Equal Rights for Pet Chickens. Where are the Treats & Toys?

Webster’s defines pet as "a domesticated animal kept for pleasure rather than utility," but it should really read "a domesticated animal kept for pleasure more than utility". I enjoy spending time with my chickens but I also enjoy eating their eggs. However, that shouldn't negate their pet status anymore than my dogs because he guards our home. At my house our chickens have managed to achieve the same level of acceptance and neglect that our dog and cat have received over the years. The neglect isn't intentional it's just the fate of any pet that depends on a family's children for food and water. For instance, when I brought home a puppy for my kids, they swore up and down they would feed and water it every day. When I brought home a kitten they once again agreed to very similar terms but promising it would be different this time. The tortoise, the fish, and the frog where all purchased under the conditions that they would be cared for 24/7 by an elite team of super children who would never let them miss a single meal. As it turns out, if my wife and I didn't look out for our pets nutritional needs they probably wouldn't be alive today. Don't get me wrong, my kids love their pets and the mere mention of giving them away puts them on the brink of tears and causes my wife to spontaneously smack me on the back of my head. Her point is, no matter how barbaric she delivers it, that although we expect our kids to be more responsible when it comes to carrying for their pets, they are in fact kids. My dad tells me it’s God's way of punishing me for not always living up to my responsibilities as a child. My poor dad's memory seems to be slipping! Maybe the reason kids forget to feed their pets is because they mistake giving them treats for actually feeding them. In fact most kids treat their own diets very similar and would eat only ice cream and candy bars if they had the choice. However, I can't deny that giving treats to pets is one of the very fun parts of pet ownership and a great way to interact with your pet.

I am always reminded of how much my kids really do love their pets when we go grocery shopping, they get so excited when we stroll down the pet aisle gazing over the vast selection of treats and toys that are offered. We usually have quite a debate over which treat our dog or cat will enjoy the most and as far as my kids are concerned, when it comes to their pets, price is no object. As you can imagine my argument is typically centered around price as apposed to taste but on the other hand, how do any of us know what these treats taste like anyway? A few months ago, as my kids and I where strolling down the pet aisle of our local grocery store my six year old daughter Kassidi asked if we could get Bailey a treat. Bailey is Kassidi's favorite chicken because she’s the only hen Kassidi can nearly always catch in our backyard. When I explained to Kassidi that the grocery store didn't carry treats for chickens she immediately asked if we could stop by the pet store on the way home. I told her as gently as I could that I didn’t believe they would have treats for chickens either. She quickly corrected me as she explained in her little sassy way "Duh dad, I think a pet store would carry treats for pet chickens!" My first instinct was to protect my position and win the argument but then my curiosity quickly took over. I thought to myself, duh, there are tens maybe hundreds of thousands of chickens out there that are considered pets, maybe the pet stores do have treats for chickens. After all, our local pet store has treats for my tortoise even though the majority of the population wouldn’t even consider a tortoise as a pet.

Later that afternoon my kids and I loaded back up in the car and made a trip to the pet store each with their own opinion about what we would find. As we made our way in the store we were immediately greeted by two of the store owner’s Great Pyrenees dogs that typically spend there days sprawled out in the aisles of the store. If you have never seen a Great Pyrenees, they are huge white dogs that often weigh over a hundred pounds and if you didn’t already know how gentle they are, you would do your best to avoid them. As we made our way around the two behemoths I was greeted by the store owner Peyton. Admittedly I was a too embarrassed at first to answer Peyton honestly when he asked me what I was looking for and was certain he would mistake my inquiry for chicken treats for some type of chicken flavored treat for feeding some other animal. However, after several minutes of fruitless browsing I did what any man would do in my situation, I sent my kids up to ask for assistance. I positioned myself in a location that would easily allow me to hear the conversation without actually being associated with it in case Peyton or the customer standing at the counter started laughing. It wasn’t my proudest moment as a father, setting my children up for ridicule like that but in my defense I was ready to step in and take them all out for ice cream in the event they were humiliated.

My oldest daughter Skyler spoke to Peyton while Kassidi stood there with her body positioned to blast off in the direction of the treats she was certain existed so she could be the first to get her hands on them and to tell me I told you so. I wasn't surprised when he informed my kids that he didn't stock chicken treats but I was surprised when he mentioned several other customers had made similar requests for chicken treats and how he would consider carrying them if they were available. The woman at the counter paying for some dog treats and a bag of bird seed turned to my kids and mentioned how she threw fresh greens into her chicken pen as a treat for her hens. I stepped forward to listen more intently when my foot came down on one of the enormous dogs that had been sleeping on the floor in front of me. She made an odd yet vicious sounding grunt and quickly jumped to her feet knocking me into a tall cat collar rack that slammed to the ground. A bit disoriented, I spun around in circles trying to locate the sleeping giant I had awaken fearing that I was going to end up a dog treat. Fortunately as it turns out, she really was a gentle giant and had already laid back down like nothing had happened. I reached down to stand the cat collar rack upright pretending not to hear my oldest daughter when she sarcastically shouted "Good job dad!" “So, did you kids find what you were looking for?” I said, pretending that I hadn’t heard their conversation. Before my kids could reply the customer at the register said, “No, they don’t have treats for chickens but I told your kids about throwing fresh greens in the pen occasionally” and then said something that really struck me as both interesting and amusing, “I’ve even seen people hang cabbage for chickens to peck at, it’s like watching them play with a toy”. After several minutes had passed I completely forgot what a bumbling idiot I had made of myself as we continued to discuss our shared interest in chickens and possible treat options for them. Needless to say, I was completely blown away at this point; three grown adults and my children were standing around having a serious discussion about treats and toys for chickens!

Returning home that evening we felt somewhat defeated that we were unable to find treats for our hens but were comforted by our eagerness to see their reaction to a handful of cabbage from our refrigerator. So with cabbage in hand the kids and I raced to the coop in our backyard and threw the “treat” down in small pile that our curious hens immediately surrounded. Sure enough the hens seemed very excited and jockeyed back and forth acting as if the other hen always had the better bite. After several minutes of watching the hens enjoy their treat, I remembered what the lady at the pet store told me about people hanging the cabbage and how it was like watching them play with a toy. When I mentioned the idea to my wife, she said it reminded her of how we used to hang hay inside of a wire ball for our daughters rabbit to chew on, the ball had a bell that hung from it so you when you heard it ring you knew the rabbit was snacking. I gave my wife the old mad scientist look and hurried to the garage to find the wire ball; this was the kind of thing I do around the house that makes my kids like spending time with me but makes my wife think I’ve had too much to drink. However, when the ball was hung filled with cabbage, the chickens pecked, the bell rang, and we all laughed like a bunch of mad scientists!

Several weeks following our trip to the pet store, my kids and I continued to experiment with fun ways of feeding our chickens. We managed to come up with some pretty ingenious and entertaining methods for feeding and found many other treat options along the way like meal worms and peanuts that our chickens really seemed to enjoy. However, we still can’t help but feel somewhat disenchanted when buying our other pets’ treats and toys at a pet store or in the pet aisle of any store realizing that no one has taken the time or cared enough to develop something special for our pet chickens. I think its time we all stand up and demand that treats and toys be developed for our pet chickens so they no longer have to feel like second rate pets. I’m not one to stand up and champion a cause at the drop of a hat but I think it’s time backyard chickens across America had someone looking out for there snacking and playing needs. Sure it won’t be easy and I know I can’t continue to hide behind my kids to avoid ridicule along the way, but America’s pet chickens need me and I’m ready to fight for their right to be represented anywhere pet products are sold. If you could see me now, I’ve got that mad scientist look again!