Talking someone out of getting chickens

[mango-o]

What should I say to someone who wants chickens but has a poor track record with animal care, and I want them to seriously rethink or even discourage them? This person is a friend but not a close friend.

 

[SkyAJK]

Tell them the true facts of having chickens....

1.Cost more to raise chickens than buy eggs at the supermarket
2.Cost of building/buying chicken housing
3.Cost of buying feed - chickens need good food to give good eggs that human eats so they eat good, human eat good healthy egg
4.Check chicken housing, cleaning
5.Health check and treatment - very time consuming and costly to buy health product to treat lice mites/worms/bumble feet.etc..
5.Summer and winter extreme weather care
6.NO eggs in the winter/cold weather or too hot weather
7.NO eggs when chickens stress out
8.NO eggs due to ill health
9.Poops everywhere and flies are every where in summer hot weather
10. Rats/mice come to eat chicken feed and snakes come to eat rats/mice
11.Heritage chickens don't lay many eggs, they go broody NO egg
12.Production chickens lay egg every day and they get really sick and die about 1.5 - 2 year of age.

Work out the math and it is super cheap to buy eggs than raise chickens for egg!!!

Those are just a few. When people ask me about chickens, I told them the hard cold fact above and more, and also that I did not know this before I have chickens, now I know, but it is too late.

 

[NatJ]

What should I say to someone who wants chickens but has a poor track record with animal care, and I want them to seriously rethink or even discourage them? This person is a friend but not a close friend.

Depending on how often you see them-- you could grumble each time about a different inconvenience. (As compared with a long list of arguments at one time, or maybe in addition to it.)

"I'm so tired of shoveling snow to get to the coop to take care of the chickens."
"It's a pain to keep hauling water in hot weather."
"I'm always having to buy more feed!"
"Every time I turn around, the chickens need something ELSE! Feed, oyster shell, grit, bedding, gotta buy Corid in case they get coccidiosis..."
"You never get a day off. Doesn't matter if you're sick or tired, those chickens have to be tended, day in and day out..."
"You think it's hard to find a dog-sitter? Just try getting someone to take care of chickens!"

And if the person thinks they'll just skip things to make it easy, of course you can point out that chickens die so easily if you don't take good care of them. And dead chickens do not give any eggs or companionship or any of the other benefits they want from chickens. Plus you have to get rid of the body before it rots.

Oh, and:
"I saw fox tracks in the snow around the chicken coop. Need to go double-check for any weak areas, because it's awful to find the chickens killed and have to clean up the blood mess afterward!"

 

[Callender Girl]

Well said, both of you!!

And, yet, some of us STILL have chickens.

 

[Bsmac]

Well said, both of you!!

And, yet, some of us STILL have chickens.

Once they steal your heart it`s over lol!

 

[Sinadrea]

What should I say to someone who wants chickens but has a poor track record with animal care, and I want them to seriously rethink or even discourage them? This person is a friend but not a close friend.

If they really want to do it, I don't think there's much you can say. If you're concerned, just warn they're harder to take care of than they look.

Maybe tell them to start small. I have a bad track record with fish, and it took me 10 years to get better at it!

They'll need to sacrifice extra time and put aside money for care and emergencies like sickness and predator proofing.

The worst thing for me is cost for projects and upkeep. Currently in winter I am fighting the mites, fighting frostbite on these extreme days, and pasty butt. I also am buying feed and bedding twice a month, which can get costly.

We also have a fenced in yard but haven't been able to finish our run yet, and even this had cost us around $1000. The main problem for me is I also have a toddler and my husband works a lot.

Lastly, the worst thing I can feel is heartbreak for feeling I'm not doing a good enough job when a chicken dies due to something I do wrong.

 

[BDutch]

10. Rats/mice come to eat chicken feed and snakes come to eat rats/mice

You named too many things (at once) to consider imho. Even though many are somewhat true.
A big chance for a rat or mice infestation probably will do for most people to discourage them.

 

[Sinadrea]

Tell them the true facts of having chickens....

1.Cost more to raise chickens than buy eggs at the supermarket
2.Cost of building/buying chicken housing
3.Cost of buying feed - chickens need good food to give good eggs that human eats so they eat good, human eat good healthy egg
4.Check chicken housing, cleaning
5.Health check and treatment - very time consuming and costly to buy health product to treat lice mites/worms/bumble feet.etc..
5.Summer and winter extreme weather care
6.NO eggs in the winter/cold weather or too hot weather
7.NO eggs when chickens stress out
8.NO eggs due to ill health
9.Poops everywhere and flies are every where in summer hot weather
10. Rats/mice come to eat chicken feed and snakes come to eat rats/mice
11.Heritage chickens don't lay many eggs, they go broody NO egg
12.Production chickens lay egg every day and they get really sick and die about 1.5 - 2 year of age.

Work out the math and it is super cheap to buy eggs than raise chickens for egg!!!

Those are just a few. When people ask me about chickens, I told them the hard cold fact above and more, and also that I did not know this before I have chickens, now I know, but it is too late.

I think you've covered everything, they should make pamphlet disclaimers at chick vendors and website with this list! However, now I see another side to Big Chicken being revealed!

 

[Shadrach]

What should I say to someone who wants chickens but has a poor track record with animal care, and I want them to seriously rethink or even discourage them?

I had a few comments about my chicken keeping practices when I first joined BYC; it was suggested that I wasn't responsible enough to keep chickens, mainly because I let them free range and initially the death rate due to predation was very high.
My view on how chickens should be kept was and still is different from the majority of backyard keepers.
One needs to be careful when applying ones own standards to others.
Rather than discourage this person from keeping chickens a better way forward might be to try and teach this person what the basic needs of a chicken are and help them achieve such standards.

 

[Sinadrea]

You named too many things (at once) to consider imho. Even though many are somewhat true.
A big chance for a rat or mice infestation probably will do for most people to discourage them.

I have had to rehome 2 rats due to them messing up my coops. And yes, now have 2 mouse traps next to the foods in the shed. I have seen my chicken chase, kill, and eat a mouse, which surprised me!