ELI5 Why do so many ppl treat chickens expendable??

[Pampered chicken girl]

I wanted to add I'm not trying to be rude, judge, or anything. And I totally do not think chickens should be abused. I'm just trying to explain why killing chickens and killing pet animals is different.

 

[z3lda3]

Well yeah but they also look to you for guidance and miss you when your gone

Maybe it's just mine. I've spent a lot of time with them from when they were young to adults, they are never nice like want to be aroundme becausethey like me. They will come to me when I come in because they assume I have food, if they see I don't they go about their day. Chickens look to eachother for guidance and support, not humans. Even if they don't mind you I highly doubt they enjoy being picked up, they probably allow it though.

Nope it depends on the chicken. My RSL hate being picked up, my Cochins and legbars love it. They like to ride on my shoulder. I could just have looney birds

 

[Pampered chicken girl]

Nope it depends on the chicken. My RSL hate being picked up, my Cochins and legbars love it. They like to ride on my shoulder. I could just have looney birds

Maybe lol. I have lots of breeds and mutts, I did have two that perched on me but they were a little crazy. And I had one that was ok with picking up, but could be because he was old and dying.

 

[Pampered chicken girl]

It's possible I just have snotty chickens, I wish they were friendly because I'd love them to like being held

 

[z3lda3]

I wanted to add I'm not trying to be rude, judge, or anything. And I totally do not think chickens should be abused. I'm just trying to explain why killing chickens and killing pet animals is different.

I wanted to add I'm not trying to be rude, judge, or anything. And I totally do not think chickens should be abused. I'm just trying to explain why killing chickens and killing pet animals is different.

No offense taken here! I know it’s hard to tell the tone through text sometimes.

 

[Pampered chicken girl]

No offense taken here! I know it’s hard to tell the tone through text sometimes.

Yeah, that's why I wanted to make sure yall knew. I get where you guys are coming from

 

[Chicken_tiger_catt]

I disagree. Many of my chickens get very excited to see me whether I have food or not, sure they love food, but they also just like to follow me around, sit on my lap, and just hang out and get petted if I don't have food or they were already fed. I feel like anyone who owns chickens would know that they are curious, sentient, and have different personalities. If you love them, they will love you back. Really not much different from a dog or cat, and shouldn't be treated much different

agreed. it varies from breed to breed, and even individual to individual, but I've only ever had two chickens attack me, and some of my current flock like being petted! for the most part my birds keep their distance, but even watching them from a few feet away, it's clear that they are unique and intelligent creatures. I enjoy seeing the way they communicate, the intricate social groups and sub flocks......................... maybe because I'm autistic, but I feel like I know birds better than people.

 

[z3lda3]

It's possible I just have snotty chickens, I wish they were friendly because I'd love them to like being held

It’s great until you forget you have earring, and a hen rips it out of your ear. Ask me how I know lol.

 

[NatJ]

Is this a massive farm setting? Are you living off of selling eggs? I mean if it’s a massive farm are you shoulder to shoulder in chickens?

I expect it would be more common in suburban situations, which often have limits on how many chickens a person can have. If someone is allowed up to 6 hens, and it takes 6 good layers to provide all the eggs for their family, then they can choose to keep older hens and buy eggs, or they can choose to replace the hens and have enough eggs. "Removing" the hens can be killing them or selling them, but if you sell old hens there is a very good chance that someone else will kill them later, so the only real question is who kills them.

It could happen on a big farm. But most people with big farms are too practical to keep non-productive hens. I think the only way to end up shoulder to shoulder in unproductive old hens is to have a big farm and a source of enough money to keep feeding the hens after they quit laying. Otherwise, the farmer goes broke, sells the farm, and someone else kills the hens to get rid of them.

Personally, I view all chickens as meat. The main question is how long they live before I eat them (longest life for the hens who lay well and otherwise please me, shortest life for birds with quality-of-life issues, followed by any bird with behavior that causes a problem. Most males have pretty short lives if they belong to me, because more than a certain amount of males will cause problems by stressing and overmating the hens.) I would rather make chicken soup from old hens, instead of keeping the old hens and then buying chicken meat or raising broilers. But if I want tender fried chicken, the old hens just won't do it. Fried chicken requires young tender birds if you want to be able to eat it easily. Young cockerels can work pretty well for that.

 

[The Birb King]

Well yeah but they also look to you for guidance and miss you when your gone

Maybe it's just mine. I've spent a lot of time with them from when they were young to adults, they are never nice like want to be aroundme becausethey like me. They will come to me when I come in because they assume I have food, if they see I don't they go about their day. Chickens look to eachother for guidance and support, not humans. Even if they don't mind you I highly doubt they enjoy being picked up, they probably allow it though.

What breeds do you have? Some are much more skittish and less interested in humans then others