bad or half-baked chicken advice you've received?

[45519]

Hi guys,
I'm trying to write an article for a magazine on bad advice or half-baked advice that is commonly passed around among backyard chicken keepers. In my own life, I've gotten plenty of advice that often wasn't bad per se - it just wasn't the whole story. Por ejemplo, putting day old chicks under a broody. Not bad advice, but not said was the fact that my hen could reject the chicks, which she did. Also not said was that if she did accept them, she'd want to raise them instead of going back to laying ASAP.

What are other things people have told you to do with your chickens, and what else do you wish they also told you so you had the full story?

Thanks,
Jill

 

[teach1rusl]

I haven't gotten this advice, but I've read of it often. It's that scratch or corn is perfectly fine as chicken feed. Now evidently there actually IS a type of scratch out there (possibly home mixed) that has the proper nutrient balance. But MOST commercial scratches, and corn for certain, have very low protein levels. Most layer feed has at least 16% protein (needed in egg production and feather regrowth), while MOST scratch mixes only have 9% or less. Same with things like Flock Block - basically just a scratch/treat block...maybe 9 or 10% protein.

 

[debid]

How about "keep the entire brooder at a consistent 95 degrees"? Oh sure, if you want roasted peeps! Fortunately, I got better advice here before the chicks arrived.

 

[Beekissed]

Feeding corn will "heat them up" in the summer and keep them warmer in the winter
Feeding them their own eggs/shells will make them become "egg eaters"
Feeding them apples or other fruits will affect egg production
Square roosts prevent frost bit toes and round roosts do not
Drafts in the coop will cause your chickens to sicken and die
Drafts in the coop will cause frost bit combs
Feeding meaties continuously and providing lights for them is the only way to grow them out
Disinfecting the coop/waterers/feeders on a regular basis is the only way to prevent disease in the flock
Eggs must be refridgerated to remain fresh
Eggs must be washed to prevent food contamination/bacteria
Free ranging is just putting chickens at risk
Feeding chicks medicated feeds is the only way to prevent cocci
Slitting a chicken's throat when he is upside down will cause it to breathe blood into it's airway
Schooling an aggressive roo will only cause him to be more aggressive

 

[dragonlair]

How about the hens need a rooster in order to lay eggs myth.

Brown eggs are healthier than white

 

[m_shuman]

Fertile eggs have a blood spot in them.

 

[darkmatter]

Just about any unsolicited advice from people without chickens or only have a few chickens for less then a year was not only wrong but just plain stupid.
Even advice from people with chickens seemed okay until I visited their setup/coop and got the overwhelming ammonia stench of a poorly managed system.
The best advice I got was when building my coop, an old friend of my fathers recommended I built the ladder roost suspended and on pivots to be able to swing it up out of the way.
Most of my good practice ideas/construction came from old-time Organic magazine publications describing techniques that had been in use for centuries. (Like my sub-ground level dirt floor composting pit in the coop) And an Mother Earth News article about buildings that have stood the test of time for over a century---like roof overhangs, rot proof foundations keeping wood parts above ground, drip edges, and solar orientation.

 

[al6517]

Quote:
X2

 

[A.T. Hagan]

Quote:
This is a very good point. Using the examples that Beekissed cites (not picking on you Bee as they are common examples that appear here often).

Quote:
Except for the upside down chicken line every one of those others can be both a NO and a YES at the same time. You have to have the whole story to know whether it's true or false.

 

[duckinnut]

You have a nice big yard,"YOU SHOULD GET SOME CHICKENS".

Not that it was truly bad advice but me being me I didn't wade into the tide of chickens,I had to jump in full throttle. Always thinking about how I can better the coop even though its a taj mahal and thinking the next breeds I am going to get. Granted it has been rewarding but has become an addiction. You know because hunting and fine bourbon and a finer cigar wasn't enough hobby. But loving every minute of it all.

Thanks for the advice.