Official BYC Poll: How Do You Keep Your Chickens Happy?

[BDutch]

Do you eat any meat? People are different that is what makes us all unique. I agree that the birds all have individual personalities but I will still eat them. I don't process my birds anymore but do sell some birds. If I want a chicken or any meat I get it from the butcher down the road. I can get more selling the birds which helps off set the cost of the feed but I go through around a half ton of feed a month.

I rarely eat meat. Not 100% vegetarian but almost. When there is some animal substance in the food I can’t see it’s fine. And I do eat fish btw.

We all make different choices in life.

 

[bmurphy349]

I like to see what I buy. If I buy on the internet it’s often not as good as I had hoped for. And sending things back is always a nuisance.
Anyway most of the time, cheap is not the best and less sustainable.

If it wasn’t good, I wouldn’t have mentioned it. I usually buy 2 bags every couple of months for my girls. And they recognize the bag and come running when I head out to the coop. Lol.

 

[Citytransplant]

I had no idea how much they would react to my singing and I have a terrible voice. I give them treats outside so they are distracted while I can clean there poop tray. One day just started signing to myself. Wow! All five of them came in and joined in the singing. We had a wonderful chicken choir going on. Now I sing to them all the time and they sure seem to love it. Their favorite is the scooper, pooper song I made up.

 

[ChassiNoir]

This is mainly about Mulan, since she’s technically the only chicken I really own. The outside chickens are more “rugged” than she is, however I think they call me the “OMGIKNOWSHEHASFOOD” person.

Mulan is spoiled as all get out. She lives in her own personal house in my house that I try to clean every other to every 3 days (full dump and scrape). She fresh water several times per day with her own special food. She has treats all of the time! She used to have a toy she loved to toss around, but it became super gross, so I have to get a new one for her.

Winter time is always different than summer time. Winter time is when Bug (the legless) rooster lives inside where else summer he likes to live in the main coop. In other words, she’s more spoiled in the summer.

She has a certain time she likes to go outside and come back inside during warm weather (she’ll let me know if I forgot). Outside seems more like a really yummy enrichment program than anything.

Now this isn’t to say that the outdoor chickens are neglected. We try to give them the best food possible. Also, there is the compost pile full of fruits and veggies that they like. They always have treats tossed out to them. I’ll have to reseed this year, but I purchased a forage mix just for them.

 

[ChassiNoir]

I do think that humans tend to believe that livestock is dumb in order to make it less difficult and more obvious to eat and enjoy the meat.

I grew up on a commercial farm with pigs. And whenever the grown pigs where loaded in the truck to transport them to the slaughterhouse they really screamed in an awful way. Not the screaming when they are hungry. It went straight into my guts and bones. Therefore I stopped eating pigs and other mammals when I left home.

Since I have my own chickens, I stopped eating chickens too. I feel for them. Not as real pets but they are something more then just livestock to me. Btw I feel sorry for the ex-chickens at the grocery too.

I can understand how that would change everything. I cannot imagine working with any commercial meat processing with a stomach for meat afterwards. You’re also right about livestock being labelled as “dumb” and thus not worth much consideration. Even my house chicken has shown some traits of intelligence that I never expected (of course followed by something that makes me question if she has a brain).

That being said, we purposefully raise chickens for meat and eggs. We try to give them the best possible life that we can. They not just livestock, they’re are living beings. We give our thanks to them for giving their lives for us to live. Of course we have some that we won’t ever eat—they are pets and companions and that’s that.

Unless they are jerks. All bets off.

 

[Liz Birdlover]

I had no idea how much they would react to my singing and I have a terrible voice. I give them treats outside so they are distracted while I can clean there poop tray. One day just started signing to myself. Wow! All five of them came in and joined in the singing. We had a wonderful chicken choir going on. Now I sing to them all the time and they sure seem to love it. Their favorite is the scooper, pooper song I made up.

Chickens & plants thrive on any singing, even off key Lol

 

[MixedFlock23]

everything but free range. they have the fenced in yard and anything else requires a harness and their tags on just in case (ducks not chickens)

I need filled in on this. The only tagging ducks I found when googling was in regards to hunting/keeping tabs on migration.
I’m imagining you walking ducks down the sidewalk and needing to show the animal control office it’s rabies tag after it bites someone. But rabies in primarily a mammal thing, so...

 

[marsmallowthesilkie]

At least everything listed on the poll makes my chickens happy

 

[SueT]

Eliminate overcrowding and thus social tension. I sold 3 older pushy hens at the poultry swap, and the flock is so much happier now. They were being constantly policed by these hens who ganged together to prevent others from eating, roosting, and really, from having a relaxed life.

 

[Liz Birdlover]

I had to move another meeker hen to a different group. Weird how all of a sudden a bunch of hens starts picking on 1, especially when they've been fine together 2-3 yrs. The meek group has a gentle Buff Orp Roo, too, 4 wimpy hens are with him, all doing fine now, 1 Delaware Buff mix, 1 Ameraucana, 2 Buff Orp hens. When they've grown up together as chicks, you'd think they'd be best buds forever. Guess not always.