Chicken Confessional: I'm a little scared!

[castillo_de_luz]

he/she doesn't realize it takes the same work and energy to raise 5 as it takes to raise 15.

I have no need for more than what I'm planning. Truly I consider the addition of chickens to be a hobby add-on to my gardening hobby, which sucks up quite enough time/money/effort as it is. In this scenario for me, more does not equal better.

 

[castillo_de_luz]

maybe if you like chickens you could try bantam chickens look at my rooView attachment 3753380

I actually considered doing a flock of bantams instead! I love how little and beautiful they are, like your boy here. But ultimately I was concerned about their hardiness in my climate and their added risk of predation, so I went with "regular" birds.

 

[my spoiled chickens]

I actually considered doing a flock of bantams instead! I love how little and beautiful they are, like your boy here. But ultimately I was concerned about their hardiness in my climate and their added risk of predation, so I went with "regular" birds.

Yeah and I have an indoor and outdoor pen in my barn plus they fly if you don't clip their wings or consantly watch them or have a roof on your pen personally my chickens like to fly up to me so I don't clip their wings I just have a roof on my pen plus now I don't have to worry about aerial preditors like hawks,owls,and crows and we have a lot of hawks up here in pa (bonus pic of my OEGB hen chesnut)

 

[rosemarythyme]

I have no need for more than what I'm planning. Truly I consider the addition of chickens to be a hobby add-on to my gardening hobby, which sucks up quite enough time/money/effort as it is. In this scenario for me, more does not equal better.

More power to you if you can avoid chicken math (this forum is full of enablers ). For me it's not a matter of time or even feed cost, I don't eat a lot of eggs so I see no reason to have a big flock. I built for a max of 12 birds 6 years ago... I still haven't hit 12 birds yet. We've grown the flock slowly over time (adding a few chicks every 2 years) and that provides enough eggs while keeping us within my self-imposed flock limit, without having to cull birds.

Since you mentioned gardening, I hauled out a cubic yard of chicken run compost for my raised beds this year. I'm sure you're looking forward to all the compost you'll generate!

 

[castillo_de_luz]

More power to you if you can avoid chicken math (this forum is full of enablers ). For me it's not a matter of time or even feed cost, I don't eat a lot of eggs so I see no reason to have a big flock. I built for a max of 12 birds 6 years ago... I still haven't hit 12 birds yet. We've grown the flock slowly over time (adding a few chicks every 2 years) and that provides enough eggs while keeping us within my self-imposed flock limit, without having to cull birds.

Since you mentioned gardening, I hauled out a cubic yard of chicken run compost for my raised beds this year. I'm sure you're looking forward to all the compost you'll generate!

I'm building for 6, bringing home 5 and somewhat pessimistically assuming there will be attrition eventually so a new bird or two in the future is likely. The two of us like eggs, but frankly I have no problem buying whatever I need to supplement whatever comes from the girls. Dominiques are good but not prolific layers, so we'll see what happens.

And yes indeed, I'm very excited to assemble my second composter and get it fed with coop/run cleanouts. Between that, our coffee habit, and the leaves and weeds from the yard, I'm hoping for a strong compost "harvest" for my raised beds.

 

[Evadig]

I'm building for 6, bringing home 5 and somewhat pessimistically assuming there will be attrition eventually so a new bird or two in the future is likely. The two of us like eggs, but frankly I have no problem buying whatever I need to supplement whatever comes from the girls. Dominiques are good but not prolific layers, so we'll see what happens.

And yes indeed, I'm very excited to assemble my second composter and get it fed with coop/run cleanouts. Between that, our coffee habit, and the leaves and weeds from the yard, I'm hoping for a strong compost "harvest" for my raised beds.

Always build way bigger than you think you’ll need …

 

[McChooky]

Oh I'm a classic anxious worrier, which is how I'm tying myself in knots in the first place. Reading the threads on problems has definitely given me great insight into preparing for problems -- even if the ultimate solution is... chickens sometimes just die. But I have a nice little first-aid kit planned, so that's a plus.

Don't add anything but day old chicks . Other peoples chickens can spread diseases

 

[Devyn Nagy]

I hope some of you experienced chicken keepers can remember all the way back to your first foray into the world of chickens and perhaps sympathize with how I'm feeling. Or maybe I'm nuts.

I'm a born and raised city and suburban dweller -- I've never been on a horse, held a baby goat, milked a cow, or umm interacted with chickens. Ever. My childhood pets were fish, a pet store parakeet, and indoor cats (and my current household is run by one precious Maine Coon cat).

As the house hunt shifted from a small condo or townhouse to a real SFH on some land, I started thinking about chickens. Fresh eggs. Great compost for a new veggie garden. So when we moved to this 1-acre property last year, I knew it was time to get serious and make a plan for a small flock.

I've probably done more research than most would consider healthy, and fortunately have access to real live human friends who are longtime chicken people and have provided real-world information too. I think I'm as prepared as anyone can possibly be at this point, T-minus 49 days from picking up 5 Dominique pullets.

