Just Curious about "hobby people" vs raisers...

[OhZark Biddies]

It’s an interesting topic....I’m sure everyone’s approach varies, as it should... you can keep your chickens for cuddles or vittles... it makes me no nevermind either way...

I think the ONLY mistake I see is that a lot of people make their own problems...

...some of that is just part of the learning process, some of it is just folks not realizing that there are best practices that they must follow for their particular setup, and that they can’t just do what they saw on Pinterest or on ‘The bedazzled chicken’ blog, etc.... or that Chickenwizard99 on BYC said to do...

The approach must fit the setup and goals... sometimes the goals and setup are at odds, and this seems to be where folks make their own problems.

My approach, which is subject to change, goes kind of like this:

• I’ve never named my chickens... I have no problem with the practice, and I have named other people’s chickens...
• Our chickens are for eggs, meat, and entertainment ... oh and compost
• Roosters are temporary... all roosters are destined for the stew pot, unless friends or family want one
• Hens are temporary too... I currently have one hen who is a bit of a pet... we’ll see how her charm holds up over time, lol
• I’ve never given a chicken medicine, etc. ... if they’re sick they get isolated and either get better or they don’t ( I’m aware I’ve just jinxed all of them by saying that)
• My goal is to have a fit flock, so I select for that and remove weak or sickly and aging birds before problems develop
• The plan is to keep birds no longer than 3 years, most just two years, and to replace with new birds on a somewhat continual basis
• Keeping a young healthy flock is the “farm sensibility” that I was raised with, the idea being to avoid health issues that come with aging
• We currently have a breed that lacks common chicken sense... so they stay in a protected covered run, otherwise they’d surely attempt to make small talk with the local chicken eating critters
• Keeping the run dry and clean is a goal to avoid a lot of pest and disease issues
• The coop and run are designed for minimal chores... if I wanted more chores I’d get cattle
• Keeping fewer birds, keeps them healthy and content in the available space... so no chicken math practiced here
• We prefer not to have a dog, as we enjoy the yard deer and other wildlife ... so no four legged chicken guardian
• I don’t care for the look or price of hardware cloth... and my area’s lack of weasels/minks/rats allows for that... snakes I deal with
• As part of a larger management effort I remove and relocate predators on my property as I see fit...I don’t factor in what’s popular or what others think I should do...
• To that point nest robbers (raccoons, possums, armadillos, etc) are trapped and managed to help wild ground nesting birds such as quail, turkey, and even whippoorwills... as well as reducing their numbers around the coop
• Foxes haven’t been an issue, and I don’t target them
• I would be surprised if I ever had a coyote try to get in the coop, but I do remove a number of them in favor of more fawns surviving, so their numbers are kept in check
• No chicken harness or leashes here, but if I ever decide to be in the local parade... I might look into it, lol
• Surprisingly we do have a bit of ‘coop art’ up on the walls ... otherwise it’s a pretty pragmatic endeavor, but it is just a hobby

 

[BantyChooks]

My dad always told me if you can count how many you have the deaths will effect you, but if you have too many to count(name,) you become more numb to it. I feel like that’s the truest for hobby vs raisers.

I agree with this. Not being able to count my birds was about the time when I started thinking I could handle processing them myself. I name a lot of my birds, but giving them a name doesn't really make them more special to me. I eat them either way.

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I have a few pets. My ducks are not for meat, and neither are my bantams though if I had extras I'd put a few in the crock pot. The LF are for production. I raise birds as a hobby, but that hobby for me involves raising birds I don't want to breed until they're eating size and then eating them. I am not financially dependent on them and don't harbour any delusions about being "self sufficient". If doomsday hit, I'd be screwed as soon as the feed store ran out of layer pellets. (Winters are long here.) I have a flock of about 40--50 birds of a few different species. I'd say I probably sit on the edge of the two parties you're describing.

I don't roll my eyes when I see those kinds of posts. If anyone does, they should be sat down and given a lesson on empathy. Ridiculing others for caring about another life seems pointless. They're not ragging on anyone else. I will absolutely roll my eyes if someone tries to shame me for eating chicken, though. Some seem to think that by not doing the deed themselves, they render the bird immortal.

