Help! Speech on backyard chickens :)

[McGoo]

Horsewhisperer,
I think that's the frosting on the cake

Not only are these the most enjoyable pets, but they provide us with the best food source. And their eggs are many times better than those purchased in the grocery store.

Can't get that from a dog or a cat.

 

[Jsto]

Oooh, thanks for the chart, horsewishr. I was looking for something similar and was drawing blanks. That's perfect

I also wanted to add that if you're uncomfortable posting your pics on the forum, feel free to private message them to me. I promise they are only going to be used for my speech and I will probably watermark everything that isn't mine with the name of the owner of the picture.

 

[thndrdancr]

Jsto, Talk about being crazy!
This is one of my fave pics of my pullets, who are now 7 months old, when they were younger.
I still bring them in at night to sleep, and they will still peer in the fridge if I dont keep them corralled.

Jill

 

[dlhunicorn]

Alan Stanford has many stories written by ppl who have their chickens as PETS at his site
BrownEggBlueEgg :
http://www.browneggblueegg.com/Story.html
(Use the drop down MENU on the left to access the stories)
I would particularly recommend :
All I need To Know I learned From My Hen
Bodyguard Bullying Hens (A hilarious thread from the EZBYC group >ya gotta read this> A true life saga about a lady protecting her pet chickens
...and if you want a story about how far someone will go to treat their pet chicken , how about [PENNYS SURGERY (also from a BYC member) whos chicken needed what basically amounted to a hysterectomy (with photos!):
http://www.browneggblueegg.com/Article.html
(you will need to use the MENU link on the left to access the article)

In my opinion the above three just epitomizes that our chickens ARE our PETS!!!

I live in Holland where having a few chickens in your backyard in the middle of the city is quite common... our interests are represented as separate to those of the industry/foodanimal group and the rules that apply to the food animals do not apply to the PET chickens (such as medicines etc.) In the U.S.A for instance where ALL chickens are regulated as "food animals" by the FDA (ridiculous...who the heck is going to eat a Serama? And how about EGGBID and what the eggs sell for>like you are going to eat an egg that you can sell for $30 ) the FDA controls what medicines the birds are "allowed" when they are ill... many (U.S.A.) veterinarians are unsure of the "offlabel" restrictions and exceptions and are really walking the line when they do and therefore this is one of the reasons they are so hesitant to take on treating an ill chicken.... My vet here in Holland did not bat an eye when I walked in and explained I needed a med for my pet chicken!
Here is the link to our Photo contest winners at our Dutch group...
http://www.schutters.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=12070

 

[Jsto]

Ohh, thank you so much for all those links, dlhunicorn! Those are great

 

[pipermark]

Angie n Maine , thats a cute picture.

 

[silkiechicken]

Good luck on your speech!

 

[Grammi]

Jsto, how did your speech go? I am sure you did great.

And with all the wonderful info here, you probably aced it.

 

[chickbea]

Angie and thundrdancr - those pics are too much.