Why don’t Americans get chickens and a small coop ?
We have 4 chickens in the middle of town and produce more eggs than we can eat. We have to give some to neighbors and friends. We even cook excess for the dogs as treats sometimes.
My first egg cost me $600. I’m 7 years in and if it weren’t for the fact that egg prices have escalated so much I’d still be losing money on every single egg because the industrialization of eggs makes it less expensive to buying them under normal circumstances.
Now let’s talk about the reason they’re currently expensive. Bird flu. Imagine every yard with chickens in it. Instead of a few locations to protect, you now have hundreds of millions. Which results in billions of potential vectors for the spread of disease.
I know everyday that I could walk outside and find my birds sick with the bird flu because some bird pooped by flying overhead. I may have to cull my entire flock of a dozen or so chickens, six five ducks and seven geese. And then when I decide to replace them I’m going to be priced out of the market by everyone else replacing their birds.
Foxes, outdoor cats and my dog wouldn’t agree to to this plan. The other day I saw a giant ass snake too. I thought it was someone’s escape pet… apparently those fuckers are normal and everyone who grew up here thought I was being hysterical. Also, if I’m being 100% honest, those chickens would be neglected if they lived in my yard.
While I think it’s fun to have chickens, I’d hate to think of people getting chickens just for food and neglecting then otherwise. And there are a lot of people out there who only care about money (and not animals) sadly.
Not a lot, make sure they have food and water, and that they are sheltered from predators at night. We have six hens and a rooster. The work consists of cleaning the coop once a week, and at the same time clean and refill the water dispenser and fill up the food reservoir. My kids do this in half an hour. We also have to pick up the eggs daily. We raised our Brahma chickens ourselves after hatching them in an incubator, and they are wonderful pets.
Edit: because we feed them a more varied diet, the eggs also taste better.
And not just because they lay eggs! Chickens may not be deep thinkers but they’re still interesting to watch and interact with. They have really diverse personalities too.
Why don’t Americans get chickens and a small coop ? We have 4 chickens in the middle of town and produce more eggs than we can eat. We have to give some to neighbors and friends. We even cook excess for the dogs as treats sometimes.
Many Americans live in apartments or condos with minimal to no personal outdoor space, and almost surely a ban on “farm” animals.
My first egg cost me $600. I’m 7 years in and if it weren’t for the fact that egg prices have escalated so much I’d still be losing money on every single egg because the industrialization of eggs makes it less expensive to buying them under normal circumstances.
Now let’s talk about the reason they’re currently expensive. Bird flu. Imagine every yard with chickens in it. Instead of a few locations to protect, you now have hundreds of millions. Which results in billions of potential vectors for the spread of disease.
I know everyday that I could walk outside and find my birds sick with the bird flu because some bird pooped by flying overhead. I may have to cull my entire flock of a dozen or so chickens, six five ducks and seven geese. And then when I decide to replace them I’m going to be priced out of the market by everyone else replacing their birds.
Foxes, outdoor cats and my dog wouldn’t agree to to this plan. The other day I saw a giant ass snake too. I thought it was someone’s escape pet… apparently those fuckers are normal and everyone who grew up here thought I was being hysterical. Also, if I’m being 100% honest, those chickens would be neglected if they lived in my yard.
Foxes would definitely be a problem, but cats don’t go near the chickens over here.
Chickens need food, shelter and care.
While I think it’s fun to have chickens, I’d hate to think of people getting chickens just for food and neglecting then otherwise. And there are a lot of people out there who only care about money (and not animals) sadly.
What do you think farm chickens’ life looks like?
How much work is it? If there’s a war or anything, getting chickens is on the top of my list!
Not a lot, make sure they have food and water, and that they are sheltered from predators at night. We have six hens and a rooster. The work consists of cleaning the coop once a week, and at the same time clean and refill the water dispenser and fill up the food reservoir. My kids do this in half an hour. We also have to pick up the eggs daily. We raised our Brahma chickens ourselves after hatching them in an incubator, and they are wonderful pets.
Edit: because we feed them a more varied diet, the eggs also taste better.
And not just because they lay eggs! Chickens may not be deep thinkers but they’re still interesting to watch and interact with. They have really diverse personalities too.
So cleaning, refill food and water once a week? And the 6 days left you only pick up eggs?
Yeah, that’s it.