Ended Official BYC Mini Contest #2 - Tell us your best chicken story and you c

If you think back over your time as chicken owner, what event/story stands out for you? What was the funniest, or most heartwarming, or just quite unbelievable thing that happened with you and your chickens? We would like to hear you all's best chicken stories and...

The three best entries will each win a 2017 BYC Calendar!

How to enter:

Reply to this thread and tell us your best chicken story. We're looking for funny, heartwarming, or out-of-the-ordinary stories and only one per member, so give us your best one.

RULES:

1. All entries must be submitted as a reply to this thread.
2. Only one entry/story per member will be accepted.
3. The three best entries will each win a 2017 BYC Calendar
4. Have fun!

As a new chick mom, I read all I could before getting my babies home, so I knew to watch for poopy bottoms, and how to deal with them. It was all fine, except that the chickies had not read about it, and therefore were rather put out by this barberic custom. I tried my best to make it as painless as possible for both of us, and I really don't think it hurt them at all, except for their pride. In any case, before long as soon as they saw me, they ran to the other side of the brooder complaining bitterly! I was kind of heartbroken because I didn't want to be seen as a mean old lady to be feared. So I looked into it and found that by handfeeding them treats they would eventually come to trust me. I got some nice freeze-dried mealworms and started handfeeding them. At first they just looked at me like "lady, you're nuts if you think that's tempting enough to get us to come near you". So I just sprinkled them on the hay after a few minutes. Little by little, their curioisity got ghe best of them and they came and started picking them up. In no time, I was happily feading my nuggets out of my hand. But the truly special moment for me came when my largest chick,a RIR I named Scarlett (although she might be a Rhett) was next to me but she was not interested in the mealworms, so I tried petting her and she sure seemed to like that! So I kept petting her and talking to her, and she looked up at me, and I just knew she wanted me to pick her up. So I did, I held her and petted her for a few minutes and she loved that!!! So now, whenever I give the girls mealworms, I usually pet a few of them who will let me do it,but I always pet or pick up and pet Scarlett.

Fun Chicken said:

As a new chick mom, I read all I could before getting my babies home, so I knew to watch for poopy bottoms, and how to deal with them. It was all fine, except that the chickies had not read about it, and therefore were rather put out by this barberic custom. I tried my best to make it as painless as possible for both of us, and I really don't think it hurt them at all, except for their pride. In any case, before long as soon as they saw me, they ran to the other side of the brooder complaining bitterly! I was kind of heartbroken because I didn't want to be seen as a mean old lady to be feared. So I looked into it and found that by handfeeding them treats they would eventually come to trust me. I got some nice freeze-dried mealworms and started handfeeding them. At first they just looked at me like "lady, you're nuts if you think that's tempting enough to get us to come near you". So I just sprinkled them on the hay after a few minutes. Little by little, their curioisity got ghe best of them and they came and started picking them up. In no time, I was happily feading my nuggets out of my hand. But the truly special moment for me came when my largest chick,a RIR I named Scarlett (although she might be a Rhett) was next to me but she was not interested in the mealworms, so I tried petting her and she sure seemed to like that! So I kept petting her and talking to her, and she looked up at me, and I just knew she wanted me to pick her up. So I did, I held her and petted her for a few minutes and she loved that!!! So now, whenever I give the girls mealworms, I usually pet a few of them who will let me do it,but I always pet or pick up and pet Scarlett.

Click to expand...

Such a sweet story..

I love that photo in the contest intro! Sumi, wasn't that one of your chickies?

Looking forward to reading more stories

Hmmmm, so many stories and to pick just one to enter...

One story in my years of chicken raising I've always loved. A little over a year ago we had a hawk attack the flock, we saw it and ran out to stop it ( of course I grabbed a stick along the way , ready to beat the brains our of any creature hurting my girls). When I reached the run all the hens had gone into the coop but one and the hawk was on her. As soon as it saw me it took off, leaving the hen. I was rushed over to the hen (afraid to see what I would find, I'm not a big fan of blood/cuts). The hen was our last Red sex-link, Bess, she wasn't moving and I took a closer look the hawk had gouged a large hole in her neck. Of course my sister, the one who wants to be a nurse, wasn't home to help. I gently placed her in a box with shavings and towels and placed her in a quiet place in our basement with food and water. I call up my sister asking her what to do then I started looking up things here (BYC). I cleaned up the wounds best I could, but we were pretty sure she was going to die. Well, slowly but surely she was getting better (we had to hand feed her with mush), though she would always lean her head towards the side she got the injury. She also showed signs of being blind in the eye on that same side. I still remember the first day she stood up and straightened our her neck and just looked at us, I was so happy! It took her a little less then a month to recover fully (she could walk straight, stand normal, and could see with both eyes!!!), she even laid a few eggs while recovering. After we integrated her back into the flock she would always try and get back into the house, it wasn't unusually to see her peeking through a window but the door when the flock was free-ranging. She would always make a soft clucking noise and run to us when we were outside. Over all she was the sweetest hen I've had (even putting up with my little brother who liked to carry her around with him everywhere and just talk to her ).

Here are some pictures of her

@Chicken Girl1

That is the sweetest story, thanks for sharing.

@chickengirl1

Oh my word, I'm so glad she pulled through! And she sounds like a real sweetheart!!!

Wonderful story with a happy ending...thanks for sharing Bess with us!

Two strikes and then all Home Run's - Road Runner’s first eggs.



Road Runner, now my #1 BR hen, had some problems in learning when and where to lay eggs.

Her first attempt began in a nest box in the afternoon. But she heard me bring treats into the run. So she pranced out and down the ramp and promptly joined in at the treat tray….the first egg was laid while she was running down the ramp - and surprisingly it was unbroken.

Her second attempt was also in a nest, but at night. While all her flock mates were going to roost, she was sitting in a nest box. I thought she was just going to sleep there. Then about an hour after dark, she came out of the nest singing proudly, left the coop and went out into the run…. then she noticed that no one was around and the world was black, so she began clucking and fretting. I shined a flashlight through a coop window to show her the way. And with the speed of the Real Road Runner, she ran up the ramp into the coop and jumped onto her roost position. I was shocked to find a freshly laid egg in the nest.



After two funny beginnings, she has always made sure to lay only in the nests and during daylight. She is the only hen in my flock who still lays an egg nearly every day at almost 4 years old.


So both Road Runner and I learned our first of many lessons:

• Never lay an egg while walking, running, or after sunset.
• Never assume chickens only lay eggs in the mornings.
• Never, never disturb those who are or may be laying eggs.
• Never underestimate the value of having a Coop Cam