Chickens are work

[Tinkey71]

1st let me say- I love my chickens and I am enjoying them....like a lot.
There is a new surge over the past years of people getting chickens. When I was a kid, the only ones you saw with chickens were farmers. Now, it is increasingly popular for people from the country, to the suburbs, to even the city, to want a few chickens.
The popularity of eating foods that are more natural probably has a lot to do with it.
But I am a bit surprised by a few articles I've read recently about people who really wanted some of those cute chickens and egglayers, only to realize- hey chickens are work...
Like I thought this would be common sense, but on many sites, all you see are cute pictures of chickens, deluxe coops, and smiling children holding chicks. All these things are great and chickens can be all the things in those pictures. But know... there is work involved- sometimes smelly, muddy, freezing or sweaty work. Chickens don't take off a day. You have to go out there when you are sick, when it is pouring rain, when it's your birthday.
I think the people that sold me this house came out here with stars in their eyes about what country life and raising animals would be. They stayed about 2 years. I grew up around farming (although never did any myself before) so at least I had an idea.
Here are 2 articles about people who learned the hard way-
https://www.treehugger.com/pets/why-i-no-longer-have-backyard-chickens.html
https://thetakeout.com/motherclucker-the-joy-and-gore-of-backyard-chickens-1820330460
Just another side of things that I think people often don't think about. I'm glad I have chickens, but I'd hate to be one to put in all the effort of getting chickens and a coop just to give them away 6 months later. Chickens aren't a hobby- they're a commitment. I also bring it up because Easter is around the corner. I have a friend who is very active in rabbit rescue. Apparently every time Easter rolls around, they end up with a load of unwanted rabbits a few months later, who were gotten as a cute Easter gift for a child. The child loses interest, or never wants to do the work involved and then the rabbits end up without a home. The lucky ones end up in shelters, many people "set them free", not realizing this is a death sentence for a domesticated rabbit.
It got me wondering about chickens. It used to be you really couldn't get less than 10 chickens, so people buying impulse gifts wasn't a big problem. But as having chickens strictly as pets or in town has gained popularity, you can now find places that will sell you less than 5 chickens.
Just putting this out there, wondering about others thoughts.

 

[A_Fowl_Guy]

Chickens are definitely work and I fully appreciate the work I have to do. You’re right that most people don’t get informed right off the bat when they impulse buy during this time of year.

 

[TwistedSteel]

Just about every year, around the end of summer I get the chance to pick up some free chickens. People buy em from the feed store and TCS in the spring then get tired of taking care of them. I don`t take all that are offered but I have picked up some of my favorites that way. Everybody around here sells eggs so I have to keep my flock numbers down to were the egg sales just about pay for my feed bill.

 

[tacothechicken]

Totally agree whith you! I fell in love whith chickens as a child in Seattle waaaaaay back in elementary school lol. Took 2 years to convince my mother to buy chickens, she hasn't had to do more than babysit them when I've gone out of town since. BUT. A few years later everyone treated chickens like candy at a candystore and then we'd see chickens roaming the streets or friends asking if we'd take their friends chickens cause they didnt want them anymore! The birds were 6 weeks old! Like, what?!! The same whith ducks too! We got a pair of free pekin hens at ~4 months that wouldve been eaten less we took them in. I've begun selling chicks myself but even my mutts are no less than 7 $ each and I won't sell less than 4 at a time cause people just impulse buy! Whenever someone wants my chicks I grill them on chicken facts, breeds, setup etc. I also wont sell them to be a LIFE LESSON for children unless the children are paying for them -_- thats what a dog is for cause no doubt young kids will A. Lose/no interest, B. Outgrow the chickens whithin a few months to years C. Won't properly care for them at all and then the parents who impulse buy generally dump them in a park, animal shelter etc because they dont won't to do the work either! I love other responsible chicken owners, but sometimes when I meet impulse buyers I just think 'oh god, where will my birds end up in 3 years?' Generally I tell them to just return the birds to me if they no longer want them whith whatever feed they have cause I've seen such improper chicken care over the years the worst is if I see someone whith a single lone chicken, unsocialized, not really a pet, no attention and totally sad and generally overgrown nails, broken beak, never played etc. And its hard to make a chicken get to that point and I've still seen it! which is why impulse buyers really worry me as great as they can end up

 

[sylviethecochin]

I knew a girl in college who'd grown up in town. Her family took vacations almost every break, her father did something with computers and her mother was a businesswoman of some sort. She'd once been to a (cough*hobby*cough) farm on a field trip. From this experience, she concluded that she wanted to make a living as a dairy farmer because, "since I wouldn't be raising meat cows, I wouldn't have to eat them!"

