Disposal of Chickens

[eddiespangle]

I’m moving house next week and had three old hens that weren’t especially good layers…anyway, to cut a long story short, they met Mr Axe last night.

But I was wondering if it would have been ethical and humane just to have released them on a field somewhere to scratch out a few more days before meeting with Mr Fox. Thoughts?

 

[susbees]

Inhumane. Unethical.

 

[The Cumbrian]

I am not condoning releasing domestic animals into the wild but it seems to be a growing practice. I know of a cockerel that has been living a "feral life" for some months now and a hen at a different place which has been around for a couple of weeks.

 

[ellypatt]

In my opinion better to follow through with the responsibility you took on and axe them. A wild death doesn't necessarily mean a quick death.

 

[coffin dodger]

There are some allotments keepers locally who love to have the odd chicken or three running around, they're not bothered about the eggs (but the odd one or two are a bonus) I gather that they like them for keeping soil turned over, getting rid of unwanted insects, caterpillars etc and for the fertilizer they leave behind, almost perfect organic gardening
Regards
Ray

 

[SixFooter]

There are some allotments keepers locally who love to have the odd chicken or three running around, they're not bothered about the eggs (but the odd one or two are a bonus) I gather that they like them for keeping soil turned over, getting rid of unwanted insects, caterpillars etc and for the fertilizer they leave behind, almost perfect organic gardening
Regards
Ray

As long as they have a fence around their allotment and everything they grow is protected from the chickens then maybe.

 

[jimmybee]

Ferrets food

 

[Beanwood]

But I was wondering if it would have been ethical and humane just to have released them on a field somewhere to scratch out a few more days before meeting with Mr Fox. Thoughts?

No it wouldn't be ethical. You could perhaps have found them a new home if they were special to you, but if that wasn't going to happen, a quick painless death is the better option. (IMHO)

 

[Silex]

Inhumane. Unethical.

We use to have a smallholding and I wouldn't agree with letting them loose in the wild to fend for themselves.

 

[ratcatcher]

you would also be breaking the law, by leaving a domesticated animal to fend for itself, probably would'ent have got caught, but if you did, specially after writing it up on an open forum, they may have took it further

 

[Alphakillpestie]

you would also be breaking the law, by leaving a domesticated animal to fend for itself, probably would'ent have got caught, but if you did, specially after writing it up on an open forum, they may have took it further

To further that argument you would be breaking sections of the animal welfare act, the nub of it is that if the animals are in your control then you are solely responsible for their welfare and all that that entails.

So in the long run a good swift humane dispatch is the order of the day, do you not have a humane dispatcher?? the axe may be seen as a little medieval

 

[newportbuzz]

defenitly not ethical
we got 9 roosters out of a bog hole this summer . they had been pitched up there for a day but its a common spot for mink and foxes so they wouldnt have lasted long.
they were all young and a bit underfeed. So we took them in and fattened them up for a month or two and made some nice curry from them. They died fast and clean as things should be. A fox or mink is a slow panicky death. Not to be given to anything you look after lightly.


you make a deal with your animals. one side is a good clean life. no suffering from illness or bad treatment.
the other side is having to deal with them when the time comes.

just my two pence btw.

 

[drstitson]

"A wild death doesn't necessarily mean a quick death."

one could argue that keeping a concentrated pool of food in a not 100% fox proof compound/coop is worse than letting them safely roost in trees out in the wild.