# Need knowlege on Chickens **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 1, 2011, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-knowlege-on-chickens/604630 "2011-12-01T00:23:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-knowlege-on-chickens/604630/21 "2011-12-01T03:20:57Z")
I think it’s good that you’re asking rather than just automatically putting it down. You may find a better solution. Poor chicken ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Testy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c37758/32.png) [@Testy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Testy)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-knowlege-on-chickens/604630/22 "2011-12-01T03:22:41Z")
> [@OpalCat](#): > > I’m somewhat horrified at the plethora of “just kill it” posts! This wasn’t what I signed up for when I opened the thread :,( **OpalCat** Sorry about all the “Just kill it” posts. Sometimes there is just no choice in the matter. All the best Testy ---
**Author:** ![Testy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c37758/32.png) [@Testy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Testy)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-knowlege-on-chickens/604630/23 "2011-12-01T03:24:41Z")
> [@OpalCat](#): > > I think it’s good that you’re asking rather than just automatically putting it down. You may find a better solution. Poor chicken ☹ **OpalCat** My wife didn’t think she would care for them but has become quite attached. She’d be saddened if I have to put it down. Best regards Testy ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Violaceous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Miss\_Violaceous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Violaceous)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-knowlege-on-chickens/604630/24 "2011-12-01T04:10:54Z")
Have you tried the pet chicken specific forums? They tend to have a lot of ideas for things to try before you give up on an injured bird. For pete’s sake, it’s not like the leg is mangled and the bird is inarguably in horrible pain. They have a pretty high pain tolerance. Try posting in the injuries section on [backyardchickens.com](http://backyardchickens.com). ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-knowlege-on-chickens/604630/25 "2011-12-01T04:18:22Z")
In all reality it’s a $3.00 bird that you will only get two years of quality laying out of before eating anyway. Culling a few at different times is pretty normal, and staggering ages will give you a more consistent egg and meat supply. As an aside, if you have a lot of birds to slaughter, the Mennonites in Springdale used to slaughter, pluck and package birds for a reasonable rate. ---
**Author:** ![Testy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c37758/32.png) [@Testy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Testy)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-knowlege-on-chickens/604630/26 "2011-12-01T04:19:56Z")
> [@Miss\_Violaceous](#): > > Have you tried the pet chicken specific forums? They tend to have a lot of ideas for things to try before you give up on an injured bird. For pete’s sake, it’s not like the leg is mangled and the bird is inarguably in horrible pain. They have a pretty high pain tolerance. > > Try posting in the injuries section on [backyardchickens.com](http://backyardchickens.com). **Miss Violaceous** Thank you. I’ll ask my wife to give that board a try tonight. Thanks again Testy ---
**Author:** ![Testy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c37758/32.png) [@Testy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Testy)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-knowlege-on-chickens/604630/27 "2011-12-01T04:22:46Z")
> [@sitchensis](#): > > In all reality it’s a $3.00 bird that you will only get two years of quality laying out of before eating anyway. Culling a few at different times is pretty normal, and staggering ages will give you a more consistent egg and meat supply. > > As an aside, if you have a lot of birds to slaughter, the Mennonites in Springdale used to slaughter, pluck and package birds for a reasonable rate. **sitchensis** Thanks for this. We’ve been thinking about getting a few more birds and staggering them sounds like a good idea. I had no idea there were any Mennonites in Springdale. All the best Testy ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Gay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ab097/32.png) [@Enola\_Gay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Gay)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-knowlege-on-chickens/604630/28 "2011-12-01T05:56:20Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > I still don’t see how your poultry vet is not a “professional with chickens” with a valid opinion to share. You seem entirely certain that there is “nothing he can do” yet somewhere out there, is some arcane knowledge that your vet doesn’t know, applicable to an animal none of us have ever seen? Just for the record, my hen’s necropsy was performed by a poultry vet (I had to drive the dead body up to UC, for crissakes) and $120 later, even this trained chicken expert couldn’t figure out wtf went wrong. It sounds like **Testy** doesn’t want to spend absurd amounts of money to get the professional opinion of a Poultry Podiatrist. Sometimes in life you just have to be practical. Additionally, it’s _possible_ that some random Joe on the internet had a similar experience that might shed some light. Isn’t that what General Questions is all about? ---
