Ilost one of my chickenslast week . It was annihilating to find her so sick and not be able to keep her .
It was also the first time I had a volaille in distress , and I tried to pretend as well I could in that billet . Nothing could ’ve prepared me for her passing , and while it ’s all fresh in my mind , I wanted to share some somber advice with fellow chicken - custodian , whether you ’ve been keeping chickens for a while or you ’re looking into keeping chicken .
With a humble sight like mine , it ’s sluttish to become attached to your girls . You see them every day , and you pop to detect their little quirks as you clean their hencoop or give them delicacy .
Chickens are highly underrated animal . Many hoi polloi do n’t actualise they are full of personality , which was believably the most surprising — and gratifying — aspect for me . They have just as much personality as my pugs , and because I started lift them when they were pullets ( young chicken that have n’t commence laying yet ) , they became very warm and sociable . They followed me around the pace , have intercourse to meet stranger , eat on out of our hand , never minded a little circuit metre . I often prevail my chicken in my lap upside down , rubbing their belly . They humored me each clock time .
In an knowledgeable surround ( and not a forge farm or a home plate operation that sells eggs ) , chicken bear like — and finally become — household pets , even if you did n’t originally intend for them to be your favorite . First and foremost , they are food producer . But the longer they ’re a part of your family , the hard it is to allow go of them .
ballock laying pop to drop after a few years , and while an elderly biddy may still produce a handful of random ball a yr , her primary role has ceased . bet on the breed , a middle - elderly biddy may only give you a distich of egg each week once she reaches age 4 , but you might be surprised to memorise that chicken can live up to 10 years … and often more . When they do die in their former age , it ’s usually due to an unwellness like Crab ( which I ’ve plant out is quite usual in chicken ) .
Being a responsible for chicken - keeper means having a life plan for your chicken . What will you do once their bollock production has dropped or even stopped ? Will you keep to keep them as darling , give them to another family as companions , send them off to a shelter , rehome them at a farm sanctuary , let them loose in the wild , march them for heart and soul ? It ’s a unmanageable determination to make , especially if you ’re fairly newfangled to the game . ( And this is a conversation that continues to acquire in my family as we visualize out our own life plans . )
I have say that the meat of elderly chicken lean to be tough . They ’re more suitable for grudge or slow cooking , should you be considering that road . Some community food spaces , such as18 Reasonsin San Francisco , nurse workshop on the humane butchering of sustainably raised chickens . You might find similar classes at local farms or health food food market .
While you may hand off this chore to an actual butcher , I have always felt thatifI raise my own chickens for meat ( not just for eggs ) , I ’d want to butcher them myself . I would do so with with child appreciation for all they had convey into my life and the nourishment they were about to provide me . I would do so with gratitude for all they were teaching me about where our food comes from , and why we have a responsibility as mankind to treat our animals humanely .
These are things we do n’t often think about when we buy our neatly slaughter and packaged meats from the memory . In world-wide , our gild is very disconnected from our food … but I feel that if more people grew their own plant or conjure up their own animals , they would look at intellectual nourishment in a totally different way .
If you ca n’t bear the thought of processing your chickens , you could lease your ladies live out the residue of their lives as pets . They really do deserve it for all thehard work they ’ve done . Even without eggs , chickens are fantabulous garden helper . They provide copious , organic fertilizer and assist disembarrass your yard of pests . They are endless entertainment . They ’re not the most expensive pet to keep either , and they ’re pretty downcast - maintenance for all that they do .
But what bechance if your chicken becomes sick or injured ? At some point , every Gallus gallus - keeper will ask to play nursemaid , and that could mean a gynecologic exam or even minor surgery — yes , the right way there on your kitchen table .
Though many typical chicken ailments can be treat at home ( such as mites , worms , bumblefoot , wiped out beak , sour crop , stuck eggs , or hemorrhage pin feathers ) , more serious afflictions might need professional charge at the veteran . And that ’s where the most unmanageable decision of all get along into playing period .
There are n’t many avian veterinary surgeon in this country , especially those that specialize in chickens ( a parrot vet wo n’t necessarily acknowledge what ’s going on with a Gallus gallus ) . If you ’re lucky enough to regain one near your home , how much money are you willing to expend at the veterinarian … retrieve about it . Talk it over with your class . While most of us will part with no expense in hold back our dogs or cat alive and good for you , chicken can be a dissimilar story , especially if they ’re not regarded as pets .
Sometimes , a Gallus gallus can be cure at comparatively low disbursement but a generative problem intend she wo n’t set orchis again , even if she ’s still young . Sometimes a crybaby will require rounds of antibiotics and you wo n’t be able to eat her eggs for a while , orever , if you ’re endeavour to go the all innate road . Sometimes you will never love what ’s amiss with your chicken until she passes and a necropsy is done .
Backyard chickens as pets is a comparatively new affair , so the landing field of poultry examination is still developing . After the initial vaccination that day - honest-to-god chicks incur for Marek ’s disease ( which only reduces , but does n’t preclude , vulnerability ) , there are no follow - up boosters or Modern vaccinations to prevent other diseases .
Once a non - immunized chick turns 2daysold , there is nothing more you’re able to do for her . Nature has to take its course . Your stack live outside in full touch with barbarian birds and other creatures , digging through the poop all twenty-four hours , eat up who - knows - what .
Should something go wrong , you have to know in your heart at what item ( and what dollar figure ) you ’re unforced to let your wimp go . It ’s a harsh reality and one I ’m still having trouble pick up with .
How many of you see your chickens as working animals versus familiar pets ? How many have bring up chickens for heart and soul versus egg ? If you ’ve dealt with this matter in your own experience as a chicken - keeper , please share your thoughts .
