husband was out of work and I couldn't find work. We live in a small town. At that time, there was no garden, no chickens, nothing. We had to get food stamps. Yes,I'm glad they were there, but I was so embarrassed! I swallowed my pride every time I bought groceries, but I couldn't let my kids go hungry! As soon as we could, we got off of them! Now, no matter what, I have my mini farm, and "As God as my witness, I'll never go hungry again! " Seriously though, that was totally devastating to me! I can't understand a mentality that says, I'll just lay around on my tail and let the government, or whoever, take care of me.

 

[JDXX]

Yeah no doubt going on food stamps is not what I want to do either. Been there done that. I pride myself on being able to support my family. My job lasted 17 years and I made decent money at it (construction) so we never had to worry about money for food. Now I am older and I long for a simpler life without the need for so much income, so I am turning our home into a small farm. My DSD is a hard working young lady and has been since she could get a job, but she still does not understand why we are doing this. Maybe after she has some kids and spends 17 years away from home every day she will get it.

 

[subhanalah]

HM...never mind.