Backyard chickens can be wonderful companions. Interest in keeping them has grown as part of the local, sustainable, and organic food movements.
The HSUS supports measures that reduce animal suffering, and every family that gets their eggs from backyard hens is likely reducing or eliminating their purchase of eggs laid by hens who were confined to crowded cages on factory farms.
Chickens are energetic, inquisitive, and friendly animals who are a joy to watch, but the decision to keep them should not be made lightly. Chickens require dedicated, consistent care and there are important issues to consider before acquiring a backyard flock.
Keeping Chickens For Beginners Von Jason Johns
Many municipalities prohibit residents from having backyard chickens.Be sure to contact local authorities (such as your local animal control or zoning/planning departments) to ensure such animals are legal before you bring any chickens home.
Within city limits, many municipalities that permit chickens nevertheless limit the number of chickens that one household can keep, and roosters are generally not permitted at all, as their crowing can disturb neighbors. This creates an ethical conundrum, because when chickens are purchased as young chicks it is not possible to accurately determine their sex.
Chicks purchased through mail order or local farm supply outlets may be sold in groups separated by sex, but since gender determination is inexact, as the birds grow, families often find they have one or more male birds when they were expecting to have only females. Many young roosters are being relinquished to shelters and sanctuaries, organizations already overburdened with unwanted animals. Worse, these roosters may be simply abandoned or killed.
Keeping Backyard Chickens: Getting Started
For these reasons, The HSUS recommends that families consider adopting adult birds, when the animal's gender is already known. Adult hens can usually be located through your local humane society or animal control. Chickens end up in traditional shelters more often than people realize, and adopting from a shelter is a great way to save a life. You might even ask to be put on a waiting list to be contacted about hens as they come into the shelter.
If your local shelter has no chickens available, look to adopt a "retired" hen from a factory farm who now lives at a rescue or sanctuary that adopts these birds out. While not as productive as they were in their prime, many of these chickens still lay multiple eggs per week. Most of these older hens would otherwise end up being killed on the farm or sent to slaughter. You can find a list of adoption agencies near you by visitingsanctuaries.orgorpetfinder.com.
Alternatively, you may want to look at flyers posted in your local farm/feed stores, check your newspaper's classified ads, or even scan websites like craigslist.org to find chickens who need good homes.
Backyard Chickens & Their Eggs
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