dogs and chickens Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 My Dad popped round the other day, and on hearing we were getting chickens he was full of scorn !!!! He said when they kept chickens they lost loads of money, and it just is not worth it, and I should just buy the eggs in the supermarket as they are just as good !!!!!!!!! Now does anyone else think he has totally missed the point? How on earth he thinks supermarket eggs can be as good as homegrown free range is beyond me!!!! He went on to tell me that, they are just so much work and that they will take so much time I should mention here he had 300 free range hens (100 per house). He does know we are only getting 12, but they are the same amount of work whatever apparently !!!!! What a load of rubbish Parents who would have them I for some reason felt the need to defend myself I was saying that we were getting a really easy system, and the cube was really easy to keep clean, he laughed till the tears came down his face . Now have I missed the point or has he????? I don't really need an answer to that one I just thought it was so funny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
furball Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 You must get your brains from your mums side of the family Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debbie26pet Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 wow i could written this my self, i had it all from my dad u must be made its easier etc from supermarket etc, now 3 weeks on hes ringing every day sometimes twice if any eggs and the other day he came round he was straight out to them talking to them , came in sat down with a brew and had his head in my chicken book , cant work them out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janty Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 My in-laws thought that we were mad although they kept chickens years ago. Now we call the chickens their Grand-chickens and they too are looking to rescue some ex-batts later this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 He had hens and is trying to put you off them. How odd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janty Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 I'm sure that parents become more awkward as they get older just to get their revenge on you for all teenage misdemeanours! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarabelle Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 Hi Michelle, So sorry to hear that your dad has been so negative about the prospect of you getting some chickens. I think he has totally missed the point as there is no way that 12 hens are going to make the same amount of mess and cost the same amount of money as a flock of 300. How ridiculous! I cleaned up after my two today and it really didn't take that long and although I have an eglu I'm sure the cube has been designed in a way to make maintanence quick and easy. If your dad asks you for any eggs tell him to go to the supermarket and buy some as they are "just as good"! I was so surprised at the responses of my friends and family when I said we were getting chickens. They all seemed to be so positive and excited to meet the girls, but perhaps they have an ulterior motive and are expecting some eggs! My mum has never been like this in the past when I've talked about getting new pets. She must be mellowing as she gets older. I hope your dad comes round to your way of thinking eventually - I'm sure he will when he sees how neat the cube is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 hes probably just jealous or envious !! Take no notice, you dont need his approval anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joojoo Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 I'm sure that parents become more awkward as they get older just to get their revenge on you for all teenage misdemeanours! You are so right!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyren Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 Well, sure, when you work out all the money we spend on our chooks (eglus, supplements, vets' bills), they are more expensive than getting eggs from the supermarket - but that's not the point, is it? As a farmer with 300 hens you have to do the sums or you go out of business, but with pets, any economic return is a bonus, not the sole reason you do it. Many people (including me) spend hundreds of pounds and hours a year on cats and/or dogs, for zero material benefit. Admittedly, I wouldn't keep chickens if it weren't for the eggs - they are one extra thing to take care of each morning and evening and they do damage the garden. On the other hand I get a steady supply of the best eggs ever, excellent fertilizer for the garden and allotment, and three entertaining little pets who make the garden a much friendlier place. Time moves on, and the older generation don't always recognise how much things have changed - or how precious any connection with the natural rhythm of producing your own food is in the urbanised, sanitised 21st century. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 Well said Eyren. The funny thing is, many of those aged 70 and over will have kept hens during the war. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyren Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 I think a lot of older people associate keeping chickens and growing veg with "Dig for Victory" and austerity, and for them the advent of supermarkets and cheap food was such a godsend that it didn't matter how it was achieved. From their perspective, that makes perfect sense - but our experience is totally different and equally valid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 I am sure you are right.....and the information about how the cheap food was produced just wasn't available so it must have seemed too good to be true after rationing etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gallina Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 I think I wouldn't be so keen on hens if I had 300 to look after. That would be an enormous responsibility, and you wouldn't be able to get to know them individually, and they would make a vast amount of work. I keep hens because they are fun. Everyone on this forum is the same. The eggs are an exciting extra: if they weren't, my Cochin would have been despatched over a year ago, as she doesn't lay. If you buy the best free-range eggs in the supermarket, I think they are as good as home-produced ones, and probably don't cost any more once you factor in all the setting-up expenses. So your father is not completely wrong -- but he has missed the point of why garden hens are so popular. I would go for some really interesting breeds and surprise him into realizing that hens are real characters, and the best garden pets you can have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jules. Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 When I bought my first car my dad said I would never have any money, too..... BTW I think my parents thought I had gone completely potty when I got my girls- but they should understand me, after all they have known me for over 35 years Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogs and chickens Posted March 2, 2008 Author Share Posted March 2, 2008 Very well said everyone! You have all made me feel much more normal I just thought it was my parents who were anoying, I guess you only notice your own, and I guess my baby boy will feel just the same about me in the years to come (well I hope not, but I guess that's life!). I'm glad I got that off my chest!!!! Oh only one day to go until the chickens arrive - I'm starting to panic now, have I done the right thing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazygal Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 don't panic- of course you've done the right thing!! From the time you hear the first "buck buck", to the heady excitement (yes really!) when you find your first egg you will be so pleased that you've got chickens. Good luck with tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 My mum surprised me today (she's usually pretty negative about everything) saying she'd love to have chickens . It's not going to happen as she's 83 and my dad is a very shaky 87 but we had a nice daydream that she would buy a purple cube, give it to me and she would get my blue eglu in return for my help looking after them. Ho hum, nice dream while it lasted . Does anyone else look at gardens differently now? Like, "chickens would fit in brilliantly here" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peanut12 Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 definitely, and were we to move, I would not contemplate anywhere with a covenant. My wife now has a dream of having a petting zoo in the grounds of a country property when we retire Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hen Watch Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 Oh only one day to go until the chickens arrive - I'm starting to panic now, have I done the right thing? Yes you have. And you will worry if you've done the right thing. I loved them from day 1 but it still took about a month for me to stop worring about if I should have done it. So it's normal to worry...... When I tell people I have chickens, I usually get one of two responses. Absolute amazement, followed by "what....are you going to eat them?" and then surprise when I say no they are just pets. Or the other response I find that some school mums have told me their parents kept chickens years and years ago to eat or for eggs so not really pets (perhaps as your Dad recalls). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chili pepper Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 Janty, My inlaws were exactly the same! I got ex batts last year and my FIL just laughed and shook his head as he does at most of my plans and ideas and thought it would be a 5 minute wonder. Now guess whos building his own coop and looking to rehome his own ex batts!!!!!! It will be the only pet my in laws have ever owned as hes a bit of a clean freak so my husband grew up in a house without any pets ever!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 Janty, My inlaws were exactly the same! I got ex batts last year and my FIL just laughed and shook his head as he does at most of my plans and ideas and thought it would be a 5 minute wonder. Now guess whos building his own coop and looking to rehome his own ex batts!!!!!! It will be the only pet my in laws have ever owned as hes a bit of a clean freak so my husband grew up in a house without any pets ever!! Does he know about the poo? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chili pepper Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 I think MIL will be the poo picker person! She grew up on a small holding and had chickens and geese and other livestock, I think she has missed not having animals around. If chickens can convert FIL they can convert anybody Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...