Covid-panic-induced chicken keeping?

[AngBantamLuv]

I’m in England and it’s gone mad here, people who keep chickens have been told to be more cautious because for a few weeks a lot of local chicken keeps had their chickens stolen when this pandemic started. It’s crazy. Iv got a batch of chicks I put up for sale and had a few people contact to buy them, more along the lines of they want to buy 1 to keep as a pet for their child. Iv taken the adverts down because I don’t feel the people contacting me are genuinely interested in the chicks/chickens.

I can see that happening here (U.S) too.. especially with the meat/poultry/egg panics. The guy who sold me my chicks (pet/poultry store) said they had a line out the door every day the first couple weeks. This is a little shop kind of hidden away!

 

[MountainDan]

First let me thank you all for the collective wisdom on this site. I’m a new chick owner, really enabled versus inspired by COVID. I’ve wanted to own chickens for years and have researched ownership extensively. I wanted a small number of kid-friendly hens to help me ensure a clean food supply, provide me with healthy eggs from healthy diet, and provide me with organic compost.

One inspiration is that I’m moving towards a vegetarian lifestyle because I think sustainable fishing is a myth, and I want to take myself out of the commercial farm animal demand cycle.

However, I typically have lot of domestic and international travel. This past year I switched jobs in part to reduce this, but even though my go forward travel will be <20%, I didn’t think it was okay for me to have chicks because they need so much attention.

Enter COVID. I got four hen chicks (buff orpington, gold laced wyandotte, black astralorp, barred rock) and they’re doing great! I originally kept them in a part of my greenhouse, and recently moved them to their new quarters - i segmented a part of one of my outbuildings and they have roughly 80 sq ft plus roosts. That’s more than read they need, but if this works out, I’ll get a few more a few months before egg production slows. I can always expand their space if needed. I’m still doing some upgrades to it, like they need a ramp to the roosts, and once they decide to go outside (so afraid of everything new!!) I’m going to put a window in. Later this year I need to insulate (I’m in 5A so it gets cold).

They’re about 2 months old now, so even if I need to travel later this year I think they’ll be okay. I appreciate the concern, but for me this was a golden opportunity!

 

[tvett62]

I am not sure if I am right, but I’ve begun to see an increase in the number of people buying chicks who are woefully unprepared to care for chickens in the long run. They seem to be worried about not having access to eggs or meat for a few weeks so they make a huge monetary investment and buy animals when they don’t actually want to take on the massive lifestyle change of chicken keeping.
This is a years-long investment and they’re doing it for a few weeks of worry? I worry for the level of care the animals are receiving based on the reason for their purchase.

I ordered my chicks before all this covid mess started. I LOVE my girls. I love the thought of chicks in my backyard. I am no a first time owner, I raised them for years but then we moved to an area, where we could not have them. My daughter wanted them because she wants to raise them foe eggs for her family but she also was in panic mode about all this pandemic mess. She basically talked me into going in with her to get them. I live on her homestead, in my own home and being a chicken mom for years I loved the thought of having them again. She would be one who panic bought and I can not imagine what condition they would be in if I were not here. She has no time for them with raising 3 kids and trying to help her husband with dispatch because he is a trucker. She also runs a website so she has no time.... And I knew that it would happen like this.

Oh nooooo. Sooo many things wrong here. That must have been an awful position for you to be in.

My daughter is the very same way. She really wanted chickens and really kinda pushed me into going into this with her. Swore she would be 50/50 on it with the money, the work and the build. I live on her land so I agreed..... Needless to say she helped some financially but has not been there for the work. She has 3 kids and works for her husband being his dispatcher for trucking. She has NO TIME. I knew it would be this way deep down... I am very thankful that I am here and that I can have chickens. She is pretty clueless about caring for them. She just thinks those eggs are going to magically appear, and that coop is going to clean itself.... At least I have my chicken girls..

 

[LizzzyJo]

I ordered my chicks before all this covid mess started. I LOVE my girls. I love the thought of chicks in my backyard. I am no a first time owner, I raised them for years but then we moved to an area, where we could not have them. My daughter wanted them because she wants to raise them foe eggs for her family but she also was in panic mode about all this pandemic mess. She basically talked me into going in with her to get them. I live on her homestead, in my own home and being a chicken mom for years I loved the thought of having them again. She would be one who panic bought and I can not imagine what condition they would be in if I were not here. She has no time for them with raising 3 kids and trying to help her husband with dispatch because he is a trucker. She also runs a website so she has no time.... And I knew that it would happen like this.

