I need a snappy comeback-what would you say?

[Cindyluwho]

Sorry if this is long but I'm trying to keep this in perspective, not gonna happen, but I'm trying. I'm at the school waiting for my DD12 when one of the other moms asks me if I'm the one who raises chickens. I start to laugh and tell her "yes, that's me". Well, there was an auction last Sunday, where the middle schoolers put themselves up for bids for yardwork, petsitting, babysitting, etc and one of the boys was up for bid and I asked if he'd be willing to clean my chicken coop. He said yes, so when he came up for bid I bid $50 for him. I was outbid, ended up with another boy, end of story. Or so I thought. So, today it's his mom who's asking me if I have chickens, then proceeds to tell me that she informed her son that she's glad I didn't win the bid because she wouldn't allow him to do such a thing because chickens are "filthy animals and carry all sorts of diseases". I was stunned. I told her that our birds are checked/blood tested every year by the state vet for salmonella, etc and that our birds are clean. They are also checked before every show by a vet.

I would NEVER tell a dog owner that dog's mouths are filthy or that cat's can cause disease, I mean hell, they're animals. For that matter, WE'RE animals and we carry germs. The basic science is that if you wash your hands after handling ANY animal you will decrease your risk of becoming ill to almost zero. Other than handing her scientific data on chicken diseases and calling her a hoo-hoo what can I say to her to make myself feel better? And you know what? It wasn't even what she said as it was the way she said it. Nasty hoo-hoo....

 

[Disney Doll]

I would have said "So I guess you don't eat eggs then, since they come out of the chicken's ***".

 

[Tazicket]

Other than handing her scientific data on chicken diseases and calling her a hoo-hoo what can I say to her to make myself feel better? And you know what? It wasn't even what she said as it was the way she said it. Nasty hoo-hoo....

Other than calling her a hoo-hoo, I dunno....that's pretty good by itself!

 

[Hedy]

At least DD and I aren't stupid enough to worry about perfectly safe chickens.

 

[NikiM20]

I would have said "So I guess you don't eat eggs then, since they come out of the chicken's ***".

We have a winner

 

[Cindyluwho]

Other than calling her a hoo-hoo, I dunno....that's pretty good by itself!

My DH always laughs when I use that word, he said it sounds so ladylike.

 

[snowwite]

I would have said "So I guess you don't eat eggs then, since they come out of the chicken's ***".

OMG. Ues.Try that!

 

[Eeyore'sthebest]

I would have said "So I guess you don't eat eggs then, since they come out of the chicken's ***".

This one has my vote! Some people are so ignorant.

My DDad decided that when we moved to the country he was getting farm animals. We ended up with a dozen chickens, a horse and 3 goats. We never got sick and since we were kids not necessarily diligent when it came to the hand washing.

 

[Syrreal]

What a you know what! I part-time grew up on a farm and we had chickens, cows, geese, etc. If you don't want your kid cleaning poo, you shouldn't let him up for an auction that does that kind of stuff. Is cleaning a coop really that much more "dirty" than cleaning up mucky, slug-infested leaves? I prefer cleaning the coop.

As for what to say... probably nothing is the best deal. She doesn't sound like she would be able to take any kind of response, especially a sarcastic one which is what I would probably have said (something along the lines of how clean can you verify the chicken you eat is, etc) and it would have escalated into a fight. Not really worth it.

I'm not even sure why she felt the need to tell you that she had issues with your chores. Even if I thought that I probably would have kept it to myself.

 

[jipsy]

I like Disney Doll's response

That being said, I know how you feel. I have 26 chickens, 6 of which are roosters and 20 of which are laying hens. I don't care to raise my chicks from eggs, so the roosters go in our freezer as I don't need them for fertilizing eggs.

I'm amazed at how many people look at me funny when I say I eat my own chickens. They are fed and watered two to three times a day, they are totally organic and get no medication to fatten them up quickly. I allow them to sleep, unlike commercial chicken factories who feed them 24/7 and butcher them at 6 weeks. Mine are about 6 months before they are butchered. I free range them. Mine have no diseases of any kind, including lice, ticks, etc. They are happy healthy birds who are better pets than my dogs!

I've passed 18 wheelers carrying loads of factory chickens and they look sick and/or they are dead. These are the 6 week old chickens people are buying and eating at the grocery store

However those same people are more than willing to take free eggs from me. *shakes head* It's amazing.

I know what you really want to do is educate her, but people like that don't want to be educated. I wouldn't worry about it.

hoo hoo reminds me of that Jeff Foxworthy joke about his youngest daughter and her friends trying to steal a look at his "hoo hoo" while he's in the bathroom. He tells them hoo-hoos are poison. His daughter pipes up and says "No they are not, or the dog would be dead!"

 

[DisneyBlonde]

I vote for hoo hoo

 

[RitaZ.]

You could have said, "Yeah and you're ugly!"

I've always wanted to use that line. It's from Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.

 

[Tazicket]

Oooh! Ooh! Or, "So's your face." According to Scrubs (one of the best TV shows ever) this comeback is perfect for everything!

 

[Honu]

They are also checked before every show by a vet.

Excuse the city girl, but show? A chicken show?

 

[jipsy]

Yep Honu county fairs have shows where you enter your chicken to win ribbons.

Cindy what type of chickens do you have? I have buff orpingtons, foghorn leghorns , barred rocks and black australorps. The buffs are my favorite; they are such good layers and so docile. But my australorps are beautiful.

I have one feather footed, a Black Langshan. He's beautiful but he's spastic. He's funny to watch run.

 

[MAGICinMYHEART]

I would have said...."I understand why you may think that chickens are nasty, I'm really never surprised by ignorant or misinformed people."

 

[jipsy]

MiMH you just made me spit out my martini

 

[Cindyluwho]

Excuse the city girl, but show? A chicken show?

Oh Yeah poultry shows are just like dog shows. You bath them, blow dry them, put some vaseline on their combs and wattles, trim their nails. It's lots of work, but we love it. Chickens are a blast!

 

[Cool-Beans]

It wasn't even what she said as it was the way she said it. Nasty hoo-hoo....

Heh-heh...heh-heh...she said "hoo hoo."

 

[SwedishMeatball]

Bombard her with "Why did the chicken cross the road??" jokes.