Chickens are not at all fragile. The problem is that for many, the chickens they get are not going to live very long because of how they were bred. A healthy chicken with good genes will live 10 to 12 years.
The three main problems many people on BYC have with chickens are:
1) the chicken isn't an indigenous creature and the regulations and the cost discourage the breeders from improving their stock. This is particularly true of the backyard type breeds now.
2) people buy chickens like they are buying groceries.
3) how people keep their chickens. Chickens are not meant to live in coops, or in flocks, the are not meant to eat a vegetarian diet and they don't fare well in confinement.
Bear in mind that BYC is an American site and a set of attitudes prevails. Step outside BYC and the backyard chicken ideal and things are rather different.