How long until your overwhelmed or tired of poultry

[BlueBaby]

As far as the question that was asked by the OP- I am still going at it after 5 year's. The only time that I do get a little bit overwhelmed is during the summer when it get's so hot here out in the desert. I push myself to go out there and check on them every 2 hours during the day to make sure that they are ok and that the water is all topped off. I bring ice that I have frozen in some cottage cheese containers to add to the water to help to keep that cool. I crank on the mister's for the extremely hot day's, even though that brings in flies that I then have to combat. That's ok though, because I love my flock. I had broody hen's this summer that I had to break, but I didn't have any of the flock die from the heat this year.

 

[K0k0shka]

I'm guessing this will depend on a lot of factors, and they'll be different for every individual. You could average the years out between people, but that won't tell you much. There is no set amount of time that people typically spend with chickens before getting tired of them. Chickens as a hobby is a very new, recent, modern day thing. Throughout history people have kept chickens out of necessity - for food - so it didn't matter if they ever got tired of them. They just kept going. Now? Now anything can be a hobby because more people have the luxury of leisure and hobbies. So their commitment to a hobby will depend on their personal circumstances. How much do chickens mean to them? Was it a fad on a whim, or does it go deeper to a happy childhood they want to recreate? Do they have enough spare time for the hobby, or are their lives changing or too busy? Do they have previous chicken experience (and with it, more knowledge and patience), or did they get into it blind and are frustrated by rookie mistakes? There are so, so many factors.

To me personally, my chickens are a relic of a happy time in my life that I miss but will never get back. They help me relax after a busy day working. They are my happy place. I don't particularly like eating eggs, so it's not a big deal to me when they start aging and laying less. My set up is such that chores are brought down to an absolute minimum, so most of the time I spend with them is just to enjoy them. So they make me feel good, they don't feel like a burden at all. Unless something drastic happens out of my control, I don't expect to give up on them anytime soon.

 

[Outta Here]

I've raised chickens for 44 years (minus a few years break for moving to coyote county where I was scared to have them). Milked goats for 30 years until my hands hurt and even with a new machine, one goat was too much milk for us. Quilted for 35 years until making a business of it burned me out. Trained 3,000 dogs in my five-night-a-week classes until "there's one in every class" type of people wore me out.
For me, the only time a hobby overwhelms me is when I've let it get too big (or made a business out of it!) I felt overwhelmed when I let things escalate to having 200 chickens and 40 goats! But I learned my lesson and trimmed to a dozen chickens and 2-4 does with their yearly kids. Too many chickens, too many goats, too many customer's quilts waiting to be quilted can ruin the entire pleasure and just cause stress and guilt.
I'm glad I learned this so I could protect the final passion of my life. I've played harp for 16 years, having taken it up at 50. Alone, I play my small harps on mountaintops, in forests, by lakes, on the lawn for the chickens! For public performance, I play my big harps. I don't charge when I play at parties and church and community events (except for weddings). I never advertise or worry about supporting a harp career, and I only accept whatever gigs sound fun. It's a passion that will last because I've protected it against burnout. I'll play every day until they pry my fingers off the strings!
As for chickens, watching my little flock of 13 free ranging in the tall grass, and spending 5 easy and pleasant minutes a day keeping their fresh white coop dry, fly-free, manure-free, and as clean as my kitchen isn't work. I will enjoy them until I'm too old to toss them scratch!

 

[ColtHandorf]

I've always enjoyed keeping chickens (over the long-term). I will say that sometimes life gets in the way, or something unexpected happens (freak snow storm and you lose breeders, bobcat breaking in to the pens and killing breeders, etc.) and you get disheartened. But it's never caused me to get out entirely as long as circumstances are still somewhat within my control. I may take a step back and just maintain instead of actively expanding or breeding, but it is what it is.

 

[LuckiestMamaof3]

I'm at 28 years, so I'll let you know. I replace hens every 2-3 years & baby them less than some. I like winter, because without my chickens & my dog I would never venture out of the house.

I’m very new to chickens, but I’ve been an avid gardener for almost of my adult life (even in patio pots when that’s all the space I had)…but I relate to your sentiment about chickens getting you outdoors in the winter. Even in fall, I tend to let my allergies keep me inside more, and the fact that there’s nothing “productive” to do outside kind of starts me down a seasonal depression. Already I see a huge difference in myself—love to have the chickens to tend to. Love having the run projects to keep me busy. I’m thinking this is the start of a long-term thing.

 

[LuckiestMamaof3]

I've raised chickens for 44 years (minus a few years break for moving to coyote county where I was scared to have them). Milked goats for 30 years until my hands hurt and even with a new machine, one goat was too much milk for us. Quilted for 35 years until making a business of it burned me out. Trained 3,000 dogs in my five-night-a-week classes until "there's one in every class" type of people wore me out.
For me, the only time a hobby overwhelms me is when I've let it get too big (or made a business out of it!) I felt overwhelmed when I let things escalate to having 200 chickens and 40 goats! But I learned my lesson and trimmed to a dozen chickens and 2-4 does with their yearly kids. Too many chickens, too many goats, too many customer's quilts waiting to be quilted can ruin the entire pleasure and just cause stress and guilt.
I'm glad I learned this so I could protect the final passion of my life. I've played harp for 16 years, having taken it up at 50. I don't charge when I play at parties and church and community events (except for weddings). I never advertise or worry about supporting a harp career, and I only accept whatever gigs sound fun. It's a passion that will last because I've protected it against burnout. I'll play every day until they pry my fingers off the strings!
As for chickens, watching my little flock of 13 free ranging in the tall grass, and spending 5 easy and pleasant minutes a day keeping their fresh white coop dry, fly-free, manure-free, and as clean as my kitchen isn't work. I will enjoy them until I'm too old to toss them scratch!

You are my hero!

 

[LadiesAndJane]

Get goats.

DO ITTTTTT.

They are awesome!

Love goats! Had African Pygmy Goats as a kid. Can’t wait to have enough room to get them again. Goats and chickens seem to go together.

 

[Swbertrand1]

The dynamics are constantly changing, so I don't know how one could get tired of it, maybe overwhelmed.
When we get a little backed up with "chicken chores", like Crazy Maizie said above, we realize we could doing something much less fun and much less rewarding...
At the end of the day, one of our favorite things to do is spend time outside with all of our little individual personalities, watching their interactions, their growth, and their evolution, learning about their social structures, watching those change, and so much more.
We love them, and they love us, well as long as we're bringing them something! We wouldn't have it any other way!

 

[Outta Here]

You are my hero!

Awww, shucks...