What was all the fuss about!!

[easttxchick]

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I agree, a chicken is a chicken is a chicken. Food, water, shelter. Let 'em out in the morning close them up at night. I don't look for hugs and kisses from them, just eggs. Never treated them for depression or ADD. They're a Farm animal not a Canary or Budgie. Keep them as safe as you can from Preds because the Preds are stealing your crop. I believe all the doteing and babying makes for a weaker instinct........Let 'em be chickens and go about their day to day activity and just enjoy the relaxation of just watching them.

And I believe it makes them happier. No worry, there is room for more than one opinion.

 

[Stevo]

I am not sure what catagory I fall under. I have 18 laying hens (just started laying) so I could be farmer. BUT I have bantams also cause they are neat looking little buggers. I do take very good care of my birds. Even to the point of pets at times. The chickens are in my backyard (which consists of 17acres) so I guess I am a hobbyist also. (BYC)

So farmer or hobbyist I am glad I found this site. It has been a plethera of information and helpful people. When animals rely on your care there is never any fuss. Most people just want to do the right thing.

 

[CorporateGranola]

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I agree KentuckyChick.

In my mind it boils down to your capacity to experience empathy for your fellow creatures (not just humans). Modern medicine believes that emotional health and physical health are interconnected in humans, and IMHO - the chickens are no different. A happy (i.e. loved) chicken is a healthy chicken. All other factors being the same (quality of food/air/water), I believe the addition of a loving caretaker would result in happier, healthier chickens. Just my 2 cents.

Peace.

-=CG=-

 

[AinaWGSD]

Personally, I don't really think there's that much "fuss" here at all, whether it's about raising chicks, caring for adult chickens, or treating diseases/parasites. I also don't think that "so many people have had so many problems" either. With over 65,000 board members, you're bound to have a few who have problems of some sort or another regardless of how they are raising their chicks and it's not really surprising that out of that many people there are problems that you and your family have never experienced or heard of in four or five generations of raising them.

For some people, chickens are just as much a pet as a cat or dog (and I'm sure most of the chickens belonging to members of this forum are treated better than many cats and dogs out there). If they have the time, energy, and inclination to dote on them as you would another more mainstream pet, then good for them. It doesn't necessarily mean that they aren't being "allowed" to be chickens, it just means that they have a different method of husbandry. If you don't want to treat them like pets, there's nothing wrong with that either just so long as they are well cared for.