We breed and raise (but don't eat) heritage breed and mix-breed chickens. My parents and grandparents would think we are crazy because their flocks were for eggs and meat. We try to provide our chickens a healthy, happy life. We do feed them, and make sure they have fresh water twice a day. and they also forage our acreage. As part of our animal family, they are held and petted and spoiled rotten. They also bring color and beauty into our world.... and lots of beautiful eggs.
I think one of the reasons it seems there are so many people that need help is because more people are purchasing chickens as pets. Chickens are the darling of the celebrity world and get a great deal of press, it seems to me. Back in the day, the only place you saw something about chickens outside of the farm publications was in Mother Earth News or Country Living Encyclopedia. And you had to LOOK for those.
Also, I think more people are trying to get "back to the land" to be more self-sufficient and less reliant on outside food sources. And chickens are an inexpensive way to start that journey.
I can't remember my parents or grandparents ever talking about chicken diseases or spending more than 5 minutes contemplating what to do about a bird that wasn't acting normally. That was why you had a chopping block.
They didn't drool over hatchery catalogues all winter long and they didn't ship birds all over the country. They didn't look for exotic birds from all over. Their first chicks (and ducklings) were purchased locally from another farm and they hatched enough eggs to keep the flocks going. The birds were bred to be cold-hardy and healthy and weren't reliant on medications or fancy diets. During the depression, I'm told, my grandmothers' flocks cleaned up the gardens and orchards and foraged in the pastures. And when the hens stopped laying, the dinner table was laid with paprikash or goulash at one house, and chicken and noodles or biscuits at the other.
I spent 10 years reading and talking to family about raising chickens, the last 2 doing actual research, before we even got our first flock. We don't use antibiotics and try to take a preventative health/do no harm approach to raising the flock. We made sure the hen house is dry, clean and not drafty. It is predator proof and our Great Pyr is out with the flock as they forage (sunup to sundown). We have lost a few from our flock; one bad heart, one rat bite, one impacted crop, two accidents. But we have been very blessed with healthy birds.
While my grandmothers gathered eggs twice a day, they rarely spent much time just hanging with the flocks. In our day where leisure time is not an oddity, we spend time with our birds. They sit on the front porch (and sometimes the swing) with us while we drink the first cuppa and greet the day. They "help" us garden and do barn chores. They amuse us with their antics and varied personalities.
It is important, I think, to determine how you want to raise your flock and realize that not everyone does it the same way. Something that works for me might not work for some one else in another part of the world. We keep a flock journal, which is very helpful when one of the flock is looking a bit punk. I'm glad the BYC is here. It is a great learning resource. And it's nice to know that others are just as crazy about their flock as we are about ours.
