What's the actual point?

[Sandrine]

This was posted on Notts TV Facebook page yesterday.... Well, I felt like saying "I told you so"... But unfortunately I didn't actually predict it would happen. I did think however that ar the time of the first lockdown, there seem to be a load of people suddenly wanting hatching eggs, or to rescue ex-bats and that surely a few of the new chicks owners had not thought this through... A bit like you get the cutest puppy for Christmas and by Easter you're ready to take him to a shelter or leave on the side of the road somewhere...
Anyways, I am not sure why Notts TV actually posted this to be honest... No proper context, location, figures, stats... Does the post try to compare to the previous month, pre-covid, last year??? So basically I am not really sure what the point of the post was ??

 

[bigyetiman]

Why are we not surprised.

 

[LadyA]

Same over here. So, so many new chicken keepers, including one I came across online who had got their chickens BEFORE getting a chicken house or any fencing, or food.....! Would make you despair. And the ones who were so disappointed when their cute little chicks died one after the other. And the ones who hadn't realised that they'd been sold roosters. And the ones that had bought chicks, and hadn't realised that they will be waiting a few months for their first eggs. And on, and on.

 

[rick]

You can only hope that there have been a lot of lessons learnt out there - chickens, in this instance, being the subject that pays the price of the lessons and the students dropped out! But not all of them - FB focuses extremes. There was a guy on a motorcycle forum I was following that posted for the second time asking how to set up the car cruse control that he had fitted to his bike. That isn't actually a stupid thing to do but you need some nouse to work out the settings. Chickens ... not like buying a new fridge.

 

[Marigold]

I get my pol pullets from a family-run farm a few miles away, and like all other similar farms, they had a crazy weekend back in March, with long queues of cars all down their drive, full of people wanting to buy chickens, any chickens, before lockdown started. This was before people understood about masks etc, and before the farm had time to work out covid-compliant methods of choosing, handling and boxing up pullets and paying for them. They had totally sold all their stock within 48 hours that they had expected to last for a couple of months before renewing with another order. At that time of year the birds were 16-18 weeks, so they had to tell customers that they would have to wait up to six weeks for them to come into lay, to avoid complaints!

 

[Icemaiden]

I just hope that foxes didn't have a bumper year...

 

[Marigold]

Possibly a better option for some chickens, compared with being left in filthy conditions, out in the cold with frozen drinkers and inadequate food in winter, once the novelty had worn off.

 

[dinosaw]

The RSPCA have said they have dealt with over 1500 abandoned birds this year. While ultimate responsibility lies with the folk who bought them, you have to look at the retailers and ask if they have simply put profit before all else. A couple of quick questions such as "what sort of house do you have for them" or "how secure is your run" would weed out the worst of the bunch. Most people don't think quickly enough to blag an answer to those questions, especially if they have no idea what the answer is meant to be. Sadly, you could probably turn up to some places with a t-shirt emblazoned with "I love cock fighting" and they would still let you fill your boots.

 

[LadyA]

Sadly, that's so true, Dinosaw. The place I get pullets from every couple of years, they're a big supplier, but they always ask questions, and give advice freely. Including making sure you know what you are getting into if you intend adding new birds to an existing flock, and aren't backward in advising against it.

 

[Tweetypie]

There's lot of people on a facebook forum who have just taken on some ex batts without getting coops and runs. I read every day about the hens dying overnight. They seem more interested in giving them toys, than their required food. I cringe at some of the ridiculous things they do and say, like putting heaters in the coop because they must be cold and putting on knitted jackets, like they do with dogs and cats 06

I must admit when I first got my 2 ex batts, I had already bought the coop, feed and a few essential first aid items and I wanted them to free range, not realising that they would destroy my flower beds and dig up my plants.You sometimes have to live and learn. I found this forum and have been grateful for all the advice from experienced owners and breeders. I think that is why my girls are alive and well.

I have also seen some people saying that they need to re-home the ex batts they just taken on because a) the dog is allergic to them b) the baby is allergic to them c) the neighbours say they smell 07

Sandrine, I am also in Notts. NG22 area.

 

[Icemaiden]

I remember coming onto this forum before getting my first ex-batts. I was planning to get a coop but not build a run, as I figured that ex-batts had been shut in for their whole lives, so why pen them in? It was the wise people on here who pointed out that without a run, I'd be taking them from cages only to die in terror in the jaws of a fox.

I built a sturdy fox-resistant run after that, & didn't rehome hens until it was finished. Sadly not everyone finds a forum like this before diving in headlong.