Chicken owner performance anxiety

[Keri78]

Hey There!!! I know you said that you have alot of property so I just came across these pics and thought of you!

I would have ABSOLUTELY NO GUILT about them living in this!!! This is one SWEEEEEEET COOOOOP!!! Blessings, Keri

 

[JoAnn_WI_4-H_Mom]

If money is no object (?!?!) you could go for premier poultry net.

We put our young birds in sliging shelters withing the electrified poultry net. Do this from a young age and they get "trained" to stay inside it.

It is easy to move the net around your property, especially with a solar fence charger.

We had only two losses out of over 40 birds, when I believe hawks frightened birds into the net and the net killed them. When we provided more cover and strung "Caution" tape from the tops of the poles criss-crossing the pasture the hawks stayed away.

I would not feel guilty about a Fort Knox coop and run. The birds will adjust.

I just don't like cleaning coops in the summer when I can just slide them and hose the roost piles into the grass.

 

[Daidohead]

I live on a few acres. My ladies get to free range only while I am around, they get to hang out in a 20x20 run when I am not around. They have a very secure coop to spend the night in. They have adapted very well to my ever changing schedual, Some days they get to roam for most of the day, sometimes only for an hour or two. And they are fine with it. I have a healthy, happy flock. They seem to know that I will open the coop in the morning, they know to be in the coop at dark where they are safe and secure.

Building a secure coop was the best thing I ever did. (It would take a man with a crowbar 20 min. to get into the coop if it was locked up) My Ladies sleep very well, and so do I.

Give your flock what you have to give and they will be happy, anything more than food, water, and a tree to sleep in is a bonus for them.

 

[BigSkyChickens]

Just chiming in for moral support, as I can relate to the thought of sleeping outside the run with a 2x4 in hand......especially the first few months.
I think chicken brains are too small to hold a grudge about being locked up in the run. As long as they have sufficient room and things to play on.....i.e. ramps, ladders, perches, etc....

Keri78, that is a neat tractor.

I spent way too much $ on my coop and run, but it is seriously bomb-proof. We are talking hardware cloth from the top down to two feet underground.

After having the girls for 11 months, my cost per egg is down to about $40.....HAHA. Crazy. But totally worth it!

If anything DID get my chickens, I would not feel guilty because I have done EVERYTHING in my power and budget to prevent it.



Good luck!

 

[cheirogloss]

Thank you all for the moral support! It looks like mini-tractors may be the best way to get some grass time in.

Keri, awesome run! Now I can give DH something to aspire to with his coop construction plans

. That is like the Sangri-la of chicken runs, and it looks bomb prof too with the hardware cloth, gravel etc. I am going to start scouting our local Habitat for Humanity store for lumber.

 

[Twitchy Bee]

I have severe anxiety of keeping my chickens. I was cuddling with them and stayed in the pen for hours. I was obsessed. Now since one died from a fox (free ranging) I'm scared to let them out. They are now (7) in a 8x16x8 pen. Whenever I hear my rooster crow, I get bad heartburn and anxiety thinking that they're sad being locked up in the pen. I don't know how to get rid of my anxiety and depression. I thought this was going to be fun. They all had Coryza already and that took a toll on me. I was thinking of feeding and watering and cleaning a half hour before they go to bed and not spend 24/7 attached to them. I get bad anxiety when I leave my house for work and can't stop thinking about them. Keep in mind both my pen and coop are so solid that nothing can get in it. I still feel bad though leaving them in there. Any advice?

 

[rosemarythyme]

Your run is big enough so there's no reason to think that the chickens are unhappy inside the run. Chickens really don't need much, but maybe it'll help you feel better if you make the run as "fun" for them as you can, so you know they always have something to do. They like having branches to perch on or things to hop up on, some grass or weeds to scratch through, treats to pick at, a good spot to dust bathe in.

And your rooster is crowing because he's a rooster. It doesn't mean he's upset.

 

[Twitchy Bee]

Your run is big enough so there's no reason to think that the chickens are unhappy inside the run. Chickens really don't need much, but maybe it'll help you feel better if you make the run as "fun" for them as you can, so you know they always have something to do. They like having branches to perch on or things to hop up on, some grass or weeds to scratch through, treats to pick at, a good spot to dust bathe in.

And your rooster is crowing because he's a rooster. It doesn't mean he's upset.

Thanks so much! Everyone has been saying the same thing. I don't know why my anxiety is so bad. I have panic attacks and depression but they went away for 2 years with Zoloft. I got the chickens at the same time I got my job so I have been busy with everything and not taking care of myself. I didn't eat for 3 days while taking care of a sick chick. I think I just need to relax and take a break. They do have plenty of branches to climb, a mirror, tires to bathe in, and a million treats. I think i need to think of them more as chickens and not friends.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Well I can understand a little about the anxiety , and animals are supposed to help with that (or at least I tell myself that until my dogs randomly chew up something around the house, raising my blood pressure instead of lowering it!) It's fine if your chickens are your pets and that you want to give them the best care possible, your chickens are definitely living a better life than any factory farm chicken! But they're still chickens and they think like chickens, they really don't get sad like a person would.

 

[Twitchy Bee]

Well I can understand a little about the anxiety , and animals are supposed to help with that (or at least I tell myself that until my dogs randomly chew up something around the house, raising my blood pressure instead of lowering it!) It's fine if your chickens are your pets and that you want to give them the best care possible, your chickens are definitely living a better life than any factory farm chicken! But they're still chickens and they think like chickens, they really don't get sad like a person would.

I really needed that talk. Thank you. I'm so tired all the time now. I just took vitamins and forced myself to eat. I just tend to worry too much. There's padlocks on every door and a million staples in the run. But I still worry. I post about them on my Instagram @twitchys_chicks they get a ton of attention. I think I'm way too attached. Lol. Ill have to back off a smidge for my health