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

[rowerjen]

But we still offered it when we really didn't have to. I appreciate each and every OT that has taken the time to help newbies shorten the learning curve that took these guys many years to obtain. I really don't care that if they want to have a little fun along the way...at least they are helping someone~more important, they are helping someone with good information. Hard won information that took money, hard work and dedication to learn...and they offer it here, for FREE.


From the heart...thank you, all you OTs who contribute and another thank you for newbies that know a good thing when they see it and keep asking questions so that others may learn.

x2

As a newbie, I've learned a lot from this site in a short period of time and am getting a sense for when I might be leaning towards doing something silly. All I have to do is say to myself "these are chickens, and chickens have survived 4000 years without [fill in the blank]" and I snap right out of it.

In addition to the advice willingly dispensed to novices over and over and over again, I've noticed that people here can disagree vehemently and vigorously...and still carry on with the discussion with eachother.

Might get a little rough and tumble here some times, but I'll continue to stick around.

Lay that wisdom, well salted with humor, on me, OTs!

 

[fowlman01]

I'm thinking turkeys must "imprint" too. I've never had many turkeys, but never noticed it before this year. Maybe I just bought stupid ones this year.

Have 15 poults in the big outdoor brooder. I "held and touched" them long enough to take them from the shipping box and put them in the brooder 6 weeks ago today. They get their feed topped off and waterers filled up twice a day. Other than standing there looking them over when I feed and maybe a few minutes during my day if I happen to take a break and am near the brooder, I have had very little contact with them.

Yesterday I decided they were feathered out enough to turn them out. So I just opened the double doors on the brooder and walked off. It took a couple of hours for the last few to get brave enough to jump out into the big new world with the growing chicks, guineas, and all the ducks which just free range.

The next time I walked out there every single one came running. Followed me all over the pasture and the coops while I feed and I finally had to shoo them off to keep them from following me back to the house.

Never had that happen with anything except geese before.

I don't think domestic turkeys come any other way than stupid...and now that there are so many wild ones now they are getting stupid too. This is looking from one of my duck flight pens.I could hit them with a rock.



Poultry will do anything for feed if they are hungry. May be before you time, but they had chickens in this vending machine kind of thing that would play a piano if you put a coin in. It dropped corn on the keys. I have been a poultry trainer for Lucas Films and Bank of America and the retakes were never because of the birds. When I collected my money I reminded them of that.......it was all done with feed.

Walt

 

[Roxannemc]

Bekissed Often what is very funny to the' jokester" is seldom funny to the respondent . I think joking is the wrong word,here." Making fun" more the right word.Maybe not aimed at ONE person but as groups .Go back and read the posts for the last few days .Yes thank god for the kind truly helpful ppl on here.They are PRICELESS.

 

[normanack]

Seems to me a lot of the tomfoolery and pokes from the OTs are just as often aimed at themselves . . .

If you read closely you can sense the goodheartedness here. Quite a bit of what looks like bullying/ranting/meanness is in jest or part of an act, almost. I mean, I bet the OTs here are not all grizzled old men in stained overalls with potbellies and beards leaning back in their rocking chairs and spitting tobacco juice. And yet that is more or less the image projected. And the words are often part of that image.

I could be wrong, and they might never admit it, but I bet the oldtimers here would be the first to give you a hug if you were crying over a sick or injured chicken and maybe even shed a tear with you. Then they would put it out of its misery for you. And that post would read, "Just kill it already, you newb!"

 

[PetRock]

I don't think domestic turkeys come any other way than stupid...and now that there are so many wild ones now they are getting stupid too. This is looking from one of my duck flight pens.I could hit them with a rock.



Poultry will do anything for feed if they are hungry. May be before you time, but they had chickens in this vending machine kind of thing that would play a piano if you put a coin in. It dropped corn on the keys. I have been a poultry trainer for Lucas Films and Bank of America and the retakes were never because of the birds. When I collected my money I reminded them of that.......it was all done with feed.

