Does anyone regret getting chickens?

[farmerlor]

I regret that I got chickens the first time before we were really ready for them. I grew up on a farm with many, many chickens so I figured it wasn't a big deal but where I grew up we didn't have the kind of predator problem we have here and we lost our entire first flock to predators because we were stupid and didn't bury fence. That was a hard lesson. Otherwise, you couldn't pay me enough money to (okay, that may be an overstatement) to live the rest of my life without chickens....or turkeys....or geese.

 

[3cutechicks]

The only regret I had was when I traded my 2 roosters in for 2 wild hens. But i got rid of them and got new chicks. (I wrote a book about the incident!) But I have a regular size back yard with neighbors all around. Mine are in a dog run next to one of my neighbor's fences. I have four laying ones and two new chicks who haven't gone out there yet full time. We have hardly spent money on coops. My neighbor gave me her rabbit hutch and they sleep in that at night. My husband just made a new little one with leftover scraps and added to a Playskool house which I saw in the coop sections. They roam around the run during the day. They are fun, cute and low maintenance. I had mites once and put the powder in their boxes. and that worked. They make noise sometimes when they lay an egg. I clean and rake the pen daily during the summer because of smell and flies only so my neighbors don't shoot them. Other wise I like the smell. When we travel our daughter's friend takes care of them. So easy. The food and water are already out, she just lets them out in the morning when she wakes up and locks the hutch at night when it gets dark. they put themselves to bed! Now my dogs are a pain in the butt. I have a bloodhound and I regret getting HIM. I would take a 100 chickens over him. I am addicted to having chicks and chickens but must keep my flock small because I am in a neighbor hood. I want to move to a place with land so I can have one chicken of every breed!I would trade the So. Ca 70 degrees right now for a farm in the midwest! But for now I love the eggs every day and the cute little personalities when I am out with them. I would definitely get chickens and forget all other pets! I hope this has been helpful. Oh I get my chicks free from the kindergarten in the spring. Otherwise they are a few bucks and feed is inexpensive too. Good luck. I know you will make the right choice. I envy you that you looked into it. I just get a notion an go with it. Like when we got pygmy goats....

 

[Ra_]

I ended up reselling my goats and rabbits after a few months but I love all birds.

 

[ChickenToes]

I have a couple regrets, or just things that I wish we would have done differently.

1) We got too many chickens when we first started. We had over 30, and butchered over half of them when the time came. That's when I found out that my husband hates butchering chickens, and he never wants to do it again.

2) Our coop wasn't insulated, and the first winter we had them they rarely left the coop and stopped laying eggs, even though they had supplemental lighting.

3) We kept too many roosters, and had to butcher them one-by-one as they became aggressive and starting attacking people.

4) I wish we would have gotten ducks sooner!

 

[rittert3]

Loved every moment I've spent raising, hatching, and caring for my birds and really can't wait to have birds again. No, really I lose sleep thinking about getting more birds and how to get a place where I can have them.

 

[TipsyDog]

I love having my chickens but the only issues I'm dealing with are as you mentioned, about being able to travel. I worry about that one. Sure, I could have someone stop by the check on the food and water, but I keep my coop very clean, scrape the poop board everyday and then there's the treats that they've gotten used too. They get a good lunch & dinner every evening and already wait for me to bring it out. Noone I know will do any of that for them!

Another issue is our winters. They are cold and brutal yet I must go out and clean, feed and check on the girls often. It's not alot of fun when wind chills are well below zero! When they are in the run week after week it is alot to keep everything clean and the girls are bored. I envy all of you southerners who get to enjoy your chickens outdoors and let them free range most everyday. I can't wait to let the girls out again every morning in a warm sun!!!

Just the other day I overheard my RIR bawking about how out of all the boxes they could have gotten put in and shipped to - they had to wind up in this cold, barren, white tundra....

 

[ThePolishPrincess]

Quote:
*Well, summers in NY can be hot, and as for the smell, it's something you get used to. Honestly, I barely notice the smell of droppings and...other stuff...anymore.

*If you keep your birds well protected and taken care of, the losses should be at a minimum. Unfortunately, things don't always happen this way. There are alot of BYCers that are great people who have lost many birds for horrible reasons, and for some, no reason at all. I have burried my dead, because this is their home. I deal with it the same way one would deal with a dead pet dog.

Sickness is my worst fear, because it sneaks up on you. We've never had any predator-related losses. I've lost one bird to a freak accident, and another for reasons unknown. But none of my birds have ever killed each other.

*We've never had a problem with mites. From what I've read, it's just something you have to keep on-top of.

*I've had one hen with pasty butt. I just trimmed away from of her butt-feathers and problem solved. All things related to poop....well, you gotta give a little. They're living things, it's gonna happen.

