Do Chickens Need Turndown Service?

I am turning my attention to chickens today. Specifically chicken hotels … with turndown service.

Yes. You just read that correctly. Turndown service.

I saw an article floating around Twitter today about a luxury chicken hotel in Eugene, Oregon.  According to the article, for just $2 per chicken per night, the birds receive fresh food, water and a safe place to sleep. For just $1 more, chickens can get “deluxe accommodations” with organic food, fresh vegetable scraps and – the kicker – turndown service.  Do you think this may include a wrapped chocolate on a pillow? Well, not exactly – try meal worms instead, which I presume are like chocolate to chickens.

But I do want to mention that I am not someone who generally thinks of chickens as pets. Chickens are farm animals and they are raised to provide food – either eggs or chicken meat (like my 9-year-old’s favorite – chicken tenders!). And it’s my belief, by the way, that this is an admirable purpose in life.

Does this mean chickens are any less cared for by farmers, who may be attached to their animals but don’t think of them as pets? Absolutely not. The chicken farmers I know provide their birds fresh food and water (24-7, in fact) and a very safe place to sleep, as well. (Hmm – sounds similar to the luxury chicken hotel.) Chickens traditionally raised in barns keep birds safe from both inclement weather and many predators, and farmers and their employees are available any time day or night to make sure the birds are comfortable and well cared for (sort of, ahem, like 24-hour room service).

Chicken farmers also know to take the necessary safety measures to ensure their chickens stay healthy and do not spread diseases to other chickens – a very crucial part of animal husbandry. While the news article didn’t cover this topic with the owner of the chicken hotel, I certainly hope he does the same thing. (The article did talk to a chicken sitter in Los Angeles who indicated she is very vigilant about disease prevention.) I also know there are many education efforts in place to help backyard flock owners learn more about disease prevention and treatment, so please know I’m not suggesting that many backyard flock owners aren’t aware of the importance of this.

Here’s what makes me shake my head a bit with this news report: it seems to perpetuate the idea that farm animals can be our pets (or dare I say, our children) and we should be giving them all the amenities we give our own human family members. (Case in point: a chicken hotel in the UK offers bird pedicures. Seriously.)

In my mind, there is a difference between being attached the animals you raise (and I think it’s safe to say most farmers and backyard flock owners are) and literally treating them like furry or feathery humans. The animals we raise certainly deserve our absolute best care, attention and respect. But a two-level hotel suite, pedicure and turndown service? Not so much.

Shameless plug: If you’d like to learn more about Minnesota’s chicken farmers, visit http://www.mnchicken.org,”like” Minnesota Chicken on Facebook or follow @MNChicken on Twitter.