Lending Chickens

[Isabella6Storm4]

My Grandfather wants silver laced wyandottes in his flock and came over today to ask if i would lend him my two SLW hens for a week or two. They would be in a separate cage thing.
My question is, what should i be concerned about if anything. My hens are on a layers feed and his only get corn. His are also pretty sickly so im worried about cross-contamination with sicknesess.
Another thing is, if i give them to him, should i also give him at least 2 leghorns for company and that way he can tell the difference between the eggs? I've never done this before so i have no clue what this intales or if it should even be done. He just want SLW eggs for incubation.

 

[Isadora]

If he just wants the eggs, why don't you separate out your 2 girls and provide him with the eggs after a 10 day span or however long you want to collect for?
It doesn't sound like his conditions are as good as yours. I would be hesitant to send my hens over to him

 

[SourRoses]

I don't know what anyone has said to you IRL, but you should know that no one in life should make you feel that you can't say no when something is not in your best interest. And agonizing over the fate of your animals is no small or pleasant thing. Been there.
Treat this as practice standing up to people. Because there will be more like him. And if it's getting too hard, recruit someone to help you.

 

[Jenbirdee]

My Grandfather wants silver laced wyandottes in his flock and came over today to ask if i would lend him my two SLW hens for a week or two. They would be in a separate cage thing.
My question is, what should i be concerned about if anything. My hens are on a layers feed and his only get corn. His are also pretty sickly so im worried about cross-contamination with sicknesess.
Another thing is, if i give them to him, should i also give him at least 2 leghorns for company and that way he can tell the difference between the eggs? I've never done this before so i have no clue what this intales or if it should even be done. He just want SLW eggs for incubation.

That stinks you are between a rock and a hard place. I would not do it but offer to just give the eggs. Hope he doesn’t get upset

 

[JacinLarkwell]

feel that refusing the hens is already a lot.

It's really not. Tell him plain and simple that you're only thinking about your flock and that you don't want to risk them getting sick from something his birds might be hiding that they tolerate better than yours would

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

he doesnt know a lot about chickens other than they are birds and they lay eggs. I'll figure more out later with him next time he comes over.

I see why its tricky. You want to respect your elder but you know what he’s demanding isn’t the correct thing.

I think you can both be respectful and stand your ground and not sacrifice one for the other.

If his chickens are sickly, yours need to stay away as a top priority.

i separated my three SLW hens and the rooster just now. I think what i'll do is he can stop by and pick up eggs if he wants them.

Sounds like you got the right plan. If he gets pushy about having the hens I don’t think its disrespectful to tell him that you don’t want to risk different populations of chickens mixing and spreading diseases, and that you need to carefully control the breeding to ensure he gets the pure SLW he wants.

 

[Brooks_]

My Grandfather wants silver laced wyandottes in his flock and came over today to ask if i would lend him my two SLW hens for a week or two

It sounds like he wants to steal your hens. Sorry to say.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Giving eggs is no different than what he wants if he just want eggs, and is far safer for your birds. If birds show they're sick, they're pretty sick usually and corn is absolutely not anywhere close to a good diet. Personally I wouldn't give eggs either, but that's just me

 

[Yardmom]

I'm confused at why the idea of lending him your birds came up if what he wants are eggs? If he wants pure SLW eggs and your willing to give them to him then the plans need to be about how you set up to keep the girls with the correct rooster for a few weeks, and then after that collect the eggs for him.

 

[Isabella6Storm4]

i separated my three SLW hens and the rooster just now. I think what i'll do is he can stop by and pick up eggs if he wants them.