rude comments! how to respond?

[ChickieDee]

I haven't had any rude comments for keeping chickens,but when I tell my friends and family about BYC and how much time I spend here they think I'm losing it, weird, or just plain nutty. I think this site is so great, try to share my excitment with friends and I get the rolling eyes and giggles. I wonder what they say when I'm not around. The better question is why do I care!

 

[mom'sfolly]

I confess that I don't mind being considered the "wierd chicken lady". I've had both the rude remarks and the positive. One neighbor asked if they would smell, I said I'd keep things clean and it wouldn't be a problem. Two of the better responses were laughter from one friend who said her retirement goal was to be a chicken farmer and another from the principal at my son's school who asked if she could borrow the girls for a week or so for educational purposes. Our school has a wonderful courtyard area that was dead space and has been transformed into a wildflower and vegetable garden. The principal wants kids to understand where food comes from. My advice is remember the good comments, laugh or swear at the bad and rejoice in being the strage neighbor with the chickens.

Karen

 

[chickbea]

Children are nasty and smell bad and tear up the yard, but people don't respond that way when a woman announces she is pregnant!

 

[joanm]

Thank you very much chickbea! Not that I have anything aganist children, I just wanted puppies and kittens and chicks and... you get the idea! Anyway, thanks for all the comments. I don't feel so weird now. If I wanted a water buffalo in my back yard it's not anyone's business but mine. Well, maybe the parish officials might have something to say!

 

[WoodlandWoman]

I have really enjoyed reading all the responses in this thread! I don't think I've laughed this hard in quite awhile!

In general, I've found that rude and mean-spirited people are just going to be that way, no matter what you say. I try to stay away from people like that, as much as I can and leave them to their own unhappy lives.

Everyone here already knows this, but disparaging remarks about chickens, like disparaging remarks about dogs, usually stem from a bad owner. All dogs are not vicious, all dogs do not bark all day and night, all dogs do not run loose causing trouble.

If a coop stinks, then the owner is doing something wrong. It needs to be cleaned or more litter/carbon added to a deep litter system, which is managed a bit like a cooler compost pile. If a rooster is mean enough to be attacking people who are doing nothing to provoke him, he needs to be confined, not running loose. (I realize that unless he's part of a breeding program, he is sometimes confined to a stew pot.) As for tearing up the yard, well, they are chickens! People don't expect to have goats or horses or sheep without needing to use some fencing, why would chickens be any different? They eat a lot of the same things, whether they are supposed to, or not.

 

[SpottedCrow]

Not much of a difference between chickens and dogs except chickens don't lick their butts...

Bathe
Put on leashes
Ride in cars
Like to sit on your lap
Beg for food
Get treats and toys
Give eggs...lets see a dog do that. LOL

 

[Southern28Chick]

I got the same response from everyone I told. I get a lot of "They carry disease" and "your whole house/yard is going to stink". I just laugh it off. Now everyone's like "Can I come see your babies" and "we're going to get some eggs right". It's funny.

 

[herechickchick]

You could always say: Chickens are awesome thats why I have them and for your information Madonna thinks chickens are cool too!

(Yes that is really her!)

 

[Cheri]

My neighbor (and mind you I live in the country) said You and your animals why must you get so many? I told her that I was paying for them and their food not her. I also told her well gee and here I was going to share with you. Oh well.

 

[V Chic Chick]

Quote:
Jeremy Clarkson and Paul O'Grady have 'em too