 

[Shadrach]

1st let me say- I love my chickens and I am enjoying them....like a lot.
There is a new surge over the past years of people getting chickens. When I was a kid, the only ones you saw with chickens were farmers. Now, it is increasingly popular for people from the country, to the suburbs, to even the city, to want a few chickens.
The popularity of eating foods that are more natural probably has a lot to do with it.
But I am a bit surprised by a few articles I've read recently about people who really wanted some of those cute chickens and egglayers, only to realize- hey chickens are work...
Like I thought this would be common sense, but on many sites, all you see are cute pictures of chickens, deluxe coops, and smiling children holding chicks. All these things are great and chickens can be all the things in those pictures. But know... there is work involved- sometimes smelly, muddy, freezing or sweaty work. Chickens don't take off a day. You have to go out there when you are sick, when it is pouring rain, when it's your birthday.
I think the people that sold me this house came out here with stars in their eyes about what country life and raising animals would be. They stayed about 2 years. I grew up around farming (although never did any myself before) so at least I had an idea.
Here are 2 articles about people who learned the hard way-
https://www.treehugger.com/pets/why-i-no-longer-have-backyard-chickens.html
https://thetakeout.com/motherclucker-the-joy-and-gore-of-backyard-chickens-1820330460
Just another side of things that I think people often don't think about. I'm glad I have chickens, but I'd hate to be one to put in all the effort of getting chickens and a coop just to give them away 6 months later. Chickens aren't a hobby- they're a commitment. I also bring it up because Easter is around the corner. I have a friend who is very active in rabbit rescue. Apparently every time Easter rolls around, they end up with a load of unwanted rabbits a few months later, who were gotten as a cute Easter gift for a child. The child loses interest, or never wants to do the work involved and then the rabbits end up without a home. The lucky ones end up in shelters, many people "set them free", not realizing this is a death sentence for a domesticated rabbit.
It got me wondering about chickens. It used to be you really couldn't get less than 10 chickens, so people buying impulse gifts wasn't a big problem. But as having chickens strictly as pets or in town has gained popularity, you can now find places that will sell you less than 5 chickens.
Just putting this out there, wondering about others thoughts.

 

[aart]

Just putting this out there, wondering about others thoughts.

You are right on!

stars in their eyes

See a lot of that right here on BYC.

I saw at TSC the other day that they have reduced their minimum to 4 instead of 6 chicks.
They do have signs up warning that chicks are not easter gifts,
can't remember the rest of what it said but most will be ignored.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

I totally agree - lots of people get into animals without realizing that they require real effort. On the other hand... I feel like a small coop with a handful of chickens is much less work than a rowdy dog. On the average day my dogs require much more care, while my chickens I just open/close the coop, toss out some food, watch their interactions for a few minutes each day and I'm done. I use deep litter and clean the coop twice a year. Yeah, it sucks in the snow, but so does waiting for my dog to find the perfect spot to poop. If you want to get a low-input animal, they're not the worst choice.
People impulse buy all sorts of animals... Chickens are one I worry about a lot less than dogs, parrots, etc. I'd prefer that no one impulse buy ANY animal... But if it has to be something, at least there's lots of useful places a chicken can go, even if it's only to feed someone. Can't say the same thing about that puppy, or kitten, etc. Those animals often just go to shelters and get neglected forever or put down and thrown in the trash. :T

Locally some animal shelters are running into issues getting chickens dropped off and not having any facilities to house them... But they are finding new homes and developing policies for their rehoming at a relatively good rate.

But animal impulse purchases and impulse breeding is WAY down. in 1970's it was normal for 13+mil animals in shelters to be put down each year, and 25% of the worlds dog population was feral. (citation) That's down 10 fold to 1.5mil today. And it was 2.6mil in 2011. (citation) And those numbers are still falling. So while it's still something to think about, and I'm happy to inform people of the harder realities of owning ANY animal and that if they're just doing it on a whim to heck right off, I worry about irresponsible animal purchasing/production a lot less these days than I did when I was a kid and the numbers reflect that. Especially in chickens, which are a commodity and relatively easy to find a home/use for.

 

[Tortoise]

I think most if not all impulse buys of any animal is because the people see a cute animal and then after the purchase realize it's harder then they thought.
Should be laws to purchase animals you must first buy a license and that license is gotten only after an educational course on animal care.

 

[aart]

animals in shelters to be put down each year.... those numbers are still falling

Now they just shuffle them around Sorry, pet(haha) peeve for the 'rescue industry'.