Having an "oh my gosh what was I thinking" moment

[kristaschics15]

Yeah, the GA thread posters are a small clique and I stopped posting on that thread after a while for the same reason.  If you want to talk chickens (and not merely build up the ego of a couple of the posters) then you may not fit into that little group.

Ahhhh then no I probably won't fit in.

That makes me sad to hear that some have been made to feel that way - maybe this is an opportunity for the two of you/any others to start building the sort of local group you were looking for in the first place?

That's an idea!

 

[yolksonus]

Oh you are not alone!! I was thinking to myself yesterday as I was chasing 9 five week old chicks around the yard to bring them in 'maybe this wasn't the best idea!'.
I think , like a few others who have posted, that I am sick of them being in the house, and tired of the dust and the smell! The coop isn't ready yet so I have been bringing them outside in the morning and inside before dinner. My hubby works all day and then comes home to work on the coop. I am out of work for five more weeks as I a spinal fusion last week. I have to carry each chick in a small box inside and outside twice a day- I am only allowed to lift the equivalent of a gallon of milk. The brooder is upstairs and on the floor so I have to bend to try to round them out to bring them out- I'm not supposed to bend. By the time I get all 9 outside I am so exhausted and I forget to clean the poo from the breeder. But, I love them!! They are hilarious and beautiful. Sigh....hopefully the coop will be done this week!

 

[manychitlens]

Honestly reading all of your responses has brought me some peace of mind, lol! I was really starting to think that after (literally) years of planning and work and convincing and worrying, that I had made a mistake. I am so glad that I'm not alone. My husband also works all the time and can only work on the coop on his days off, but we also have 4 young children that he wants to spend time with obviously, lol. I don't know. It's hard. The coop has been in progress for something ridiculous like 3 months. I'm sick of looking at it unfinished, sick of the tools everywhere, etc etc. I really think it's just this in between time that I'm struggling with. My chicks are so funny, and I really do love them. I go and sit in front of the brooder and my friendly ones come over and stare at me and start to chat, so we have conversations, and when I open the lid to clean it 5 ot of 6 of them fly up to hang out with me while I clean (the other one can't make it out so I pick him up, which he protests loudly). One of them even flies onto my shoulder while I'm cleaning and just sits there when I clean out the brooder, lol! They do bring me joy.

My other issue right now is that I have 3 dogs, one of which we know for a fact will not be safe with them (he came to us from a ranch where he was going to be dispatched, because he kept killing the chickens, this was 10 years ago or so). But I really thought our other 2 wouldn't be an issue. However when I bring the chicks out to the run, those two go NUTS. I'm really, really hoping that they relax, but I had dreams of them all just hanging in the yard together, and now I'm not sure that will be possible. I'm working with the dogs now and hopefully they will calm the heck down soon. I would never trust them unless they had proven to me that I could, and I also would hate to have to lock the dogs up all day. So that's kind of stressing me out. Ugh.

Anyway, lots of hugs to everyone. Once we all get our coops built and get our houses back, I think we will all feel a lot better!!

 

[yolksonus]

Oh the dogs!! One of mine will just sit and sniff the chicks and the other one wants nothing to do with them! Lol

 

[BlessedCountry6]

The brooding process is rough. This is my 3 round so it finally isn't so bad with our brooder set up. It still is a lot more work than the older chickens!

There are a few things I do to make things easier. I feed mine from a bright red pitcher. They can see bright colors and come running if I have anything red. A cup. My son in his red shirt. Lol.

We were under a ton of stress till the coop was finished enough to get them in. My hubby works long hours and we work work work when he is off and the weather is good. Seems like there is always 20 more things on the have to get done list.

You will all get through it and when your sitting watching those funny birds it's so peaceful!

We also have dogs. It took time to train our to get along with the chickens. One thing at a time right.

 

[bucky52]

I'm there with you.I went to our local tractor supply this past Saturday.I walked out with 6 baby chicks.I Almost turned around and took them back.My plan was to let my Broody hen.Raise them.she rejected them.So they are in my house.I have a area ready for them in a covered run.But than just before I was going to move them.I remember they are only a week old.and not feathered out.they will need to stay in the basement for a couple more weeks.My husband is fine with it.That's his man cave.Why oh why did I buy more chicks.I have 9 hens.We have two Roosters that have their own coop and run.Not a fan of roosters and don't want them in the same area as my hens.I could kick myself.

 

[Sonya9]

I'm working with the dogs now and hopefully they will calm the heck down soon. I would never trust them unless they had proven to me that I could, and I also would hate to have to lock the dogs up all day. So that's kind of stressing me out. Ugh.

They will calm down but that doesn't mean you can EVER trust them. If the barking, or worse digging, becomes unbearable a super soaker is an effective deterrent (course I would never use one in cold weather). I have six dogs and only trust one (the biggest and meanest....but also a livestock guardian).

Be careful about the coop especially if you have smart dogs. My elderly aussie figured out how to open the latch so he could get the chicken food, unfortunately another one of mine followed him in and he only cares about grabbing/killing chickens. I now have 3 latches on it.

 

[manychitlens]

They will calm down but that doesn't mean you can EVER trust them. If the barking, or worse digging, becomes unbearable a super soaker is an effective deterrent (course I would never use one in cold weather).  I have six dogs and only trust one (the biggest and meanest....but also a livestock guardian).

Be careful about the coop especially if you have smart dogs. My elderly aussie figured out how to open the latch so he could get the chicken food, unfortunately another one of mine followed him in and he only cares about grabbing/killing chickens.  I now have 3 latches on it.

Luckily for the chicks, our smart dog (a pointer/lab mix), who would have absolutely been a chicken killer, passed about 2 months ago. I have no doubt that she would have figured out how to get in the run. Ironically our old male who is a proven chicken killer, is an Akbash. My other two I think are just interested at the moment, but we'll see. I am very careful with animals and can read them pretty well, so I will definitely be vigilant.

 

[shodack]

Add me to the list!
I work full time, have a wild 2 year old daughter, a disabled husband, and a house we just moved into a couple months ago that needs work, but I had to have chickens. Not to mention a huge veggie garden! Having them out of the house will be a huge relief to me, but waiting for the coop to be built, in the midst of a million other projects, is tough. My husband has to take it slow with projects, and he has been so great doing as much as he can around the house. He thought he'd have the coop done a month ago, but now I'm about ready to get them outside (they are about 4 weeks old) and the coop has a long way to go. He says he'll get it done this weekend, but we already have so much going on, I can't imagine.... it's okay, I am not going to pressure him about it. They will get out there eventually. In the meantime, I just have to keep telling myself how fun they are, and how much we will love having the gift of their fresh eggs this fall!

 

[nordicacres]

Brooding chicks in the house is tough! I promise it gets much easier when they have their own accomodations. I do chicken chores right away in the morning (open the doors and let them free range, fill the feeder, give them fresh water). I check on them throughout the day when I am outside, fill the waterer as needed, etc. I scoop the poop board every third day or so. Clean out the pine shavings about twice a month. Overall it's really not much work. It is much less stressful now that they are feathered and outside. They don't need a heat source anymore, no more stink in the house, no more chickens escaping and running loose, lol.