Eggs are once again hitting $9-12 a dozen in some parts of the country. It’s mostly down to bird flu, but regardless, shelves are either empty, or only stocked because few can afford what is left. Cheaper eggs do tend to fly off the shelf first, after all. So, of course, people are once again talking about getting chickens. Therefore, I have to do nice again write a post ask you not to do that very thing.
Awhile ago I wrote a piece on the reasons not to indulge this whim, but today I’m going to add one more, heartbreaking, reason to hold off – which is loosing a pet hurts.
Anyone who’s ever lost a pet before will agree that’s true, but allow me to explain the relevance to the point at hand. 1.Simply put, avian influenza is highly contagious between bird species. 2. If the, outbreaks continue the way they have, then soon authorities will have to step up their monitoring of backyard flocks too (right now the focus seems to still be mainly on big commercial/poultry farms). 3. If they find that even one of your birds is sick, then they’ll kill the entire bunch…and there’s really nothing you’ll be able to do to stop them.
Having experienced owning chickens during a Newcastle outbreak, I can tell you from firsthand experience how nerve-racking it is to have the outbreak team show up to your house.
These birds will most likely become pets for you. You’ll care for them on a daily basis, do your best to keep them safe, and then potentially have to stand by while someone kills the.
Chickens fall under the same type of rules that other farm animals do. Culling family cats and dogs would cause riots in the streets, but we’ve recently seen over 100,000+ chickens killed, with barely a grumble of complaint from the masses. Why, because it’s being done to contain a disease threatening the stability of the nation’s food supply. Lofty words, but they won’t be much comfort as you watch them shoving your beloved, dead pet chicken into a garbage bag.
Unless you’re going to completely isolate your birds in the basement of your home, never allowing them to see the light of day, then you aren’t going to be able to completely protect them from this thing. Wild birds could land in your yard to eat, and manage to spread it through their saliva. Heck, they could just poop while flying over head, and it can still contaminate the entire flock. You, yourself, might even accidentally introduce the disease by tracking it into your yard, on your shoes.
All of this can be avoided by simply not getting chickens in the first place. Please think it through!
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