Chickens: not so easy
I can see the headline writer’s temptation here, but the headline Chickens run afoul in Montreal makes no sense. A person or animal doesn’t just “run afoul” but “runs afoul of” e.g. “The chicken ran afoul of a fox.”
So, apparently it’s not so easy keeping chickens, although some of the assumptions here are odd. If you have only hens, you can’t suddenly find you’ve got a rooster, because unless someone very close by does have a rooster, none of their eggs will be fertile.
Also, the assumption that we don’t know what to do with spare chickens is bizarre. When you decide you don’t want chickens any more, or you have hens that stop laying, you can do with them what people have done with them since time immemorial. Or, if you can’t face doing that, find someone who can. Really, the SPCA shouldn’t have its time wasted.
Tee Owe 02:31 on 2019-05-07 Permalink
Hi Kate – roosters can happen another way. Sometimes hens undergo a sex change https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/sex-change-in-chickens.1247620/. I know this because my neighbor has hens and one of them started to crow!
Kate 06:48 on 2019-05-07 Permalink
I don’t imagine this happens every day.
Chris 10:29 on 2019-05-07 Permalink
Kate, where does that article assume ‘we don’t know what to do with spare chickens’? It’s hardly surprising that an organization named “Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals” tries to find them a home instead of BBQing them. They could also send spare dogs to Korean restaurants, but that’s not the SPCA’s thing. (I’m not advocating for/against either, just saying the SPCA is clearly against both.)
But I agree the article is kind of weird / pointless. You could substitute another species in there and have basically the same article. Many people think having dogs is easier than it is, many abandon/free them, etc.
Kate 11:49 on 2019-05-07 Permalink
Chris, people are, I assume, doing urban chickens because it’s cool to have egg-laying critters around, not because they want them as pets. Then they discover that these creatures have needs just like any other animal, and the eggs are not worth the hassle.
I have no idea whether the trend for urban chickens has lasted long enough that some hens have already gone through henopause. But these are creatures we don’t usually keep as pets, can’t easily keep indoors, have to somehow get through winter. So they get given up – like pets. But properly speaking they are not pets. And although, Chris, you have for years here tried to break down the conceptual wall between farm animals and pet animals, it does exist, socially.
Eat ’em.
Ian 12:42 on 2019-05-07 Permalink
Old hens are pretty tough, though – that’s a soup chicken at best.
Chris 13:00 on 2019-05-07 Permalink
Kate, I’m not trying to ‘break down any walls’ here. I’m simply trying to understand and comment on the last paragraph of your post. I doubt the SPCA feels its time is being wasted, why do you think so? Are you expecting the SPCA to advocate killing chickens if they can find them a home? Have you ever met anyone at the SPCA?! 🙂 It’s just not their modus operandi. I’ve just visited their website, it says “Guided by humane ethics, the Montreal SPCA’s mission consists of protecting animals from neglect, abuse and exploitation; representing their interests and ensuring their well-being; and last but not least, raising public awareness and helping develop compassion for all sentient beings.” They seem to make little distinction between pet or not. They talk about wildlife, farm animals, pets, etc. Killing the chicken directly contradicts their mission statement. I agree society disagrees, but the article is about the SPCA.
Ian 13:17 on 2019-05-07 Permalink
Nobody’s saying the SPCA is being inconsistent, it’s the people that get into farming chickens that are being daft.
You have to be a special kind of idiot to get into farming chickens and then get confused what to do with them if you don’t want to keep them for eggs anymore.
Kevin 13:42 on 2019-05-07 Permalink
Chickens can easily overwinter outside in our climate. I know someone illegally keeping three in her backyard.
And yes, when they are no longer producing eggs they end up in someone’s pot.
Ian 11:38 on 2019-05-08 Permalink
… but yes, the phrasing of the lede was so rich in potential but poorly crafted. I feel your pain, Kate.