[dizzylizzie]

After having a (heated) argument conversation with another forum member( who also loves their hens) i woundered what 'box' people put their chickens in?I know they are 'supposed' to be kept for eggs(lovely) and meat(also lovely), but am i mad in treating mine like pets? I give the same standard of care and would pay for treatment at the vets in the same way as i would for any of my other animals, and although i love getting eggs i wouldnt care if they never laid again, am in the minoritry?

[joyfull]

my dogs have insurance cover and if there was one for chickens I would have bought that as well (although I suppose it would be difficult for a vet to tell them apart). I visit the vets with mine and always have done. I consider mine to be pets although I do sell a few eggs. If and when they stop laying then they will have a happy retirement here just like my dogs.

[dizzylizzie]

. If and when they stop laying then they will have a happy retirement here just like my dogs.

See, i think you are a better owner than me, i wouldnt keep my dog after he had stopped laying

[Debz]

Not sure I can answer the poll because sometimes even with a pet chicken it is just not fair to keep it alive with treatment if the quality of life is going to be really poor.

[joyfull]

my dogs like to lay on my bed    

[joyfull]

Not sure I can answer the poll because sometimes even with a pet chicken it is just not fair to keep it alive with treatment if the quality of life is going to be really poor.

Debz I would hope that if the quality of life was to be poor then none of us would keep him/her alive, but I assumed this poll meant that if treatable regardless of cost was the option 

[poppies]

Mine are definately pets even though we breed them,how can you not see them as pets when they give you so much pleasure, I even know which hens lay the odd shaped eggs and which ones are always last to bed.

We do take our birds to the vet, oh sat in the vets surgery with a turkey hen on his lap was a sight to see -she had a grass seed in her eye, luckily she was'nt took short, but  we could'nt put her in a box because it would stress her out too much she just sat there taking it all in,

When they are no longer laying they just free range around the  fields, although a lady near us usually wants the pekins because she likes them in her garden but dose'nt want the eggs, and boy those birds are spoilt their not her pets they're her babies.

[Aunt Sally]

Not sure I can answer the poll because sometimes even with a pet chicken it is just not fair to keep it alive with treatment if the quality of life is going to be really poor.

Exactly the same with all pets - If the quality of life is going to be really poor they should be put to sleep.

[Debz]

Debz I would hope that if the quality of life was to be poor then none of us would keep him/her alive, but I assumed this poll meant that if treatable regardless of cost was the option  

Then all my pets (including chickens) would be treated if their affliction was treatable.

[dizzylizzie]

Hi Debz, no i didnt mean keep them alive whatever, i ment would you spend the same on them as other pets at the vets.? Its never right to leave an animal to suffer, i agree with you there

[Caralou]

I take them to the vets and they are pets, last month I had Bee (drake) in the vets after a choking incident and Ping (quail) in after some very nasty head pecking, both are now doing well (although Ping is looking a little ropey on her head as the new feathers push through so lots of metacam for her as it is still very sore). I too wish there could be pet insurance for them, especially my two drakes as they are so daft they manage to injure themselves all the time 

[Aunt Sally]

One of my hens (Emily) was VERY ill about 18 months ago with a gastric problem which seemed to be related to a hormonal imbalance (she'd just come into lay).  She had to have an emergency operation and a 3 day stay in the vet's hospital to save her life.  You can imagine how much that cost.  I don't waste my money on smoking or drinking (an occasional G&T only) so I considered it a reasonable expenditure.

The vet suggested that if the problem returned when she started to lay again she could try a hormone implant - a very new treatment and not licenced for chooks - to prevent her from ovulating.  A bit like putting a hen on the pill    Fortunately she seems well now and is laying a few eggs each week.

I would do no less for any other "pet".

Anyone who keeps hens as "Livestock" would of course just have culled her. 

But then with livestock you have to be very careful if you are selling them either live, for meat or for eggs that you only use treatments licenced for that particular species or you would be breaking the law.  Even using 'Frontline" for lice means you may not sell to anyone.

[dizzylizzie]

Funny you should say that Aunty...
Not so long ago i posted about one of my ex-batts Willow. She had egg peritonotus again. This is something that has been a bit of a reccuring problem for her and dispite treatment she was going downhill fast. Now im sure many people know that this is usually fatal, i know treated hens can plod along with an AB and metacam for sometime, but eventually the fluid build up is too much pressure on their airsacs. Well...Willow has been treated with and implant/chip called Suprelorin. Is this the same as yours Aunty?. Basically its used in male dogs to make them temporarily infertile. There has been no trials done on this yet, no-one knows what the outcome is, but Willow has been fab since. The implant is supposed to stop her laying , there for stop the peritonitus, so far so good. It was put between her shoulder blades in a similar way that a microchip is put into a dog/cat, then we put her on reduced rations and put her to bed a few hours earlier than the others to make her think it was winter and try to stop her laying till the implant started to work. It did put her into a mini moult, but she really is fine, fighting fit and no peritonitus. I have another hen, Dory going for the same thing this afternoon, but like i say, there is no trials, data etc so im not telling everyone to rush out and demand it, but im certian it saved Willow, and im hoping for the same for Dory

[joyfull]

poor old Willow, she really has had a rough deal in life, I am so pleased that she is now fit and well. If any of mine get peritonitis I shall have to remember about these implants and get my vets to try and get some  .
Good luck with Dory xx

[Aunt Sally]

That does sound like the same thing as my vet was suggesting.  What  great advancement in treatment !  I'd be interested to know how she gets on (and Dory) so that I can tell my vet about it next time I have to go there (which won't be for a long tome I hope).