Trish Posted August 16, 2008 Share Posted August 16, 2008 Hi there folks and no it's not me rehoming chickens. I chicken sat for a family in May and they were concerned then that two of their three chooks where not laying much. It appears they have stopped compltley now and they would like to ren=home them as they don't believe in haveing chickens that are not pullingtheir weight but would rather they went to retirement if someone can give them a home. Unfortunatley without the purchase of a cube I can't take them bit I did tell the family I would ask if anyone one here who's near Wakefield might be interested. If anyone is please pm me and I'll pass on details thanks Trish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tenzin Posted August 16, 2008 Share Posted August 16, 2008 Some people do make me laugh . I also have some old hens that don't lay so good now , but there my responsibility Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted August 16, 2008 Share Posted August 16, 2008 I'm past my laying best too . Shall I pack my bags . That seems a bit mean, doesn't it . Can't they just give the poor girls a well deserved retirement themselves? Hope someone can take the poor things - good for you for trying . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janty Posted August 16, 2008 Share Posted August 16, 2008 I gather they would think that the notion of rescuing ex-batts would be pointless then?!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted August 16, 2008 Share Posted August 16, 2008 I've got several freeloadars. They are staying put. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 16, 2008 Share Posted August 16, 2008 Hope someone can take the poor things - good for you for trying . ditto to all of the above. If you think about it though, that's exactly what happens to commercial spent free range hens and I would hope these girls have had a good life with your friends up to this point. In some ways they should be applauded for trying to re-home them. Not everyone keeps hens as pets. I do hope they find a home, I'd take thrm but I want to give a cple more ex batts a chance at a real life so sadly, I'll have to decline. Why don't they try local schools, a lot of them have pets these days? best of luck xxx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Frugal Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 I had 2 freeloaders for 3 years and only one layer. Perfectly fine by me. They were my responsibility and if I couldn't dispatch them because they were no longer productive, it was up to me to look after them until they died. Clarry and Izzy were delightful so that was not a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesH Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 I don't really think anyone will want to retire them. They might take a place an ex batt could have had. If they can't dispatch them (and not everyone can or would I want them to be able to) they could ask the breeder/farmer. Say they want a couple of point of lay chickens but can they take the old ones as they can't do it. No harm in asking, shouldn't be a worry about bringing in disease etc as they will have chicken keepers stomping through all day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trish Posted August 17, 2008 Author Share Posted August 17, 2008 These ladies are just under two years old and have never really laid much since being over one year old apparently. They have thought of dispatching them but wondered if anyone was able to give them a home before that happened. I don't know them well so I don't know if they would really do " the Deed". Just as an aside when we looked after them in May we noticed that all three had really floppy combs but they seemed really healthy so who knows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 One of my girls has a slightly floppy comb. Some just do, I think . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redfrock Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 I don't really think anyone will want to retire them. They might take a place an ex batt could have had. I don't think that is strictly true. It depends on your reasons for having chooks. Many are primarily pets. I have a relative youngster who we are lucky to get an egg every couple of weeks from ... and that is when she is not busy being broody (which is much of the time), and that has always been her way. Any chicken that is likely to be dispatched rather than left to eek out a gentle retirement is likely to find a home with someone...... I'm simply too far away Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tenzin Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 Maybe if they had a change of diet they'd lay . We all have chickens for different reasons , but IMO to pass on an old timer just cause they aren't laying If we all adopted the same attitude about our animals when they get old and don't perform so good , Battersea dogs home Woodgreen animal shelter , ect ect would be packed of animals Now if they had been breed for meat it's a diffrent ball game . Many keepers seem to be rearing a few for food , instead of bying from supermarkets when they know the life of a chicken is generally very poor . Keeping chickens can be tough at times , but for me any owner needs to take full responsibility for there OWN ANIMALS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesH Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 Don't forget though that they will probably still be buying eggs from the shop/supermarket. The hens that layed those eggs, even freerange, will be dispatched at ~18 months or before their big moult and they have had a pretty good life for a chicken as they won't have been sat in a cage for that time. The little boys that hatched with the girls won't get that far and for every girl there was a boy too. I'm cheery aren't I. My point being I don't think we should make people feel guilty if after a couple of years they have to replace their chickens. It's not going to be easy for anyone and keeping the old and new ones means you have to have more room. In my defence my cat lived till she was 16 never layed an egg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 Don't forget though that they will probably still be buying eggs from the shop/supermarket. The hens that layed those eggs, even freerange, will be dispatched at ~18 months ..... .... My point being I don't think we should make people feel guilty if after a couple of years they have to replace their chickens. It's not going to be easy for anyone and keeping the old and new ones means you have to have more room..... pretty much the same as what I said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesH Posted August 18, 2008 Share Posted August 18, 2008 pretty much the same as what I said. Yes what you said! Including the bit about place for an ex-batt. I agree about a change of diet that's what I would have done. It's probably wrong for me to say noone would rehome them there are of course people on here that would take them in if they could. A good few years back the people who had a couple of fields and a farmhouse near my grandparents kept a single sheep. It would wander down the street with the kids from the farm up to the park just like a big wooly dog. Very tame, think it had a rope lead but didn't really need it. One weekend when I visited my grandparents I asked had they seen the sheep this week they said no it had gone to slaughter and the people at the farm were going to eat it. I still can't get my head around it. It seemed like a pet to me, they treated it like a pet, it had a name, it looked so funny and cute. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted August 18, 2008 Share Posted August 18, 2008 My dad asked about this last week, as 'it's pointless feeding them when we could have new ones thay lay', I said they are pets and we keep them. He wasn't 100% convinced, so why does he have tropical fish, he gets nothing from them! Thanks god Matilda + Theodore are still laying and should do for a long time yet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WitchHazel Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 Although I will happily keep my girls in retirement, the people who want to rehome their chickens are not doing anything wrong. Even if they culled them because they've reached the end of their useful life, they aren't doing anything wrong. Not everyone thinks of their chooks as feathered cats or dogs, and peer pressure shouldn't try to force them to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsallen08 Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 Hiya I have to agree with James, Witch Hazel, Poet etc said. Some people don't have chickens for pets. Ours aren't for pets (except the cutey bantam - which was given to us randomly!) We need them to lay eggs in order to cover their living costs by suppling us and family with some eggs. They will all have a happier and longer life span than those bred for commercial laying so I do not think I am being cruel or unkind at all. Heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mutrix Farmers Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 These ladies are just under two years old and have never really laid much since being over one year old apparently. Is this code for they aren't laying every day therefore they are past their best? I agree diet could improve things but if the reason for keeping them is purely commercial they probably won't want to spend anymore money on hens "not pulling their weight"!! I can't help but agree with WitchHazel though, as long as they haven't been mistreated and are culled humanely who are we to judge? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