**Author:** ![bardos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bardos/32/1069_2.png) [@bardos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bardos)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-knowlege-on-chickens/604630/29 "2011-12-01T07:37:53Z")
We have kept chickens for the past 25 years or so. Love them. Sometimes they get sick and die. Not en masse, but individually. It happens occasionally. One of the symptoms of a sick chicken who eventually will die, in our experience, has been showing up lame, limping. I never found out what actually disease this might be, but just know that when a chicken turns up lame and has not stepped on a thumbtack, that it is very often the case that this chicken will slowly get worse and eventually die. Yours might get better, but I am just relating my experience. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-knowlege-on-chickens/604630/30 "2011-12-01T12:33:16Z")
> [@Testy](#): > > **Hello Again** > > A poultry vet is obviously a professional with chickens and would hopefully have any required knowledge. However, I do not \*have \*a poultry vet > > Testy Well that certainly makes it clearer what the problem is. I agree that a dog/cat vet is likely to be of little help. Why don’t you have a poultry vet if you have poultry? That’s a bit odd to me. Because, as you’ve noticed, even “pet” “backyard” “small scale” chickens get sick. If your wife cares so much for them, why hasn’t she seen to their welfare by finding a proper vet? BTW, I don’t discount the attachment people can have to chickens and such. My friend i a large animal vet and knows this guy, has a real old cow and treats it like a performance horse. Joint injections for its arthritis, state of the art nutrition, the works. Just loves that cow. Why not? ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-knowlege-on-chickens/604630/31 "2011-12-01T13:16:34Z")
if you do go the plucking route, the best thing I’ve seen is a vat of melted wax. Mom has a largish tub of wax just for this purpose. Melt the wax, dip the bird, let cool, peel the wax (and feathers) off. Just put the wax/feathers back in the tub, you can reuse it multiple times. Oh, and sorry about the pet. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-knowlege-on-chickens/604630/32 "2011-12-01T14:00:38Z")
> [@Testy](#): > > My wife didn’t think she would care for them but has become quite attached. She’d be saddened if I have to put it down. In all honestly, if your wife is the type that gets easily attached to animals, thinks of farms animals as “pets,” etc. then chickens are probably not the best animals for you to keep. To be blunt, chickens cannot be pets; they have little value, have very limited life spans, and have zero attachment to the owner. If she wants a pet, she would be much better off with a dog or cat. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-knowlege-on-chickens/604630/33 "2011-12-01T14:24:57Z")
If you plan to kill it and eat it, don’t make a pet out of it. (Not specific to chickens.) ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-knowlege-on-chickens/604630/34 "2011-12-01T14:31:09Z")
> [@OpalCat](#): > > I’m somewhat horrified at the plethora of “just kill it” posts! This wasn’t what I signed up for when I opened the thread :,( Huh? The title says “Need knowledge on Chickens” How did you immediately rule out a discussion of using the chicken for food? But I also side with the attitude that, if it’s a pet, it gets a pass on being dinner. ---
**Author:** ![Testy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c37758/32.png) [@Testy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Testy)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-knowlege-on-chickens/604630/35 "2011-12-01T14:31:36Z")
> [@bardos](#): > > We have kept chickens for the past 25 years or so. Love them. Sometimes they get sick and die. Not en masse, but individually. It happens occasionally. > > One of the symptoms of a sick chicken who eventually will die, in our experience, has been showing up lame, limping. I never found out what actually disease this might be, but just know that when a chicken turns up lame and has not stepped on a thumbtack, that it is very often the case that this chicken will slowly get worse and eventually die. Yours might get better, but I am just relating my experience. **Bardos** That is very strange, We’ve had a few go lame for a day or so and then get better but this one doesn’t seem to be improving so you might be correct. I had assumed that they had simply jumped off of something too high or whatever and damaged their legs but I suppose this one might have some kind of disease. Thanks, you gave me something new to think about. Testy ---