*My biggest concern is finding someone to take care of the animals when (or if...) we ever go on vacation. We plan to go away this summer, and my mom has a friend who 'animal-sits' for people with horses, dogs, etc. I just fear that this woman might make a mistake that harms my animals, or will forget to do something. But there are people out there that will care for them. Just have to find them.

*My dad built our coop. He purchased supplies from Home Depot and with the help of a neighbor, it was finished within 2 months, because we started building in the winter. I don't remember the exact cost, But I'd think the supplies must have been a little over $1,000? Once again, a rough estimate. We try to keep the coop fairly clean, but really, it's a barn. It will get messy. We also spent extra time, money, and patience on making it very safe from predators. A coop is only as good as it is made.

Do I regret getting chickens? No, not for a second. What I DO regret is a.) not getting them sooner, and b.) not having the coop larger to accomidate my desire for more. If you can fit a larger coop, take it from me, make it larger: as large as you can without having it corrupt that very small space. If you do get chicks, by this time next year, you'll just want more.

 

[FollowingMyNose]

We went to the movie (Avatar in 3D) yesterday and I found myself sitting there thinking about this thread, what I would name my chickens, how many should I get, how to build the coop and run, and about Bob.

(See post # 46 on page 5 of this thread.) That is a bad sign, right?

Doing my due diligence, I did a google search to see if I could find ANYONE that truly regretted getting chickens. They may be out there, but I haven't found them. Well, a few really hated roosters but we have never had any intention of getting a rooster. And one person hated her grandmother's chickens, but she didn't have chickens herself. But I haven't found a single person that said "I wish I never started with these chickens" or anything of that nature!

Our backyard is currently fenced in and we are planning to make a covered run attached to the coop. So hopefully that will eliminate the dog and birds of prey issues. I am currently planning to set up a brooder in the garage. And in order to get the breeds I am looking at, the first "test order" from MyPetChicken has a ship date of May 10th. So that should give us time to get everything in place, I hope!

Quite a few of you said to go with a starter flock of 5 hens. That seems very reasonable, but it sure is going to be hard to do! And quite a few said their only regret was not getting them sooner and not getting more.... so I still have to figure out how many we want to start with, but it is definitely between 5 and 12. Hubby is really pushing for 12!

I feel so much better about the whole situation, and your comments have really helped put things in perspective. I think I'll grab hubby and go outside to measure and make coop plans!

 

[6chickens in St. Charles]

We haven't yet managed the poop well enough, our chickens follow us around and hang out where we do, pooping. We regret our laziness about that, we're still trying to decide on a best-design run, to control where they poop, and to reduce the hassle of hawks dive-bombing our yard. The poop from Purina Layena pellets is WONDERFUL, easy to clean up and not too stinky. My fat little chickens look great on that feed, I hope it never goes out of business.

But if the chickens find a crayon in the yard, or eat #@!ing things they shouldn't eat, the poop gets nasty. Safe, controlled coop and run management is probably the best poop management. Somebody here once wrote "Scooping Poop is TheraPOOtic", I guess I agree. Chicken poop depends on how I look at it, some days I'm grateful for the Poop Duty so I cannot be hassled by real life, ie my only chance to be really alone for an hour. Scooping poop is just another way to assure that nobody else will bother me for a while. The poop is quite nice this winter, on ONLY the purina layena pellets, but nobody else knows that but me. I'm not tellin.

Then again, sometimes I haven't been home for a few days and the kids have ignored chicken poop on the porch, that's disgusting. Training chickens is easy. Training kids is a hassle.

The hawks have NO fear of humans. And they don't seem to eat chickens. Maybe they're just territorial and like to fight the chickens over our overabundant chipmunk and squirrel population? I have had 2 neighbors tell me about the hawks, not really complaints but its definitely a visible issue.

With 4 hens, we've been overburdened by too many eggs, we're only a family of 5 and they lay nearly every day (whether you want eggs or not), and accidentally hatched 2 chicks last winter under -go figure- the tiniest hen who hid the chicks under her wings before we noticed them.

It has been nearly impossible to find a home for the accidental rooster chick. When the cold weather breaks, we have a "maybe" home for him, but he's a silkie mix with black skin, everybody says not good for eatin. He's a great pet, anyways, we wouldn't eat him. But he needs his own coop and flock. We shouldve been a lot more careful picking up eggs daily, so he's our "oops" baby, and many days go by we wish he never happened because he has no real home of his own. Yet. Maybe.

I guess, overall, like having human kids or like embarking on our careers, the chickens continue to morph us and grow with us, more on the positive side of life than the negative. If I had to make the decision based on a pro vs con list, there are definitely more pro's than cons. But there's a lot to consider on both sides. Does any joy come at no cost?

 

[JoAnn_WI_4-H_Mom]

Just have a backup plan. Who will take your birds if you decide you no longer want them?

Start small, like 3 in a dog house in a kennel.