Heritage Large Fowl - Phase II

[brahmabreeder]

You are well on your way!

You can usually stop the weird ones by charging even a small amount for the chickens.

Look for a Small animal exchange in your area too. Those have great people at them!

X2 on stopping the weird ones. Never EVER give birds away for free. 99% of the time the people are creeps, or just plan odd...

 

[bnjrob]

I think you misunderstood my comment. I do plan on eating the chickens when their egg production starts slowing down. I also know that with any animal there is a chance for injury, sickness, disease, and death. I also know that chickens can peck each other to death just because they see red. I know that chickens have a lot of natural predators and I may lose all of them. I do not have an ethical problem with slaughtering animals for food or because they are sick, diseased, or injured. The problem is that there are people out there who like to beat animals to death with bats, or cut chickens' heads off and keep them alive by forcing food down their exposed esophagus. I was saying that I am not comfortable giving away animals to just anyone for those reasons. I realize I may need to in order to achieve my dream of raising my own Buckeyes from chicks. I was was just stating that I don't like it, and would like to avoid it, if possible.

Great, then you are half way there. Now to use that same ability to distance yourself from the emotional upheaval when you butcher your own chickens, and let go of chickens so that you are able to get rid of any that you do not want/need. As long as you have chickens, you are going to require a method of disposing of them - whether it is because you have too many, the wrong gender, loss of utility, etc.

Your posts with all the information of what you want and what your restrictions are is significantly limiting your options.

You want Buckeyes. You want chicks. You only want 6 birds. You don't want males. You don't want to drive very far and you have not found anyone to ship them to you. You don't want to sell them to someone because you are afraid of what they might do to the chicken.

If you want Buckeyes only, then it sounds like you have to be willing to travel a greater distance to get them if no one can ship.

If you want chicks, then you will probably have to accept unsexed birds - especially from a quality breeder.

If you only want six birds, then you are probably going to have to get them from a quality breeder vs a hatchery.

If you get unsexed chicks or order from a hatchery and have to have a minimum order that exceeds the number allowed, then you are going to have to break your deed/HOA rules and have more than is allowed and risk getting males.

Of course if you get more birds than is allowed, and wind up with some males, then you are going to have to choose to either continue to break the rules on how many you have, and/or you are going to have to get rid of some.

And if you need to get rid of some, then you are going to have to learn how to let go and not worry about what happens to those birds after they leave your custody.

You came here asking for help but pretty much every suggestion you have countered back with "I can't do that" or "That's not what I want". There really is no other way to help you if you are going to be adamant about meeting every demand on your list. Obtaining and keeping chickens is not like Burger King - you can't always have it your way. If you REALLY want these chickens, then you need to reevaluate what you are willing to compromise on. If you are not able to make any compromises, as have been suggested, then either you don't want these birds badly enough or perhaps you need to rethink the timetable of when you get chickens. Maybe you need to wait until you can move somewhere that allows unlimited birds, so that ordering a bunch isn't a problem, and you can keep every chicken and never have to sell/give it away, or maybe you need better finances to be able to drive farther to get to a breeder. If you continue to set so many things in stone on your list regarding these chickens that you want, I am afraid that you may never be able to have them because it will be difficult to meet every demand on your list.

 

[Strevale]

Great, then you are half way there. Now to use that same ability to distance yourself from the emotional upheaval when you butcher your own chickens, and let go of chickens so that you are able to get rid of any that you do not want/need. As long as you have chickens, you are going to require a method of disposing of them - whether it is because you have too many, the wrong gender, loss of utility, etc.

Your posts with all the information of what you want and what your restrictions are is significantly limiting your options.

You want Buckeyes. You want chicks. You only want 6 birds. You don't want males. You don't want to drive very far and you have not found anyone to ship them to you. You don't want to sell them to someone because you are afraid of what they might do to the chicken.

If you want Buckeyes only, then it sounds like you have to be willing to travel a greater distance to get them if no one can ship.

If you want chicks, then you will probably have to accept unsexed birds - especially from a quality breeder.

If you only want six birds, then you are probably going to have to get them from a quality breeder vs a hatchery.

If you get unsexed chicks or order from a hatchery and have to have a minimum order that exceeds the number allowed, then you are going to have to break your deed/HOA rules and have more than is allowed and risk getting males.

Of course if you get more birds than is allowed, and wind up with some males, then you are going to have to choose to either continue to break the rules on how many you have, and/or you are going to have to get rid of some.

And if you need to get rid of some, then you are going to have to learn how to let go and not worry about what happens to those birds after they leave your custody.

You came here asking for help but pretty much every suggestion you have countered back with "I can't do that" or "That's not what I want". There really is no other way to help you if you are going to be adamant about meeting every demand on your list. Obtaining and keeping chickens is not like Burger King - you can't always have it your way. If you REALLY want these chickens, then you need to reevaluate what you are willing to compromise on. If you are not able to make any compromises, as have been suggested, then either you don't want these birds badly enough or perhaps you need to rethink the timetable of when you get chickens. Maybe you need to wait until you can move somewhere that allows unlimited birds, so that ordering a bunch isn't a problem, and you can keep every chicken and never have to sell/give it away, or maybe you need better finances to be able to drive farther to get to a breeder. If you continue to set so many things in stone on your list regarding these chickens that you want, I am afraid that you may never be able to have them because it will be difficult to meet every demand on your list.

