Chickens for 10-20 years or more? Pull up a rockin' chair and lay some wisdom on us!

[1hotmoma]

I am needing to vent for a minute.. A friend came over to visit for a few minutes. He son was wanting to pet my chickens and ducks. Well they wouldn't come to him. My friend said.. well "she must not work with her animals so you can pet them" .. What in the world? I want my chickens and ducks to be natural and not handled like what they want. Does this make sense? My fuzzy butts are happy and healthy. What in the world? If they want petted they will come to me but I am content watching them and giving them treats and all the things I do for them.. they are not cats or dogs.. Sorry about that guys I just had to say something before I explode!!!

 

[Erin~TheChickenLover]

Sure, I built it from a drawing from a magazine. If you have any woodworking skills at all or just a saw, hammer, nails and a tape measure you can cobble one together from the picture. The actual size is up to how big you want it. Here's another pic:




Just remember you will have to deal with the varmint, don't expect the Missus to handle the deed:

Now that you have a possum, what are you going to do with it, you can:

I love that.. I've actually tried eating possum before. My brother shot it, my cousin and I cleaned it, and my grandma cooked it. I'm not going to lie, it was quite tasty.

 

[bokbokbakock]

My grandfather said if you ever have an egg eating snake, set glass eggs under your hens. That nasty reptile will crush them up against a tree or a pole and then TADA no more snakes!

 

[darkmatter]

My grandfather said if you ever have an egg eating snake, set glass eggs under your hens. That nasty reptile will crush them up against a tree or a pole and then TADA no more snakes!

Glass eggs may be hard to come by. I always just blown out a egg and fill with salt, then replace in the nests that have been raided by the snake. The snake eats them whole and when it crushes the egg internal-------sure death.

 

[al6517]

I am needing to vent for a minute.. A friend came over to visit for a few minutes. He son was wanting to pet my chickens and ducks. Well they wouldn't come to him. My friend said.. well "she must not work with her animals so you can pet them" .. What in the world? I want my chickens and ducks to be natural and not handled like what they want. Does this make sense? My fuzzy butts are happy and healthy. What in the world? If they want petted they will come to me but I am content watching them and giving them treats and all the things I do for them.. they are not cats or dogs.. Sorry about that guys I just had to say something before I explode!!!

I for one think you are quite right in that.................. I have found that pet chickens such as the ones you refer to, that are forced to be cuddled and petted are the worst. they get under foot and want attention incessantly, it's pain in the A33. I enjoy doing my choring with the birds at one end of the pen and me at the other, they don't freak out but yet are behaved and don't want a treat. I don't want a bunch of red headed snotty nosed kids messin with my birds, they don't know what to do once they catch them and the kid will freak out and the rest is a recipe for disaster. Just let the Martha Stewart type chicken folks do their stupid pet thing and let us keep shaking our heads at them, that is the safest way, cause they will never get it. Pet chickens is the new black and I can't wait for this fad/trend to over with LOL.

 

[rosewolf22002]

Quote: Amen! I live out in the sticks. We have city folks moving out here and first thing they do is buy chickens. Then they make friends with you and just "Have" to go look at your set up. I don't let anyone but family in my yard/coop. We had a friend lose all his chickens because they let them in the coop and the newbie had sick chickens and did not tell him. Just off their dang shoes! I don't care how pissy they get. They are not going out to my chickens! Sorry hit a nerve...keep your chin up. Nothing wrong with owning real chickens.

 

[1hotmoma]

Thanks. The friend has a duck and it follows them around like a puppy. This isn't normal at all. I will continue to just shake my head.

 

[fowlman01]

Thanks. The friend has a duck and it follows them around like a puppy. This isn't normal at all. I will continue to just shake my head.

Waterfowl will "imprint" on whatever/whoever broods them. When that happens they no longer know that they are a duck/goose and that can cause them problems.

Walt

 

[Beekissed]

I am needing to vent for a minute.. A friend came over to visit for a few minutes. He son was wanting to pet my chickens and ducks. Well they wouldn't come to him. My friend said.. well "she must not work with her animals so you can pet them" .. What in the world? I want my chickens and ducks to be natural and not handled like what they want. Does this make sense? My fuzzy butts are happy and healthy. What in the world? If they want petted they will come to me but I am content watching them and giving them treats and all the things I do for them.. they are not cats or dogs.. Sorry about that guys I just had to say something before I explode!!!

You should have gotten down to the little boy's level and with the sweetest voice ever, making sure your friend could clearly hear, said, "Well, honey, that is because these chickies and duckies are for eatin', not for petting. We handle them lots as we are plucking their little feathers out after we cut their little throats. They hold real still then and don't try to get away at all! Come around then and we'll make sure you get to hold and pet all the chickens and ducks you want."

 

[HallFamilyFarm]

Quote:

That father would have looked like this: