I got rescue hens today

[dancingbear]

I don't take rescue farm animals, because I can't afford to keep chickens, goats, cows, etc., as pets, for their whole lives, and never eat them. Not a lot of people can. Those critters are expensive to feed and care for, even when you do eventually get meat, eggs, milk, or other products from them.

If nobody raised any animals for meat, many breeds would become extinct. Many have anyway, because there are fewer small family farms and homesteads. Commercial operations seldom raise heritage breeds. Those heritage breeds are a vital part of biodiversity, when we loose breeds, we loose genes that could be important later, for disease resistance, or any number of things. Once those animals are gone, they aren't coming back.

Smallholders who maintain flocks or herds of heritage breed animals, usually at least partly for meat, are providing a genetic reservoir for the future. If those folks all became vegetarians, those breeds would mostly die out.

My birds free range, and have good lives right up until the last day. I seldom eat hens, but extra roos go to the freezer, unless somebody happens along who wants to buy one. I have sold several roos, and a few hens.

I see photos battery hens, and feel sad that any animals are kept in those conditions, and I'm glad some do get to spend the last part of their lives in better conditions. But Seriousbill and others are right as long as the industry is supported, it'll continue.

We can only do our own part by raising our own birds, collecting our own eggs and not buying battery eggs. And remember, every dozen eggs you sell reduces demand for battery eggs.

 

[greyhorsewoman]

Twenty-five years ago, that is how I got to keep chickens. In the spring, we got a couple of dozen hens from the local Mennonite battery farm for $1.00 a piece (which was more than he was getting from the processors that picked up his 'spent' hens). It didn't take the hens long to regroup and they gave me about an egg every other day throughout the summer. These were red sexlink hens and they laid beautiful tasty brown eggs.

We weren't equipped to deal with the chickens through winter, so we had them professionally processed before the weather turned bad. I will say that they were 'tough' and mostly I made soup & dog food out of the them. It may have had to do with their living such a stressed life during their first year.

We didn't consider it 'rescuing' back then, just a smart way to have an instant flock of laying hens at a cheap price. I didn't like the taste of 'storebought' eggs back then anymore than I do now. It was nice, however, to see the hens enjoy their summer.

I agree with some of the other posters, support your local small egg producer whenever possible. If you can't produce enough eggs or have enough for friends & family, suggest where they CAN by free-ranged chicken eggs. We've set up our small family farm where we can produce more than we need, so others can have that option.

 

[Jena]

Congratulations on doing this marellous thing.

My son rescued some hens a number of years ago and they were lovely and laid many many great eggs for him, and had a good life for many years.

I am hoping to do the same here in the spring, keeping my eye out for some soon.

No animal, even if there to produce food, deserves this kind of treatment, I would have cried too.

Good foryou and your wonderful girls.

jena.

 

[brandywine]

Quote:
I wondered if I had read this wrong, so I toodled around the Farm Sanctuary website, and shur 'nuff, they will only release animals to people who are "committed to a vegetarian lifestyle" and animal rights (not welfare.)

Which absolutely deters me from supporting their "hard work."

If this was really about taking care of the animals, they would not put a political litmus test on adoptions.

Maybe 3% of Americans are vegetarian.

Of that 3%, I would be willing to bet that a disproportionately large number are nineteen-year-old college girls, high-rise apartment dwellers, itinerant Hare Krishna proselytes, and others who are in no position to care for a farm animal anyway.

But they are committed to eliminating over 97% of the population -- and a presumably even larger proportion of the rural, farm-animal-capable population -- from any eligibility as potential adopters, prior to any consideration of a person or the home he or she can provide on its merits.

This indicates to me that "Farm Sanctuary" is all about some smug Animal Rightists feeling morally pure and much more virtuous than the barbarian hordes, not about finding homes for animals.

 

[seriousbill]

Quote:
Probably right. So, BYC, give yourselves a big ole collective pat on the back

We are OFF the egg grid.

But then, there are the friends and relatives... Oh, and the newbies...