koo2cat Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 (edited) There is a chap up the road from me who keeps chickens and has done all his life (he is in his late 60's now). He has 20 hens in quite a confined space and hardly ever cleans them out! He doesn't worm them or de-lice them either! He hatches his own chicks too. I have never seen such healthy looking hens ! If I need him to help me with mine he comes over and then continually makes fun of me saying mine live in Five Star luxury and yet don't look as good or lay as well as his girls! Maybe we have become a bit too kind with our girls? I do tell him mine are more like pets but he still thinks I'm bonkers! Edited February 17, 2012 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenanne2 Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 Am sure some is perception! We remember deaths of pets much more than you'd remember livestock deaths. Also, lots of pet chickens come into lots of contact with garden birds (mine do, anyhow!). I'm not sure that ones kept on smallholdings 30 or 40 years ago would have done, simply because feeders would be kept safe from garden birds so that they didn't eat the chickens feed. So chickens now come into frequent and relatively close contact with pathogens from garden birds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
