Do you worry about your chicks?

[7L Farm]

I'm constantly worried about my chickens . I have a good coop, hot wire etc. but I don't think I could handle something killing my chickens.

 

[Illia]

I worry about the winter weather killing them. . .

It is currently pouring cats and dogs and the winds are gusting over 40 mph . . . And quite a few of my birds are not in an entirely safe, sound coops right now. . .

Otherwise, not entirely. Mine are free ranged on a huge "wilderness" of a pasture (woods, clearcut, rolling hills, shrubbery, open plains) but I'm never worried of predators. I've got a very protective Yak bull, some good hardy fence, and the girls certainly know what a predator is! They've never met one, but if I ever make an odd sound like a Coyote or Eagle would - The entire flock, no matter how busy they are, will bolt for it and hide in the nearest coop or barn in a flash.

 

[BarredBuff]

Not really. Mine free range all day.

 

[sharol]

You are kidding right? All the time. My neighbor lost 20 some chickens to a predator last week. Something dug under the woven wire dog fence and left bodies everywhere. My girls are in a run/coop that is VERY secure right now, but they will be moving into an equally secure coop with a less secure run as soon as we get the rest of the work done on the coop. I am quite concerned that they will be attacked in their run when I'm not around to help them. Argggggh. It's as bad as my indoor/outdoor cat who goes hunting in the evening when the coyotes are around. My DH thinks I'm over protective and a worry wart. After the slaughter at the neighbor's though, he is rethinking arguing with me about the hardware wire and overhead netting.

Quote:

 

[rancher hicks]

If you've taken all the precautions you should be ok. Some things you can control, others like the weather you can't. Predators you can if you take the right measures to keep them away from your chickens.
When I first started I was alarmed to read "Something got my chickens" . Then when I learned that some folks didn't take the right precautions or some accident happened. So just do your best and you'll be fine. Learn as much as you can about the preds in your area and how to keep them at bay.

wishing you safe chicken keeping
Rancher

 

[KBChicks]

I'm a wife.....mom...grandma.....chicken lover....I worry about EVERYTHING!

 

[hudsonhousechicks]

Ha! This is the perfect thread for me. I've been worried about them all weekend. In fact, before I sat down to the computer just now, the last thing I said to my husband was, "Well, if I wake up and they're all dead..."

It doesn't get cold here like in other places but the mornings temperatures are dropping. My little flock of five has a secure coop but it isn't entirely enclosed (if that makes sense which I'm sure it doesn't). About a third of it is solid (wood), the rest is chicken wire. It's great for the summer when it is sweltering here and they sit around panting but in the winter it only just protects them from the elements such as rain, wind. There's nothing to hold in any body heat.

What's worse is that they have outgrown their roost. It is now only long enough to accomodate 4 chickens so one of them has to roost alone on the lower rung. It's like musical chairs, chicken style. Poor babies. And they have no mercy. The lone hen sits below looking plaintively up and the four hens above her all huddled together.

So yes. I worry that they will freeze their fluffy little fannies right off.

 

[mangobingo]

I worry on and off about mine, especially the tiny silkie who's never with the rest of the flock. Ours free range all day, put themselves to bed at night, and we just leave water and layer pellets out for them in case they need them. I've managed to convince myself that they pretty much look after themselves, but as a first-time chicken owner I can't help worry about them - what if they get sick and I don't know what to do? What if they're not getting enough food? When they peck each other on the roost at bedtime, is that normal or is someone going to get hurt? What if we get rats? That kind of thing. I think if you decide to keep animals then you have a responsibility to take care of them, so I'd feel terrible if anything happened to them.

Illia - you have a YAK?? I am so jealous.

 

[dirtsaver]

When Eva and me decided to get chickens it was purely to have our own fresh eggs. We figured that there might come a time when the economy and society got out of hand and we might have to depend on raising chickens to help feed ourselves so this was good practice. At some point it became clear that these darn critters had great personalities(the Orpingtons and Australorps anyway!) and they became pets that helped earn their keep. While we don't fret over them like we do our dogs we do worry about them. We know the possibility of predators and disease and try to protect them as best we can. We've only lost three this year and felt bad each time,but we know we took care of them and couldn't control those losses.

Larry

 

[Illia]

Quote:
Djimon the Yak says hi.