Bits of the interwebs are all aflutter over a report claiming that “Hundreds of unwanted backyard chickens are ending up at animal shelters“.
One commentator, whom I respect, said:
The headline is wrong. It isn’t hundreds, it’s thousands of chickens.
This is one of the things that irritates me about these so-called ‘urban farmers’. A lot of them have no idea what they’re getting into, and aren’t prepared to deal with the consequences. They don’t know how to properly care for them, don’t understand their health needs, don’t understand what chickens eat, and as soon as the chicken becomes inconvenient, get rid of it.
That’s a bit sweeping for my taste, but I do know where he’s coming from. I also smell the enticing aroma of a slow-simmered business opportunity.
I am quite sure the urban “farmers” would pay — maybe only 50 cents, but still — for someone to remove those birds. You could show up in a chickenshit neighbourhood once a month or so in a big old van to collect the birds and a small “handling fee”. Take the birds back to base, slaughter them and use them to prepare fine chicken stock, then sell the stock back to the people who sold you the chickens.
What could possibly go wrong?