**Author:** ![Testy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c37758/32.png) [@Testy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Testy)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-knowlege-on-chickens/604630/36 "2011-12-01T14:36:54Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > In all honestly, if your wife is the type that gets easily attached to animals, thinks of farms animals as “pets,” etc. then chickens are probably not the best animals for you to keep. To be blunt, chickens cannot be pets; they have little value, have very limited life spans, and have zero attachment to the owner. If she wants a pet, she would be much better off with a dog or cat. **Crafter Man** Well, I agree with you. I have much more of a “farmer attitude” toward the chickens in that they are primarily for eggs and eventually a chicken dinner. OTOH, my wife loves animals in general and her chickens in particular. It occasionally makes for some interesting discussions. _S_ Thanks and regards Testy ---
**Author:** ![Testy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c37758/32.png) [@Testy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Testy)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-knowlege-on-chickens/604630/37 "2011-12-01T14:38:47Z")
> [@Sigene](#): > > if you do go the plucking route, the best thing I’ve seen is a vat of melted wax. Mom has a largish tub of wax just for this purpose. Melt the wax, dip the bird, let cool, peel the wax (and feathers) off. > > Just put the wax/feathers back in the tub, you can reuse it multiple times. > > Oh, and sorry about the pet. **Sigene** I’ve heard of this but never seen it done. I’ll have to give it a try next time. Anything has to be better than just hand-plucking them. Regards Testy ---
**Author:** ![Testy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c37758/32.png) [@Testy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Testy)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-knowlege-on-chickens/604630/38 "2011-12-01T14:41:11Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > Huh? > > The title says “Need knowledge on Chickens” > > How did you immediately rule out a discussion of using the chicken for food? > > But I also side with the attitude that, if it’s a pet, it gets a pass on being dinner. **BubbaDog** That’s about the size of it. I may end up having to put it down but I doubt my wife would consider eating it so she gets a pass on being fried. Regards esty ---
**Author:** ![Testy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c37758/32.png) [@Testy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Testy)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-knowlege-on-chickens/604630/39 "2011-12-01T14:47:35Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > Well that certainly makes it clearer what the problem is. I agree that a dog/cat vet is likely to be of little help. Why don’t you have a poultry vet if you have poultry? That’s a bit odd to me. Because, as you’ve noticed, even “pet” “backyard” “small scale” chickens get sick. If your wife cares so much for them, why hasn’t she seen to their welfare by finding a proper vet? > > BTW, I don’t discount the attachment people can have to chickens and such. My friend i a large animal vet and knows this guy, has a real old cow and treats it like a performance horse. Joint injections for its arthritis, state of the art nutrition, the works. Just loves that cow. Why not? **Hello Again** Dedicated poultry vets are somewhat uncommon, at least around here, which I assume would also make them somewhat expensive. A chicken costs $3 plus food and shelter, and has a productive lifespan of around 2 - 3 years. It isn’t worth dragging a single chicken to a dedicated poultry vet, even assuming I could find one in the area. It’s just a matter of practicality. Regards Testy ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-knowlege-on-chickens/604630/40 "2011-12-01T14:49:24Z")
Did you know when hens reach 10 to 12 months they “set”? They start making a clucking/purring sound. They stop laying Eggs and molt. After a few months they’ll lay eggs again but never the same quantity. My uncle had hen houses and got chickens that laid eggs for the hatchery. They gave use the chickens when they were about two months old. We sold the eggs to the hatchery for about eight months and then the chickens were picked up. We had a few weeks to wash down the chicken houses and then we started with a new batch of chickens. We kept them long enough that a lot of the hens were starting to “set”. Our egg production went down a lot the last couple weeks. > [@](#): > > My wife and I have 9 hens which make a pretty good egg supply. These are really free range hens, we live in Eastern WA in the hills and the hens run all over the place during the day. There is both forest and pasture for them to run around in. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-knowlege-on-chickens/604630.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-knowlege-on-chickens/604630.md?page=3)