International Respect For Chickens Day

Chickens are quite affectionate and will follow you
to be picked up.

There are a lot of misconceptions about chickens.  Many people think they incapable of affection or bonding with humans.  In fact, chickens are quite trusting, and even those who have been rescued from shameful factory-farm settings will allow themselves to be picked up and held by their new owners.

May is International Respect For Chickens Month, and today is the day when chicken-lovers around the world speak out against abominable conditions most chickens endure in factory-farm settings, and show their admiration for these docile creatures.  According to National Geographic Magazine, a staggering 52 billion chickens are killed every year for food*, and are born and raised in a climate of suffering to then be eaten.

As urban chicken keepers, we respect chickens every day, and know what the benefits are to ourselves and communities of keeping a coop in our neighbourhood.  Today would be a good day to invite someone to see your coop, so they may witness first hand how domestic chickens are supposed to be treated.  

International Respect for Chickens Day

*source:  National Geographic Magazine, May 2011. p. 28. From a graphic by Nigel Holmes.