My daughter is the very same way. She really wanted chickens and really kinda pushed me into going into this with her. Swore she would be 50/50 on it with the money, the work and the build. I live on her land so I agreed..... Needless to say she helped some financially but has not been there for the work. She has 3 kids and works for her husband being his dispatcher for trucking. She has NO TIME. I knew it would be this way deep down... I am very thankful that I am here and that I can have chickens. She is pretty clueless about caring for them. She just thinks those eggs are going to magically appear, and that coop is going to clean itself.... At least I have my chicken girls..

Wow so you’re seeing this on all sides! A seasoned keeper now in the midst of it all again.

 

[Frankiegirl]

Yes! not only that but no one at any store discusses what the poultry limits are in the area. They are just selling people any number they want to buy even when those are not allowed in most places.

I am a newbie to the community and have had an interest for years, but my local twp doesnt allow it. Now that I am in the process of building on 3 acres in an area that allows chicks, as bad as it may sound...COVID was the one thing that pushed me over the edge. I am working from home for 3 months so raising chicks for the first time was actually an ideal opportunity. I wanted to comment on my experience at TSC and the local Farm and Home where they were purchased. I bought 5 chicks and the folks from F&H were horrible to work with and completely disinterested in helping a newbie. When asked for help, she told me to dig into the tank and grab the chicks I wanted...she said she had to go clean the bathroom. explaining that I wanted egg layers, it seemed as if I was wasting her time and treated like a fair weather fan, in which I am not. 5 days later I had a chick with prolapsed vent and they told me I shouldn’t have named her and it was a waste of time trying to help her and that I should simply snap her neck and move on.

TSC was SO helpful in nursing my chick back to health and spent a ton of time answering questions and made me feel like I didnt make a mistake. My girl made a full recovery BTW.

I am grateful for this site and all of the knowledgeable people that are helping folks like us to learn and understand your concern. It is a better community with all of you in it. Thank you!!

 

[Unswydd]

I have wanted chickens for many years but due to living in town it was impossible. Then they changed the rules in the fall of 2019 but I didn't want to start so close to winter since I knew next to nothing. Then when all this panic began I decided there may never be a better time than now to begin, thus 4 baby chicks. I got some free lumber but since I'm not a builder I thought I'd buy a coop and then take my time over the summer to make something nice for over the winter. Winters in Central Illinois can be brutal at times. I'm glad I made the decision tho and won't look back! I'm in this for the Long haul and am here every day reading and learning. YouTube has my recommended videos down now so I'm learning a lot. Thanks for being here for this newb!!!!

 

[KOdin]

I am not sure if I am right, but I’ve begun to see an increase in the number of people buying chicks who are woefully unprepared to care for chickens in the long run. They seem to be worried about not having access to eggs or meat for a few weeks so they make a huge monetary investment and buy animals when they don’t actually want to take on the massive lifestyle change of chicken keeping.
This is a years-long investment and they’re doing it for a few weeks of worry? I worry for the level of care the animals are receiving based on the reason for their purchase.

They’re in a rude awakening when they have 20 chicks and everything is back to normal next year and their chickens still aren’t laying

 

[Franklinridgefarms]

We have had anywhere from 12-30 hens most years for the last 20 some years. My mother was passed last year and had been in and out of the hospital for almost a year or so before. The hens we had at the start of that time were getting older and so I gave them to a friend. Didn’t have the heart last year to start a new bunch, but my wife and I planned on it for this year. We really do enjoy having our own eggs. I had thought that I would wait till it got warmer to start them but then about mid March we didn’t know whether things were going to close or what was going to be so we went on and got 12. My wife really doesn’t like store bought eggs and the other day she made the observation that the eggs she had been buying recently seemed to be fresher. Leading her to wonder if they were being sold a lot faster and if there might be a shortage. We then got a few more pullet chicks. We used to sell some eggs and thought we may do that again. We are cattle farmers and thus also have our own beef and try to grow a big enough garden for us and to sell produce. In recent years there has been a decent size movement of folks wanting to eat locally grown foods.

 

[Bert96746]

Its interesting seeing how many posts start with "yes I panic bought, but we've been thinking about it for years!" ..

 

[Bert96746]

I’m in England and it’s gone mad here, people who keep chickens have been told to be more cautious because for a few weeks a lot of local chicken keeps had their chickens stolen when this pandemic started. It’s crazy. Iv got a batch of chicks I put up for sale and had a few people contact to buy them, more along the lines of they want to buy 1 to keep as a pet for their child. Iv taken the adverts down because I don’t feel the people contacting me are genuinely interested in the chicks/chickens.

I swear when the shutdown happened people were pulling into my driveway and scoping out my chickens!!! I was afraid they were going to get stolen!