Posted on 03/08/2018 11:22:38 AM PST by nickcarraway
They walk like chickens, they cluck like chickens, and they cost $350 a bird.
Last week, a viral Washington Post story chronicled the life and times of the Bay Area's well-heeled pet chickens and their luxe digs, calling the birds "the Silicon Valley elite's latest status symbol."
"Egg-laying chickens are now a trendy, eco-conscious humblebrag on par with driving a Tesla," the Post reported.
The catalogue of surreal luxuries that followed would not be out of place on a reality television show: The Real Chickens of Silicon Valley. One woman, whom the Post dubbed the "chicken whisperer," offers her consultation services on chicken-related matters at the rate of $225 per hour. High-roller chicken owners reportedly pay $350 per bird for heritage breeds, spend tens of thousands of dollars on luxury chicken coops, install high-tech monitoring systems and hire personal chefs to cook for their chickens.
SNIP
"There are cases where people are killing their birds with kindness. They're feeding them oatmeal every morning, greek yogurt," said Greg Howes, owner of Two Flew the Coop, a Sacramento business that sells artisan chicken coops and other supplies for raising backyard hens.
SNIP
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
I'm in the wrong business............................
Chicken Ping!....................
“Ain’t nobody here but us chickens.”
A new motto; California, the chicken shit state!
Unmentioned is that live chickens tend to carry and transmit salmonella. Children especially tend to get careless about basic hygiene when handling pet chickens.
A couple of years ago, there were stories about chicken retirement homes in somewhere like Portland or Seattle. Yuppies would have chickens in their city yards. When the chickens stopped laying or the owners had to move or the owners just got tired of taking care of the chickens, they couldn’t bear to kill and eat them. So they pay monthly rent for their chickens to live at retirement farms.
"His name was Colin."
There was a time when NoCal used to laugh at SoCal.
Fixed it.
I’m currently chicken-less. :(
We’re re-modeling the barn and I have been promised safe space for chickens and Angora rabbits (for yarn). Right now we do not have an out-building secure enough for hens...and I’m NOT raising them in the house, LOL!
Can’t wait! I really miss having laying hens. IMHO, they are, ‘The Most Useful Critter Ever!’
Blackadder realises that Buxomley represented the constituency of Dunny-on-the-Wold, a rotten borough consisting of a tiny plot of land with several farm animals – 3 rather mangy cows, a dachshund named Colin, and a small hen in its late forties.
Blackadder the 3rd, "Dish and Dishonesty".
Ybor city and Key West are the chicken capitals of the world.
Oh, and the roosters think they own the place.
Until you get hungry...
5.56mm
They didn't raise them for money but rather for fun and the daily fresh eggs they provided along with teaching their children responsibility since it was the kids who were the primary custodians of the chickens and would occasionally take some to school and give presentations to their fellow students...........Very nice article!
since when has having a chicken coop in your back yard become a status symbol or a sign of purported affluence?
These guys are a good source:
https://www.meyerhatchery.com/?A5WSessionId=aee12c65fede4484a5cc328e7eaa0878
If you’re quick, you might also be able to get them from your local Tractor Supply store.
Old hens aren't good for meat. However, they are better off being made into chicken soup.
Chickens can be filthy creatures if the maintenance work isn’t kept up, but I suppose these people have the hired help do the mucking.
My granddad used to “trade” some of the chickens we got fond of for chickens from a neighbor. I didn’t have any problem with the new chickens getting the ax.
I learned later that the neighbor had the same idea.
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