Why are chickens such a big deal?

[SaltLakeSpice]

SilverPhoenix said it, bad poultry management. Chickens can be smelly and can be loud and can be a nuisance, if they're not well looked after. And unfortunately there is a long history of chicken owners either letting their flock run wild and unchecked (now we'd call it "free range" and charge twice as much for eggs : ) ) or jam a large flock a into a small run with a ramshackle coop and let the poop pile up. These are the practices that have gotten chickens their bad reputation.
Now people are going to be hesitant to allow chickens into their neighborhood since this is what they have seen for so long. It's the ol' "I moved to the city so I wouldn't have to put up with dirty, smelly animals" mentality. It will change slowly but surely once people see enough examples of how it can be different. I'll admit that a clean coop and free eggs sure have swayed some of my more reluctant neighbors : ) Just keep up the good fight so we can convince everyone.

 

[drumstick diva]

After I met my friends two house silkies, I was crazy about them. For the life of me I don't understand why people can have parrots, cockatoo's, mynahs, roaming their house, pooping all over, biting, acting out etc. I'm told you have to consider a parrot as a two year old child that never grows up. House chickens don't have that attitude, and their price is within anyone's means. When I pass one neighbors house his exotic bird is screeching so loud, I can't believe the owners could put up with that. Rather have the chickens. I think it's the attitude - ya know city slickers especially connect, cows, goats, chickens, pigs etc. - with mud, smells, noise etc.,with farm animals. They've never been on a well run farm, or come any closer to 'farms' than a "farmers market." Our zoo has chickens like they are some ferocious, wild animal. Good grief.

 

[Dust Bunny]

Quote:

does she the think the grocery store layes them?

 

[Tala]

Around here, people equate all chickens with those stinky overcrowded-with-CornishX TYSON chicken houses. OMG they stink to high heaven and that's what everybody knows about chickens.
If it's a chicken, it stinks. That's all they know.

I say I have chickens and get the wrinkled nose, "eeew stinky, why would you want that?" reaction a lot.

Nobody stops to realize that 5 chickens in a back yard is not going to smell ANYTHING remotely like 1500 jam-packed meaties

 

[rottdog]

BECAUSE THEY TASTE LIKE CHICKEN....

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[AZKat]

I think it also has to do with people moving into town and wanting to get away from 'country' living, no matter how small the town they moved to was-the town my aunt lives in, in southern Illinois, has a chicken ban, for example. And when they drafted the ordinance, the idea of keeping a small flock of layers was not what they were thinking of-they were thinking of their childhoods or of what people did in the country, where people raised large numbers of birds.

 

[anniem]

I'd say it's just the connotation of chickens being livestock only. I doubt it's a very thought out thing just that "if they have whole farms of the animal then it should only be on a farm" kind of idea.

 

[Backyard_Chicken_rancher]

A few of my none chicken owning friends told me they carry bugs I said no no you have it all wrong they eat bugs they said well what about the Bird flu they werent involed in that

I said do you eat eggs I get yes from almost all of them I said ok do you buy the eggs froma farm or a store I got well duhhhhhhhh a store. SO then I asked what is the diff. I got well the store bought one aren't from a chicken's a** I

till I cried I said oh really where do they come from then they said they are mass produced in a factory of some type kind of like cloneing so I had to

and explain to them where all eggs come from the worst part is these are grown friends. Any ways long story short they gave me 10 reasons why they won't own chickens and how nasty they are. A chicken will eat it's own poop I said I don't think so I have seen mine peck at it and then spit it out as to say whaooooo that is so not food.....stereo typeing at it's finest Dang city folk they just don't understand and think that the chicken is so nasty and they couldn't be more wrong.

 

[Tala]

Quote:
I think they are confusing chickens with DOGS

Everybody thinks dogs are good pets, but they eat their own poop, dig diapers and tampons out of the trash, roll in week-old dead stuff . . . should I go on???

 

[Laurieks]

My dog LOVES chicken poop, and will clean the sidewalk for me. (he is not allowed to lick my face any more!) I have NEVER seen a chicken eat anyone's' poo.

My neighbor had cockatiels that woke me up all the time when I worked graveyard shift (I quit saying 'nights' even tho it was a hospital, when too many peeps thought 'nights' meant 4-8pm

)
Now she has a pack of yappy dogs that drive us nuts, but they do keep TP'ers and possibly skunks etc. away from our end of the street.

Our zoning says I can keep pigs.... now I know they can smell, but do they all?