Walt

LOL about the vending machine chicken! I remember seeing a baseball chicken vending machine as a child when we were on vacation in the Black Hills of South Dakota. It batted a ball on a tee stand and then ran around the bases to collect its food prize! It's funny the things that stick with you!

 

[fowlman01]

Seems to me a lot of the tomfoolery and pokes from the OTs are just as often aimed at themselves . . .

If you read closely you can sense the goodheartedness here. Quite a bit of what looks like bullying/ranting/meanness is in jest or part of an act, almost. I mean, I bet the OTs here are not all grizzled old men in stained overalls with potbellies and beards leaning back in their rocking chairs and spitting tobacco juice. And yet that is more or less the image projected. And the words are often part of that image.

I could be wrong, and they might never admit it, but I bet the oldtimers here would be the first to give you a hug if you were crying over a sick or injured chicken and maybe even shed a tear with you. Then they would put it out of its misery for you. And that post would read, "Just kill it already, you newb!"

We certainly have had our differences, but that is what life is about....like a friend use to say "If we all liked the same things we would all be shoemakers"...I didn't get it either, but maybe one of you may. To any of you that have read this thread, you know that there are some fairly major differences in why we have poultry, but by and large ......because it is a common sense/experience thing.....we are all very close in how we handle our management in general. I went to all boys schools all my life, nothing offends me......so I'm not a good judge of how things come across to other people. Some people have told me stop posting in certain threads and some people have called me a meany, but I post in these threads to take away some of my temporal punishment due to sins...and to kid with Al cuz he has no friends...well he does have one in OK.

This can become the OK Corral within a post or two and it is hard to be sensitive online.

Walt

 

[Beekissed]

Seems to me a lot of the tomfoolery and pokes from the OTs are just as often aimed at themselves . . .

If you read closely you can sense the goodheartedness here. Quite a bit of what looks like bullying/ranting/meanness is in jest or part of an act, almost. I mean, I bet the OTs here are not all grizzled old men in stained overalls with potbellies and beards leaning back in their rocking chairs and spitting tobacco juice. And yet that is more or less the image projected. And the words are often part of that image.

I could be wrong, and they might never admit it, but I bet the oldtimers here would be the first to give you a hug if you were crying over a sick or injured chicken and maybe even shed a tear with you. Then they would put it out of its misery for you. And that post would read, "Just kill it already, you newb!"

No, Walt and Al are quite good-looking gentlemen...don't know that I've ever seen Fred but I bet he's just as handsome and well-dressed.

When it comes to the hard stuff in life, you won't often find me crying. I've worked as a nurse for 19 years and the last 4 yrs have been in hospice. So much pain, so much agony, so much sadness....one would be floating on a river of tears if they gave way to all these in reality.

So I do the jobs that no one wants done, show extreme love and compassion with every touch(See? I DO have feelings!

...where they belong, for humans who need compassion in a real crisis), and I take my tears home with me....no one wants to pile tears onto those who have enough burdens of their own. Brave face for the important times...I can break down at home where no one cares or will be affected by my loss of control.

I've killed hundreds of animals and done it with stoic, steely determination, in a merciful and quick manner. I've held dying people, held and supported families of those dying, done all the miserable, horrible jobs that goes along with the sick and the dying....someone has to do the jobs that no one wants.

A lot of OTs were raised like me...when a hard job comes along, you don't cry about it. You get it done...crying takes time, makes the scenery blurry and makes your nose run just when you need your hands free for working. If you cry over every hard job, pretty soon nothing gets done in life.

When you see OTs being gruff and making fun, it is an attempt to get folks to toughen up. Raising animals isn't always unicorns and rainbows and it involves hard decisions and hard times. People don't learn nor get tough by being babied along. They just stay babies.

 

[loanwizard]

I love you guys and gals!

What's the next question?

 

[qball53]

If I never own another chicken I will continue to read this thread. When I am away for a few days and the unread posts climb to double or triple digits, I may do a little skimming. But I will put a wuick eye on every post because there are some real nugets in here about life chicken or not.

 

[qball53]

ok that is quick eye ......... an nuggets