I'm sorry if I've offended you or something. I have already stated that I know that I may need to do things that will break my town's rules or not get chicks or drive further, etc. I know that things may not work out the way I want them to. I am very happy that this community has been so forward with helping me and giving me suggestions. It's just that if I can get things worked out so everything is perfect, then why not try? I would rather try to see if it's possible before compromising. Again, sorry if this or anything else I have said has offended you.

 

[Strevale]

You are well on your way!

You can usually stop the weird ones by charging even a small amount for the chickens.

Look for a Small animal exchange in your area too. Those have great people at them!

How much do you think is a good amount to charge?

 

[ronott1]

How much do you think is a good amount to charge?

Five to ten dollars depending on your area.

 

[bnjrob]

I'm sorry if I've offended you or something. I have already stated that I know that I may need to do things that will break my town's rules or not get chicks or drive further, etc. I know that things may not work out the way I want them to. I am very happy that this community has been so forward with helping me and giving me suggestions. It's just that if I can get things worked out so everything is perfect, then why not try? I would rather try to see if it's possible before compromising. Again, sorry if this or anything else I have said has offended you.

Not offended at all and don't mean to offend you. I've seen quite a few people like yourself come and go and not be happy because they didn't think everything through before they started to try to find chickens and then realized that everything doesn't just come together perfectly like they think it should. A good number of people offered you options that you weren't happy with because you are wanting so many things. I wanted to make sure that you realized how badly you were limiting yourself and the ability to get these birds. Sometimes we get caught up in trying to have everything just perfect, not realizing that we are limiting ourselves too much and if we just were wiling to compromise on something, we could have what we want. Otherwise, you can sit around waiting for everything to be "perfect", and most of the time, things will never be perfect and we miss out instead of seizing the opportunity that was a little less than perfect.

 

[Strevale]

Not offended at all and don't mean to offend you. I've seen quite a few people like yourself come and go and not be happy because they didn't think everything through before they started to try to find chickens and then realized that everything doesn't just come together perfectly like they think it should. A good number of people offered you options that you weren't happy with because you are wanting so many things. I wanted to make sure that you realized how badly you were limiting yourself and the ability to get these birds. Sometimes we get caught up in trying to have everything just perfect, not realizing that we are limiting ourselves too much and if we just were wiling to compromise on something, we could have what we want. Otherwise, you can sit around waiting for everything to be "perfect", and most of the time, things will never be perfect and we miss out instead of seizing the opportunity that was a little less than perfect.

I'm not offended, it just sounds as though you're a little worked up.

I don't need a perfect solution, but I do want to know all of my options. It's not that I'm unhappy with people's suggestions, I'm just unsure. If I was sure I don't think I would be here in the first place

 

[Strevale]

Five to ten dollars depending on your area.

Thanks

 

[bnjrob]

I'm not offended, it just sounds as though you're a little worked up.

I don't need a perfect solution, but I do want to know all of my options. It's not that I'm unhappy with people's suggestions, I'm just unsure. If I was sure I don't think I would be here in the first place

Something that works better when you are asking people for help is to take their suggestions but avoid coming back every time with "I can't" or "That won't work". If you dont' care for the suggestion, take it and thank the person and go on. You can write down the suggestions and think them all over and if you still don't have a suggestion that you think can work, then come back and thank everyone for their suggestions, give a synopsis of the suggestions you have received so that people don't duplicate the suggestions, and then ask if there are any more suggestions.

There are more people on this thread than you know, and some will not even bother with answering questions like you have asked because they are burnt out by the large number of people that ask the same questions that you have, and then every suggestion is met with a negative response. It is really difficult to help someone when they say "no" to every single suggestion. Best to keep the no's to yourself until you can say "Ok, I have tried this and I can't make it work, is there another suggestion" instead of poo pooing the idea immediately and turning people off from trying to help you.

Remember - you're the one asking for help and people are trying to help you out of the kindness of their hearts, but it is a waste of time to try to help someone that asks for help but then refuses the help every time.

 

[Strevale]

Something that works better when you are asking people for help is to take their suggestions but avoid coming back every time with "I can't" or "That won't work". If you dont' care for the suggestion, take it and thank the person and go on. You can write down the suggestions and think them all over and if you still don't have a suggestion that you think can work, then come back and thank everyone for their suggestions, give a synopsis of the suggestions you have received so that people don't duplicate the suggestions, and then ask if there are any more suggestions.

There are more people on this thread than you know, and some will not even bother with answering questions like you have asked because they are burnt out by the large number of people that ask the same questions that you have, and then every suggestion is met with a negative response. It is really difficult to help someone when they say "no" to every single suggestion. Best to keep the no's to yourself until you can say "Ok, I have tried this and I can't make it work, is there another suggestion" instead of poo pooing the idea immediately and turning people off from trying to help you.

Remember - you're the one asking for help and people are trying to help you out of the kindness of their hearts, but it is a waste of time to try to help someone that asks for help but then refuses the help every time.

I wasn't aware that I was poo pooing people's ideas. The reason I gave more information is because sometimes people had not read my initial post and may not know all of the information I have given. I do try to thank people, but I got so many responses that I ended up doing the general thank you that you initially replied to. I didn't want to do a synopsis because my first post was just a few days ago.

I am not trying to be difficult, I am just ignorant in the ways of chickens. I am here to learn. I am also reading a book about raising chickens.

Thank you for your constructive criticisms. And another thank you to everyone else who has provided me with information!