What was your worst mistake as a chicken keeper?

[ajhaig]

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We learn from our mistakes, right? Even pros and experts make mistakes.
I was wondering what your biggest mistakes were as chicken keepers.
Maybe newbies could find this thread and learn from it.

1. What did you do?
2. What were the consequences?
3. Did you fix it? How?
4. What did you learn?

Please remember, we all make mistakes. Please do not belittle or bully ANYONE for their mistakes.I

I forgot to check their water for 2 days and they quit laying after that.

 

[micstrachan]

I thought I would grow some nice chicken pasture from seed. I threw several pounds of seed over the course of a few months. The pasture grew well. However, the chickens ate a bunch of the seed and got fat. I thought no way are my chickens fat, as I don’t really give treats. Duh. Pasture seed equals treats to foraging birds and I lost one to fatty liver hemorrhagic syndrome. I corrected it by putting them on a diet (rationed feed and almost no treats) and if I need to seed a little bare patch of pasture, I keep a grow box over it until it sprouts.

 

[Wormhunter]

View attachment 2809406

We learn from our mistakes, right? Even pros and experts make mistakes.
I was wondering what your biggest mistakes were as chicken keepers.
Maybe newbies could find this thread and learn from it.

1. What did you do?
2. What were the consequences?
3. Did you fix it? How?
4. What did you learn?

Please remember, we all make mistakes. Please do not belittle or bully ANYONE for their mistakes.

Hi ‘pippin the chicken’ my biggest mistake has been to encourage my free range girls to come to the back door to wait for their ‘daily treat of veg’
Now all the poop is on the path, step etc ready for stepping on!!!

The girls are free range and my lovely gravel path is always Pooh covered (7 large red hens Pooh) as they pace and peer through the glass doors! Should have discouraged this at the start and put their greens in the pen when I let them out in the morning!!!

 

[BPChickenFarmer]

Spoiling them!

 

[Penny Hardie]

1. I thought that 3 hens would be just right and I wouldn't get any more until one died. Setting up for them cost a fortune.
2. I now have 19 hens, two runs, three coops, another run and coop for my broody and her chicks, a cockerel and two ducklings that happened by mistake when I decided to try and hatching with the broody and was sent the wrong eggs.
3. I spent even more money and now my garden resembles a poultry farm.
4. Never under estimate how much you will love your hens and how addictive collecting them can be.

 

[Ursuline Chick]

1. What did you do?
   
   Believed the internet that cockerels start crowing between 4-6 months. Bought more chicks than necessary because they were only available in SR and I read that a lot die (spoilers: they are all super healthy and I ended up with a ton of young chickens).
   
   
2. What were the consequences?
   
   Ended up with a buttload of cockerels, several of whom started crowing at 5-6 weeks. Scrambling to find homes because I live in an area not zoned for roosters and don't want to annoy the neighbors at 6am with what sounded like an underwater donkey bray LOL.
   
   
3. Did you fix it? How?
   
   Threw them up for rehoming on every relevant site possible. Still have 3 more to rehome but they haven't started crowing or fighting yet, so hopefully I will rehome them sooner rather than later.
   
   
4. What did you learn?
   
   Nothing Didn't even get the specific breed of pullet I wanted, so I'll probably try again next hatching season if I don't see one locally. Next time I'll probably look into auctions and swap meets instead of trying to rehome piecemeal on websites though.
   
   Bonus: Not chickens but quail - squirrels are a menace. They don't bother my chickens but they've killed 1 quail (scared it to death) and let several more loose in the yard because they can open simple latches. Two of the lost quail were never recovered. Simple latches were replaced with strong metal ones but the quail still get spooked when the squirrel loiter around. I've taken to shooing them off.

@eveliens I have a great recipe for squirrel sauce piquant, if you would like it. We use it for squirrels who eat our figs.
Sorry your poor quail are on edge due to these very tasty meals when well cooked

 

[Aclurk]

What did I do?
I had to leave for work unusually early at 5 am one July morning. I filled the waterer and left it for our son to take out because he used to get mad if he didn’t get to let them out in the am. My husband was renovating the kitchen and shuffled the kids to my parents for the day early that morning.

What happened?
I came home from work at 4 pm it was 115 degrees that day. I looked out the kitchen window and saw the door was closed. I screamed in horror and ran to the coop fast as I could and opened the door. 3 of them died of heat. I picked them up cried all over them and we buried them in the garden.

How did I fix it?
The coop door to the run never closes in more that 40 degree weather. When we built the coop I anchored hardware fabric to the run and buried apron 1’ down and out from the run and coop. I check the latches before bed to make sure everything is secure and I let the predator proofing do it’s job. Nothing has ever tried to get in.

What did I learn?
Heat kills chickens not cold. Trust my gut. My gut told me to open the coop that morning and I ignored it.

 

[ErnieBerley]

My worst Mistake? underestimating raccoons and what they can do to my flock

 

[kajudu]

View attachment 2809406

We learn from our mistakes, right? Even pros and experts make mistakes.
I was wondering what your biggest mistakes were as chicken keepers.
Maybe newbies could find this thread and learn from it.

1. What did you do?
2. What were the consequences?
3. Did you fix it? How?
4. What did you learn?

Please remember, we all make mistakes. Please do not belittle or bully ANYONE for their mistakes.

I took our dog protection for granted and left the coop open at night after she’d been gone hunting with dad. Raccoon killed 2 of my 3 chickens and severely traumatized the last

I had to go out every night and coax last chicken from the roof for a month. Made another mistake and got her a “friend”…same age from another breeder. The friend spent all of her time showing last chicken who was boss. I was frantic, but let it play out until they found their place

dogs can be your best protection
Chickens can be mean
Predators are always waiting for a slip up

 

[Crazy Chicken Man Sam]

1. What did you do? I ran out of straw for the run so used a bag of sugar cane mulch I had in the garage for the garden thinking it would do the same thing (and is cheaper).
2. What were the consequences? As the mulch was in a bag I didn’t realize how dusty it was until I got it all out. Within a matter of weeks, 2 of my lovely ladies got a respiratory infection and I racked up $100s in vet bills and I had 2 very unhappy ladies for a little over a week who had to be cooped up whilst they recovered. I felt so terrible. I was just lucky it didn’t spread through my whole flock
3. Did you fix it? How? I removed all the sugar cane mulch from the run and replaced it with normal straw again. Took the sick hens to the vet and got them a course of strong antibiotics (over the counter stuff just doesn’t work for respiratory issues in my experience).
4. What did you learn? Don’t be a tight ass! Get your girls the right flooring material or they will get sick in protest which can only be fixed with an injection of cash at the vet also that respiratory infections are nasty and should be avoided at all costs.