•3 min read•from Raising Chickens or Other Poultry for Eggs, Meat, or as Pets
Helping people to take better care of their chickens.
Our take
Caring for chickens is a rewarding yet challenging journey, especially when witnessing fellow enthusiasts neglect their feathered friends. Recently, I found myself in a tough spot while visiting a friend’s home in Greece, where their chickens live in less-than-ideal conditions. With muddy coops, overcrowded roosts, and signs of distress among the hens, it was hard to stand by. I’ve taken it upon myself to help improve their situation, from creating cozy nesting boxes to advocating for better living conditions. While I’m not sure how my suggestions will be received by the family, I remain hopeful. Let’s rally together to share encouragement and ideas for helping chickens thrive, because every cluck-tastic life deserves a little extra care!
Soooo... I have to vent somewhere and I am grateful to anyone who wants to listen. I don't know if I am really looking for advice but if you have any idea, please feel free to share!
I live in Greece and some years ago we made friends with a couple, their daughter is the same age as ours and they live above the grandparents . The grandparents and them collectively keep some chickens but their conditions are
fucking atrocious.
It's about four hens and they recently added four young cockrels that have obviously been bullying/mating the ladies. They are kept in muddy coop and run, never cleaned it seems and only have some plastic crates filled with damp grass and poop to lay their eggs. The roost is about chest high and I cannot imagine that the hens are able to get up there.
One of the hens has been pecked so badly she has a serious wound in her neck and didn't move at my approach (she was in one of the plastic crates). Her whole neck was featherless from what I could see. Two other hens did not approach when I gave them all some scraps. One hen seemed to be getting along with the cockrels, she seemed to be the youngest of the lot. The three older hens looked abused, bad in their feathers and skinny. The cockrels were easily two times their bodyweight, maybe more.
The husband mentioned wanting to get some new hens because they don't get any eggs right now (I wonder why? 😳😕). Also he mentioned that the eggs are always dirty. No wonder because they are constantly walking in shit. Their coop absolutely reeks of ammonia.
I took that as an opportunity to get in there and help these poor chickens out a bit. I made some nest boxes out of jerry cans and I will go install them one of these days. Hopefully convince them to put some wood chips down and some nice sawdust for the nest boxes. Lower that roost as well maybe.
As time progresses I think I will try to convince them to eat those cockrels because they are too many and are likely mating the hens too much. I am thinking to mention that they will start fighting for dominance at some point and that they are now in their teenage years. Keep the one with the best behavior if they insist on having a cockrel.
I think it's the father of the family (grandpa to the girl) who is mostly 'taking care' of these poor animals and I don't know how these interventions are going to be received. Please send me some good wishes because I have a bad feeling about this.
Again, I don't know what I am looking for here. Maybe just encouragement for facing the social side of this. And I just needed to share it with someone not directly involved.
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Tagged with
#chicken eggs#chickens#fear of chickens#chicken behavior#bird behavior#hens#cockrels#coop#bullying#feces#wound#nest boxes#roost#dirty eggs#feathers#muddy#behavior#dominance#ammonia#plastic crates