 

[Stick Chicken]

I personally am not extremely attached to many of my birds. There have been a couple of special ones in the past, and I would be devastated if anything ever happened to my geese, but I won't get terribly upset. If a wild animal takes some, I will probably do anything to take care of it. Perhaps this seems silly and vengeful, but I do care about my birds even if I could live without them. Last year, a fox took two of my ducks, but left half a duck remaining. In response, we set up a leg trap for when the fox came back and shot it. I've actually had several problems with foxes and promptly take care of them so that the chickens can free-range.
Part of the reason I'm not attached is likely that I don't name my chickens. I used to do this, but mostly have stopped. Though, honestly, I'm not necessarily attached to my one hen who is the only chicken with a name. (I like her, don't get me wrong, but if she became really mean or something happened, I wouldn't feel like the world is ending).
I don't eat any of my chickens and never will unless I raise meat birds for that explicit purpose. Chicken is too cheap to simply buy rather than go through the butchering process to harvest a little bit of meat. My birds are not real meaty so there would be no point, especially since I mainly have bantams that have a lot of feathers and not much else.
My birds are for eggs, showing, and enjoyment. I love to look at my cochins and compare them to the standard. They are not making me any money, but I don't care. People should be willing to keep their birds for a reason other than money, which I think is actually the trend here, but figured I'd mention it anyways.
Deaths in my chickens still bother me sometimes, but other times I'm glad, such as when I have a chick hatch that has some physical disability. I know it's going to die, but I don't have the stomach to euthanize it. I really get upset when one dies when it is useful for a breeding project that I am doing.
As for rolling my eyes, I would never do that because a life is a life no matter what of. It is cruel to show no compassion when someone else is hurting. You don't even have to feel bad about the death, but you should feel bad for the person's feelings. (Personally I care more about the animal's death, but I know others may be more people-people: that sounds weird but I think you can understand).
I hope I hit most of the topics that were brought up(I'll probably think of something later to add, but this is what I have for now)

 

[BantyChooks]

Perhaps this seems silly and vengeful, but I do care about my birds even if I could live without them.

Same here. I dispatched a mink once with a shovel after it killed my ducks. I wasn't sorry. I'm still not.

 

[TeenageRooster's Dad]

Hey did you ever decide on the place to pack up and move to?

deb

LOL, not yet, glad you remember Deb... still on the fence. Life was so simpler 10 years ago; now it's about finding the perfect intersection of "good schools"+"what the wife wants/think she wants"+my sanity...

But I gotta say you make Cal border sounds fun and exciting... .. seriously, if we could find a place in Campo surrounding little over an hour from SAN... that might be a good deal for us.

I like the desert

 

[TeenageRooster's Dad]

Thanks, @OhZark Biddies , @BantyChooks , @Stick Chicken ... I agree. Greats posts.

I think it's a learning process and the amount varies depending where you started from; Outcome must be that you get much more practical as things evolve or you fail in some way and the flock suffers. I don't think there's any way around it, not sustainable.

Ironic that some hobbyist like me have to go through a learning process of something we've been mastering for thousands of years .

For example, I did go a little overboard with hatching this year, threw my hens/roos ratio off and will have to deal with it sooner than later. That's just the way it is and the right thing to do.

 

[sdm111]

it's a chicken

 

[TeenageRooster's Dad]

it's a chicken

LOL yes... and they're delicious but also kinda funny to raise and watch...

I get it ...

 

[oldrooster]

I know someone who raises chickens for SOP and takes them to chicken shows, and breeds them he sells the offspring for $$$ because of it, so his is all "pets" work for him. He cleans his incubators 2x a year and forces a molt at the same time so he kills 2 birds at the same time figuratively speaking that is. and he says that during the time period between the last batch in the 'bator and the start of the molt he eats really expensive eggs (because of the money he isn't getting from the birds he hatches). so you may consider that, and there is no reason not to have separate flock(s) for meat and or eggs...