Do we interfere/worry too much these days?

[roosterhavoc]

Hens will kill chicks occasionally for some unknown reason. I usually kill the hen too. I’ve only had it happen twice. A hen on a nest should be protected from predators. That part should be a non issue.
I’d say for eating birds incubators are far better but for a backyard flock just to have, hen raised is superior.

 

[roosterhavoc]

I think too many people keep chickens confined for themselves instead of the chickens. They are so worried about losing one or a couple birds to a fox or something that they keep them closed up 24/7.
If you put chickens in your yard you can bet sooner or later something will try to eat them. In most states it’s legal to trap and kill predators killing chickens.
I can’t for the life of me understand why a chicken owner would just opt to lock them away instead of free ranging at least some of the time.
People can manage to find their way onto a forum but can’t figure out how to trap a raccoon? Some of this is crazy.

 

[BlueBaby]

Do you mean molly coddle? Yup, probably ...

We also do the same for us humans ... with the "advancement" of modern medicine ... we seem to live longer ...

Since we get attached to small backyard flocks, we tend to "go the extra mile" to "help" them ... when in the past they may have either died on their own at a very early age, or culled as they couldn't provide for the farmer ...

My personal thought on the matter, is that we don't do the breed any favors, "IF" we help along a weak bird, that can't keep up on its own, and then breed it, passing this genetic trait along, and since many people do go to lots of trouble to keep weaker birds around, we see things like cross beak, blind, deformed wings, egg bound type problems ... of course these things can also come from inbreeding to close to the family tree ... but that also creates weak critters ...

I agree with you about the week critters. More people need to be watching out for those thing's and not passing the bad genetics down the line. I do a lot of batches of hatching chicks from my flock, and if I were to see a defect in one of the chicks, it will be culled right off the bat.

 

[BlueBaby]

I think too many people keep chickens confined for themselves instead of the chickens. They are so worried about losing one or a couple birds to a fox or something that they keep them closed up 24/7.
If you put chickens in your yard you can bet sooner or later something will try to eat them. In most states it’s legal to trap and kill predators killing chickens.
I can’t for the life of me understand why a chicken owner would just opt to lock them away instead of free ranging at least some of the time.
People can manage to find their way onto a forum but can’t figure out how to trap a raccoon? Some of this is crazy.

I don't let mine free-range at all except for my extra roosters. About a year and a half ago, 3 loose dog's got into one of my next door neighbors yard. They killed 28 hen's, and 6 two-month old chicks. You could see where the dog's had been eating some of them! The only survivors there were 2 rooster's that they had penned up where the dog's couldn't get to them!

 

[roosterhavoc]

That’s a people problem not a chicken issue. Of course if you have dogs running loose I wouldn’t let the birds out. There’s no way I would keep my chickens penned up completely because of somebody’s dogs though. I would deal with that before hand.

 

[BlueBaby]

That’s a people problem not a chicken issue. Of course if you have dogs running loose I wouldn’t let the birds out. There’s no way I would keep my chickens penned up completely because of somebody’s dogs though. I would deal with that before hand.

It was dealt with. The 3 dog's are dead.

 

[roosterhavoc]

Everybody’s situation is totally different. I understand that not everyone has a big enough yard to even make it worthwhile to free range. Others have firearm discharge restrictions, close neighbors etc.. I’m talking about people who clearly live rural and have raccoon, fox, coyote issues yet refuse to do anything about it. They say well the animals were there first so I’ll just keep them penned all the time. That’s no life for a chicken. That’s how they all get sick, pecked etc.. I’m not really trying to convince anyone but it’s no wonder so many have chicken health problems.

 

[roosterhavoc]

It was dealt with. The 3 dog's are dead.

There ya go let the birds out then lol

 

[KentuckyRooster]

I have no idea what a house rooster is. As for the saddles there’s either not enough hens, the roosters spurs need cut off so they’re blunt, roosters nails trimmed or the rooster needs his head knocked off.
There’s so many issues on here with mean roosters. Does anyone wonder why? It’s most likely because they are hatchery birds where the most aggressive mean roosters are the ones who get to breed. They easily run off the inferior.

That's a people problem. Mean birds shouldn't be bred, period. I don't need saddles and I also keep them in pairs, but that's very common in seramas, they don't wear their hens out.

I've said it once and I'll say it again- temperament is genetic.

 

[aart]

That’s a people problem not a chicken issue.

A lot of 'chicken problems' are actually 'people problems'.

keep them penned all the time. That’s no life for a chicken.

Well, it can depend on the pen/run and the population numbers.