I knew about all of these extra care commitments but reading it all in one post really makes an impact!Wildlife often gets the blame. It's rarely the case. I have lots of wildlife here and while I get injuries and predation, mostly the chickens stay healthy.
Cocciiosis is almost always a ground management problem.
Scaly leg mite is just one of those things one learns to live with and try to keep on top of.
Pasty butt is another thing that most who have chicks have to deal with at some point. If you catch it quickly, it's not a long term problem.
There is constantly promoted falsehood that chickens are easy to keep. They may be if you stuff a few in a coop and run, collect their eggs and kill them at the slightest sign of sickness or reduction in egg laying. For the rest of us; I'll speak for myself here, I've found keeping chickens harder work, more stressful and more upsetting than any of the other creatures we have and have had here. The list is long.
Tonight I have one hen missing, probably killed while sitting on egg on an outside nest. I have one rooster that needs an injury cleaned and bandaged every day. I have three hens and one rooster with ongoing SLM issues. I have one hen with physiological issues who needs keeping an eye on and another having a summer moult which means she is reluctant to stay close to her tribe in case one of the roosters jump on her. I have one hen who thinks she should move in with me and needs 'secorting' to her tribes coop at night and another senior hen who thinks that given her age (10y) she is entitled to be carried from the coop to the nearest feed station in the morning.
Did I mention the fights?
On top of all this there is all the day to day stuff, feeding, watering, coop cleaning etc.
Are they worth all the trouble? OH YES!