How about you just leaving your chickens alone?

[BBQJOE]

It seems to me that a lot of people here every day are chasing their chickens around, trying to diagnose one thing or another. Some folks are trying to feed them this and that hoping for some kind of result.
They worry about each feather and they way the bird walks or acts.
They are all worried about their poop and runny little noses.

There's death in numbers. Sometimes chickens up and die for any number of reasons, or even for no apparent reason at all . Bury them, throw them away, and quit fretting about it, it happens.

Most of you aren't aviary vets, and most folks here aren't either.

I leave my birds free to be birds. I don't chase them around trying to pick each one up for inspection all the time. I feed them, water them, and am grateful for every egg they give me. If they're off by a few one day, they'll make it up in a day or two, or maybe a few. I don't run to adjust their diet, or try to find a medicine to cure something they don't have.
Birds aren't perfect. You get the sniffles, I get the sniffles, they also get the sniffles. No reason to run to the vet and spend your hard earned cash. Leave them alone.

Throw them a treat every now and then, or make them a toy. They'll keep busy being chickens, and doing what chickens do. They don't need a darned Mariachi band to keep them entertained. And they certainly don't need to be handled every day. Do you want to be handled and inspected every day? I'll bet you might quit producing eggs too.

Birds are just like you and me. They naturally want to be well, and will be most times if left alone, unless the whole flock is afflicted with something.

They're food. Not pets. They produce food, and they are food. The sooner this is realized, the less neurotic you will be about your chickens.

Don't be neurotic, and on behalf of the birds, just leave them alone.

 

[varidgerunner]

And you apparently haven't had the same with a dog, especially if you can talk about eating them. I don't eat my chickens nor my dogs, both get to be all they can be.

I have many experiences with many dogs, both good and bad. I have a pretty close relationship with my dogs, and I allow them to do what they were bred to do. I don't make them wear sweaters, or humanize them, nor do I believe in prolonging their lives to protect me from the pain of their passing, at the expense of their suffering.

What animal is food, and what animal is taboo, is largely a product of the culture you were brought up in. The only backwards way of thinking is to think that one animal is edible while another is not. If you don't eat your dogs, or your chickens, that is your prerogative. Just know that there are cultures that don't share your view.

Know also, that there are cultures that have had chickens for a very long time, certain birds are considered very sacred, and are even given funerals. It is hard for us to imagine, but if you experience the type of birds that these people interact with, and the level of interaction, it is easy to see how a chicken might be considered more of a one on one pet and less of a barnyard scavenger left to it's own devices, except when stealing eggs, and harvesting excess cockerels.

There are chickens that crave human attention, that strongly dislike being around other chickens, will interact with it's people, begging for food, tolerating handling, adhering to boundaries, and be quite stunning to look at. If you haven't had any, that is because you have had birds that weren't selected for those traits. Most likely you have only had birds that were selected for eggs and meat, and more recently pretty feathers. Until you have experienced all that a chicken can be, you really aren't an authority on what they can't be. Can they herd sheep or tree bear? No, but they can serve the purpose that most dogs serve for their owners, that of companionship, regardless of their inherited abilities at a specific task that caused them not to be eaten by our ancestors.

Keeping a chicken as a pet is no different than keeping a lab without being a duck hunter, or keeping a border collie with no sheep. Might not be the intent they were bred for, but they serve a purpose to those who feed them.

 

[newhamplover]

I agree with you, except for the pets part. My Grandpa had a magical way with kids & animals, they adored him. In my lifetime with animals, 38 years competing in horses, a few years showing dogs, cattle, I always have & will subscribe to my Grandpa's teaching. On all animals he always said the closer you keep them to mother nature the better off they will be. He said it is fine to use them for the purposes they are bred for but never abuse or overstep that right. Always respect them. They have to be horses, dogs, chickens, first.....as nature intended. My Grandpa was always as concerned with the mental health of an animal as much as the physical because the two go hand & hand. Of course when you are competing with horses there was always that fine line to not cross. I would always stop to think....it has to be a horse first. Over the years I have seen horses that were sound of mind under one owner, go to another, & in a matter of months be a neurotic mess. My whole life my Grandpa had chickens & ducks & like everything else he had they were happy, healthy, free roaming, normal chickens. I thank my Grandpa so much for the love of animals that he instilled in me & all of the love & happiness the animals have given back.

 

[centrarchid]

Why are you guys so soft on the dogs but callous when it comes to the chickens. A lot of people, currently and even more when you take in account history, eat dogs. Standards are a bit double especially when the majority of visitors on this site are taken into consideration.

 

[newhamplover]

I am also very sorry to hear of your loss.

I thought some of you might enjoy some old time photos. The first 2 are of my Grandma & Grandpa with their chickens



. Judging from the size of my Aunts I would say these were made in the late 1930's. I wish there had been a date on them. The other pic is me in front of my Grandpa's chicken house. My mother wanted a girly girl so bad but she got a farm girl. And now the pic of me is NOT from the 1930's <grin>.

 

[centrarchid]

Circa 1913.

 

[aart]

Hear, Hear!!

.......and ROFLMAO @Ridgerunner 's ovation comment!!!

 

[varidgerunner]

I find this thread interesting, considering I have chickens that were bred in places that the chicken was potentially a family member and village treasure, with close human interaction, and the dogs were just animals that scratched around in the scrap pile to be served for dinner as needed. Imagine a chicken at the table, the village champion, being hand fed a tidbit of dog meat.The only difference is culture. I will say that birds from this genetic background certainly act the part, being much more interactive and social than the regular table birds with an often abrasive demeanor.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I find this thread interesting, considering I have chickens that were bred in places that the chicken was potentially a family member and village treasure, with close human interaction, and the dogs were just animals that scratched around in the scrap pile to be served for dinner as needed. Imagine a chicken at the table, the village champion, being hand fed a tidbit of dog meat.The only difference is culture. I will say that birds from this genetic background certainly act the part, being much more interactive and social than the regular table birds with an often abrasive demeanor.

When both are treated and raised kindly, the chicken will always want to be with other chickens, most dogs will choose the company of humans over their own kind. Dogs are the only species that will take a humans advice as far as where something is as well as will ask for help from humans. I love both species but a chicken is going to look after itself, my dogs will look after me.

 

[MeepBeep]

When both are treated and raised kindly, the chicken will always want to be with other chickens, most dogs will choose the company of humans over their own kind. Dogs are the only species that will take a humans advice as far as where something is as well as will ask for help from humans. I love both species but a chicken is going to look after itself, my dogs will look after me.

And although you may consider that a superior 'pet' trait it's not a universally shared opinion...

I owned an exotic wholesale pet business and retail pet store for many years and still dabble in the business, there is no shortage of people that have zero interest in dogs but find many other critters to be the more ideal pet of choice...