I ask this question because in my haste to help my sick baby chick I contacted a web site. I am not going to say which.
The girl who answered me was pretty insistent that I was doing the wrong thing breeding chicks. Her opinion was that there were so many chickens needing homes that I should be offering up homes for them. Not breeding my own flock!
As this is my first year breeding my own chicks I was as you can imagine a little taken a back and had to think carefully Am I a responsible chicken owner? Am I doing the right thing? My 6 beautiful chicks are now between 3 and 4 weeks old. I love each one of them dearly. I had 6 laying Hens given to me as a gift last year during a harrowing cancer scare so my girls are very precious to me. I lost 2 hens during the year and a neighbour kindly offered me his rooster so that I could breed from the remaining hens and replace the girls I lost through my own lovely hens.
Yeah sure I thought about rescue hens. But I also thought about introducing hens that could be diseased, weak, at the end of their laying, or aggressive due to their past living environment. Then I thought about my own girls and I was worried for them. So I decided to breed my own. Am I doing the right thing?????
Sam the Rooster did his thing and is now back home with his family! Now I have 6 live chicks ( Not sure if any are roos? ) If so I am not able to keep them as next door are not happy with the noise, even though we back onto a very loud farmyard! So they will be up for re-homing and if I cant get them homed sadly they will be used for meat. I will of course be upset but that is farming isnt it????
So am I the bad owner this woman thinks I am???????? Am I irresponsible????
I mean I am not breeding puppies. These are farm animals. So why does she get me asking myself these questions????? I call all my girls names and I bring them in each night and stroke each one before bedtime and then I cry buckets when one dies! But they are farm animals not pets right????? So I dont jump down the Vet every time one has an issue I mean if a chicken farmer did that they would be bankrupt! A chicken is a chicken I remind myself when I pass by the meat counter. So is it irresponsible to breed my own chickens??????? Am I doing the right thing or am I the cruella of the chicken world?????????????
The girl who answered me was pretty insistent that I was doing the wrong thing breeding chicks. Her opinion was that there were so many chickens needing homes that I should be offering up homes for them. Not breeding my own flock!
As this is my first year breeding my own chicks I was as you can imagine a little taken a back and had to think carefully Am I a responsible chicken owner? Am I doing the right thing? My 6 beautiful chicks are now between 3 and 4 weeks old. I love each one of them dearly. I had 6 laying Hens given to me as a gift last year during a harrowing cancer scare so my girls are very precious to me. I lost 2 hens during the year and a neighbour kindly offered me his rooster so that I could breed from the remaining hens and replace the girls I lost through my own lovely hens.
Yeah sure I thought about rescue hens. But I also thought about introducing hens that could be diseased, weak, at the end of their laying, or aggressive due to their past living environment. Then I thought about my own girls and I was worried for them. So I decided to breed my own. Am I doing the right thing?????
Sam the Rooster did his thing and is now back home with his family! Now I have 6 live chicks ( Not sure if any are roos? ) If so I am not able to keep them as next door are not happy with the noise, even though we back onto a very loud farmyard! So they will be up for re-homing and if I cant get them homed sadly they will be used for meat. I will of course be upset but that is farming isnt it????
So am I the bad owner this woman thinks I am???????? Am I irresponsible????
I mean I am not breeding puppies. These are farm animals. So why does she get me asking myself these questions????? I call all my girls names and I bring them in each night and stroke each one before bedtime and then I cry buckets when one dies! But they are farm animals not pets right????? So I dont jump down the Vet every time one has an issue I mean if a chicken farmer did that they would be bankrupt! A chicken is a chicken I remind myself when I pass by the meat counter. So is it irresponsible to breed my own chickens??????? Am I doing the right thing or am I the cruella of the chicken world?????????????