As excited and happy as I usually am, there's a part of me that's terrified of taking this whole thing on. What if I hate it? What if I can't tolerate all the poop and cleaning? What if we get a rat infestation? What if the birds get super sick, or hurt, or killed in some horrific way? I understand intellectually that any of these things could happen, but unlike other areas of my life, I have no previous experience in dealing with this. I'm not overly squeamish about some things, but disgusting smells or a mauled bird... I don't know how I'd react to that.

This whole post is really just to say that I'm 70% excited to begin the chicken adventure but 30% horrified at the many possible forms of misery this entire undertaking could produce. And believe it or not, this is considered progress in "well-managed anxiety" for me!

Words of advice? Sanity check? Anyone else felt/feel this way, or have a different personal tale to add to the Chicken Confessional? (Corn-fessional?)

Don't worry! Some things about keeping chickens are unpleasant but for me the joy of watching them, interacting with them, and getting my own way-better-than-store-bought eggs totally outweighs the negatives. And as long as you do the right things, (which if you've researches I'm sure you will) your birds will probably have happy, healthy lives. Worrying won't help anything, so dive in and have fun! We're always here for ya!

 

[Chicken poppy]

I hope some of you experienced chicken keepers can remember all the way back to your first foray into the world of chickens and perhaps sympathize with how I'm feeling. Or maybe I'm nuts.

I'm a born and raised city and suburban dweller -- I've never been on a horse, held a baby goat, milked a cow, or umm interacted with chickens. Ever. My childhood pets were fish, a pet store parakeet, and indoor cats (and my current household is run by one precious Maine Coon cat).

As the house hunt shifted from a small condo or townhouse to a real SFH on some land, I started thinking about chickens. Fresh eggs. Great compost for a new veggie garden. So when we moved to this 1-acre property last year, I knew it was time to get serious and make a plan for a small flock.

I've probably done more research than most would consider healthy, and fortunately have access to real live human friends who are longtime chicken people and have provided real-world information too. I think I'm as prepared as anyone can possibly be at this point, T-minus 49 days from picking up 5 Dominique pullets.

As excited and happy as I usually am, there's a part of me that's terrified of taking this whole thing on. What if I hate it? What if I can't tolerate all the poop and cleaning? What if we get a rat infestation? What if the birds get super sick, or hurt, or killed in some horrific way? I understand intellectually that any of these things could happen, but unlike other areas of my life, I have no previous experience in dealing with this. I'm not overly squeamish about some things, but disgusting smells or a mauled bird... I don't know how I'd react to that.

This whole post is really just to say that I'm 70% excited to begin the chicken adventure but 30% horrified at the many possible forms of misery this entire undertaking could produce. And believe it or not, this is considered progress in "well-managed anxiety" for me!

Words of advice? Sanity check? Anyone else felt/feel this way, or have a different personal tale to add to the Chicken Confessional? (Corn-fessional?)

Heres my two cents.

Chickens are tough, i won’t lie. You do get problems, and there are issues. But that’s also why we’re all here, on BYC. To share our experiences and gain knowledge. Some lovely educators have helped me with so much over my few years of owning chickens, and i can’t thank them enough for that.

I’ll say this, that maybe will put your mind at ease. I have had no rat infestation, no horrific mauling, nothing. And it totally depends for each person, but it’s not as common as you might think.

I think you should be prepared for the worst in getting any animal, though. With chickens being outdoors, there is always that possibility. For you, maybe starting off with a very small flock is a good idea, just til you get the hang of things. Is there anyone who owns chickens that could take them off your hands if you don’t end up pursuing this?

Chicken owning is tough, but i wouldn’t be lying when i say i wouldn’t change a thing about owning them. Every bit of owning chickens has been such an educational experience for me, and i love it all.

 

[Chicken poppy]

Heres my two cents.

Chickens are tough, i won’t lie. You do get problems, and there are issues. But that’s also why we’re all here, on BYC. To share our experiences and gain knowledge. Some lovely educators have helped me with so much over my few years of owning chickens, and i can’t thank them enough for that.

I’ll say this, that maybe will put your mind at ease. I have had no rat infestation, no horrific mauling, nothing. And it totally depends for each person, but it’s not as common as you might think.

I think you should be prepared for the worst in getting any animal, though. With chickens being outdoors, there is always that possibility. For you, maybe starting off with a very small flock is a good idea, just til you get the hang of things. Is there anyone who owns chickens that could take them off your hands if you don’t end up pursuing this?

Chicken owning is tough, but i wouldn’t be lying when i say i wouldn’t change a thing about owning them. Every bit of owning chickens has been such an educational experience for me, and i love it all.

I also want to add, plan out the coop you’re making/getting beforehand. A regret i have is just buying one in a panic after i already had baby chicks. I had no time to plan how big they would get or if it was even safe from predators.