Challenges for backyard chicken flocks include predation, malnutrition, disease, lack of qualified veterinary support, and discarding at old age.
Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash
Despite a growing interest in keeping backyard hens, very little is
actually known about already existing populations, and the state of welfare
such birds face. Some research exists on backyard birds and the recent
resurgence of the practice, but much of it has focused on who the people
getting backyard chickens are, and why they choose to live with hens.
Most backyard bird-keepers have been found to be highly educated women with
household incomes of over $100,000 USD a year; when asked why they keep
chickens, 95% of respondents said they were for “food for home use,”
referring to the consumption of the hens’ eggs, while 63% also marked them
as “gardening partners” and “pets” (5%). In general, people report being
satisfied with the experience, stemming from a feeling that they provide
better care for their chickens compared to those seen on commercial farms.
Interestingly, researchers also noticed a tendency to regard the birds as
companion animals in the long run, despite having acquired them as a food
source.
This study sought to outline the welfare concerns faced by backyard
chickens, and provide some possible solutions through a review of the
current literature on the topic.
Read more at
Backyard Hens: Concerns And Challenges...
Lukas Jasiunas is an active animal advocate and proponent of science. He is currently a PhD candidate in the field of Chemical Engineering studying ways to replace petroleum products by making use of widely available residual biomass.