Chicken myths and old wives' tales, please!

cassie said:

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry when I saw those signs. I am curious about whether you said anything to those in charge. Like just where they got their "information".

Click to expand...

Well I laughed and told my kids they where false! It was sad to see them though because I wonder how many people now believe that stuff!! Crazy!! They where right outside the kids 4H section too. I didn't talk to anyone about them. But this year my daughter is in 4H chicken. And if I see more like them and have a chance to kindly educate the people who put them up, I will!!

I heard the 'chickens will peck your eyes out', and haha, funny story. I was looking at one of my hen's comb for some reason at night when they were all roosting and my mean welsummer hen that was roosting right next to the one I was looking at pecked me in the eye!! So that old wive's tale might be slightly true lol. I was ok though. I think it was just more of a 'what is that round, wet, shimmery thing next to my face?' kinda peck, but it still hurt.... I don't think she was actually trying to hurt me. Or maybe she was...I can never be sure with her...

On the other hand, all of my other chickens (I have 38 right now, but I've lost 6 in the past 2 years, so 44 chickens total) have never even come close to pecking my eye. Well, I guess I shouldn't say that. I have 2 chickens who love to roost on me, and Beth, my cochin banty x RIR loves to sit on my shoulder and investigate my eye. She's never tried to peck me, but when she goes to look at it, her face gets super close to my eye and her beak is practically poking my eye out lol. I have to repeatedly push her face away, but she just doesn't get it and keeps doing it. Well, at least it makes me laugh. The other chicken who loves to roost on me is my polish x D'Uccle? rooster I got from a lady for free.I named him Key, after a member of the K-Pop band SHINee. He is soo sweet and if my parents would allow it he would be an inside chickey. He likes me better than the other birds. Anyways he likes to investigate my eye too, and I've had to push his face away a few times. He's really small and adorable. He is fully grown and the second smallest in the coop, only to his brother who is a Japanese bantam x D'Uccle? rooster I also got from the same lady. Key has only crowed a few times, all on the same day. He was roosting on my arm and I had to keep encouraging him. It is kinda raspy, not as high-pitched as I thought it would be, and he can only get 1 or 2 syllables out. So instead of sounding like cock-a-doodle-doo, with 4 syllables, it sounds more like cock-a- doo, and it's really short and forced. He's trying though. And it's extremely adorable. I love him so much. He's around 6 months old. I think he's going to be my 'silent but deadly rooster', lol. He's really sweet to humans and too small to stand a chance if he picked a fight with the other birds, but if a cat walks near him that cat better run!! He once chased a cat up a ladder in my barn, and the cat stayed there until it saw I was holding the rooster lol. My little guy's practically a chihuahua. He's tiny with a loud personality, and a big ego, at least around cats.

So I also debunked the theory that all roosters are mean/evil/aggressive. My rooster Key is living proof that that is wrong. Actually none of my roosters are terribly aggressive at the moment. My RIR rooster was, but now that I started holding him and stopped being afraid he's fine. He won't even come near me, even if I'm picking up a hen who's squawking her head off. I have a cochin rooster who is still young who's bit me a few times, but I think he was just scared from being brought to a new home. I don't know if I'm going to keep him though. So, none of my roosters are aggressive. I guess I'm just lucky...

Have anyone herd of the myth that if a chicken gets her feet wet they won't lay a egg that day or the next day. I don't think it's true but does anyone have any input on this?

Yep...ridiculous. That is, unless the way she's getting her feet wet is in a stew pot, then it would be true. She will never lay another egg in that case.