Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Shadrach]

Earlier I mentioned a 14 year old rooster. The man he lives with is also getting on in years.
I've spoken to this man a bit about his chickens. This rooster and this man have apparently fought each other one way or another for many years. According to the man the rooster used to go for him in it's younger years and this man freely admits he used to give the rooster a slap. The man has lost quite a few hens over the years. Some have flown over the fence and got hit by a car, a few have been taken by dogs, the usual stuff.
The rooster has never left the yard. The man says he only gets replacement hens to keep the rooster happy. He mentioned it cost more to feed them than buying local free range eggs.
They make an interesting sight when the man and the rooster are both at the front of the house which you can see from the pavement.

 

[BY Bob]

This is Moon, daughter of Mel, granddaughter of Ruffles.
She's going to have her grandmothers good looks I think.
View attachment 1985178

She is just beautiful.

Do you keep charts of the family trees or do you keep it all in your head?

 

[BY Bob]

So, I have a question for those of you who care to answer. Would you still keep chickens if hens didn't lay eggs?
I got asked this by one the chicken keepers here where I live.

Absolutely. I don't beieve Patsy laid an egg all year this year. Mine are not egg machines they are living beings that are my responsibility. I complain that they don't lay eggs for fun. I guess the best example is that I don't kill my cats because they don't lay eggs, why would I kill my hen because she doesn't. They are little fluffs of joy and i am always happier after spending time with them.

We did not get chickens for eggs. Period. The eggs are an excellent bonus but we would have the flock anyway and plan on keeping them until the end of their natural lives.

 

[Kris5902]

I am not sure exactly how things will go with my Flocks in the future, with a limitation on the allowed number of chickens at 150, and wanting to maintain a small egg income and start a sustainable, ethical, and local meat bird production. I cannot see us keeping every hen until the natural end of their lives. So far, I have been running a small “retirement home” for the rescued farm hens... I knew most of the older ones I brought up for treatment were not going to lay again, many were already at the (too early) end of their lives. I wasn’t about to cull them for that, but I’m also not at the “population limit” point yet.

I certainly don’t plan on just culling all the girls at two years old (like that molting rooster eating egg producer is doing... the local store’s shelves are now overflowing with his eggs, yet people are still buying from me and the other smaller scale chicken keepers? I suppose it will be a few more years before I have to seriously look at that question. From a small farmer perspective on it.

 

[Shadrach]

She is just beautiful.

Do you keep charts of the family trees or do you keep it all in your head?

I do keep records but I do have most of it in my head.

 

[BY Bob]

Absolutely. I don't beieve Patsy laid an egg all year this year. Mine are not egg machines they are living beings that are my responsibility. I complain that they don't lay eggs for fun. I guess the best example is that I don't kill my cats because they don't lay eggs, why would I kill my hen because she doesn't. They are little fluffs of joy and i am always happier after spending time with them.

We did not get chickens for eggs. Period. The eggs are an excellent bonus but we would have the flock anyway and plan on keeping them until the end of their natural lives.

@Shadrach I have been thinking more about this. I was imagining how we might treat chickens differently as a society if they did not lay eggs for human consumption. Of course we would still have meat birds. Excluding them, would society still consider chickens stupid animals unworthy of our compassion or would they be house pets? Would we actually understand them more and have more respect for them or would they be more like pigeons to us (no offense @biophiliac )? Really big annoying pigeons.

I have not come to an answer but I will say this. It is a certainty that the fact chickens lay eggs for human consumption has led to deplorable conditions and the worst possible life for billions of intelligent, feeling animals and is a stain on the human race.

 

[Shadrach]

@Shadrach I have been thinking more about this. I was imagining how we might treat chickens differently as a society if they did not lay eggs for human consumption. Of course we would still have meat birds. Excluding them, would society still consider chickens stupid animals unworthy of our compassion or would they be house pets? Would we actually understand them more and have more respect for them or would they be more like pigeons to us (no offense @biophiliac )? Really big annoying pigeons.

I have not come to an answer but I will say this. It is a certainty that the fact chickens lay eggs for human consumption has led to deplorable conditions and the worst possible life for billions of intelligent, feeling animals and is a stain on the human race.

I've got a lot to say on the subject but I would probably be banned from BYC.

 

[biophiliac]

understand them more and have more respect for them or would they be more like pigeons to us (no offense @biophiliac )? Really big annoying pigeons

Happy Solstice to y'all anyway!.

 

[BlueBaby]

@Shadrach I have been thinking more about this. I was imagining how we might treat chickens differently as a society if they did not lay eggs for human consumption. Of course we would still have meat birds. Excluding them, would society still consider chickens stupid animals unworthy of our compassion or would they be house pets? Would we actually understand them more and have more respect for them or would they be more like pigeons to us (no offense @biophiliac )? Really big annoying pigeons.

I have not come to an answer but I will say this. It is a certainty that the fact chickens lay eggs for human consumption has led to deplorable conditions and the worst possible life for billions of intelligent, feeling animals and is a stain on the human race.

I don't know, but as a house pet the feather's would be easier to see and pick up off of the carpet than dog or cat hair, I suppose. They do make those chicken diaper's.

 

[BY Bob]

I've got a lot to say on the subject but I would probably be banned from BYC.

I am guessing we are of like mind.