Lately my questions have either gone unanswered or 1 comment and link me to a page! I love this site, but feel like questions are being lost in the shuffle of getting bigger!
Quote:A topic or question may have been already asked and answered. The most common ones are usually stickied at the top of each section. For example, if you are the 15th person to ask about japanese quail that day, you will probably get the link to the sticky all about quail. Just something I've noticed over the years.
I think there's wayyyy too many members to be honest with you. just my thoughts. sometimes, i think it depends on the time you post a question. when more are on perhaps. i dunno. I sometimes feel that way too. however the thousands of members now. ?? I understand its free and all. but really way too many people. they should have put a cap on it somewhere. but how do you tell one person who wants to be in the chicken world???? i dunno, i am making no sense. i need to take a nap. good nite.
How long did you wait? Sometimes it takes those of us that are here to help take a while to get to all of the questions. Some are here just to socialize and some to help. Sometimes you just have to wait a few hours or a day before somebody can chime in that truly wants to help. I'm sorry you are having a bad experience.
I can only tell why I don't click on some topics that ask questions: 1. It's a common question that gets asked over and over each day by many people and has been answered a thousand times and could be found with a simple search...which is probably why you are receiving one reply with a link to one of the threads on that topic. Example: Why is my roo attacking me??????? Suggestion: Familiarize yourself with the forum and all its features, do a search on the topic first in the appropriate sections to see if your question has been answered many, many, many, many times, and post it to one of the more recent threads concerning that subject if your question is similar. 2. The subject line/question is worded in such a way that no one knows immediately if it is something in which they can help. Example: What to do..?????? or Sick girl! HELP! Suggestion: Be specific as possible if you want to reach the people who have the most experience with the topic. Some people just get on here to skim the areas in which they may have experience just to help someone else....they do this on their own time and are quite generous with said time towards newbies. 3. The question is worded in childish terms or ask questions about how mushy you feel towards your "Wittle fuzzy butted chickensies because I do, don't YOU?" Any questions that include the word "boy" in the place of rooster or roo, "girl" in the place of hen, "babies" in the place of chicks or chickens....all of these tell me this person isn't real serious about chicken knowledge or husbandry and thus needs no tips from someone who really is. