Chickens as pets or produce?
As a new chicken owner, I tried to get as much information about chickens before I bought my first chicken. This information came mainly from the web, some from magazines and a bit from books. I quickly found out that there are quite a few things that books don't tell you about and the majority of information on the web are from people based in America. The majority of items that they talk about on American websites are not available in Australia.
So I turned to social media and found several communities not only in Australia, but in my state! It was great! I could get information on where to get local feed, what medication people use on their birds, some quick "help my bird has something weird!" questions. Absolutely fantastic.
Only one problem.
The social media page that I was on has two very distinct groups. People who have joined that have chickens as pets and breeders that have chickens as produce. The latter include people who breed chickens for meat or eggs and show breeders.
I have found that certain comments made by one party can inflame the passions of the other party. For example, pet owners will get worried about their chickens getting too cold and wet from the rain. Breeders (generally those that have them for produce) will exclaim that chickens have survived the elements for decades and there is no need to mollycoddle them.
You should have seen the Facebook post on this topic. Both sides firing off on each other. One accusing the other of being insensitive, the other claiming that the world has gone mad if people start bringing their chickens indoors to keep warm and dry.
I've seen this happen several times. I'm definitely in the "chickens and pets" group, but I can understand that for others, chickens may be their livelihood. If they want meat, they will have to kill a chicken. If a chicken is not up to a show standard, they will have to cull it as they can't afford to keep hundreds of "useless" chickens. Culling (as bad as it sounds) is a necessity for these people.
Roosters are a prime example. If not up to breeding standard, breeders have no use for a rooster. They don't lay eggs, they get into fights. They can't sell them to pet owners because of the crowing issue. They often have to resort to either culling them or selling them at markets for values way below it cost to raise them in an effort to recoup some money. Unfortunately for all those chicken pet owners out there, just remember that 50% of all chicks hatched will be boys. All the pullets get sold quickly, with the boys being left either for the butcher's block, the market (which usually means someone else butcher's block) or if they are lucky, they get to stay.
I guess the point I'm trying to make is that pet owners have to understand that it costs money to breed birds and there has to be necessary sacrifices, be it in terms of meat consumption or culls. They shouldn't blame the other side of being insensitive. In turn, breeders should understand the views of pet owners and how they would go the extra step for their pet.
Pet owners love social media as it is a way of getting advice straight from people who know chickens and have been around them for ages. There is no better place and we truly, truly appreciate the advice provided by the more knowledgeable. They tell us pet owners what is wrong with our chickens and the best way to treat it, using products that can be obtained locally. How awesome!
So I guess my point is, let's agree to disagree and get on with cuddling a chicken (or roasting them, whatever takes your fancy)
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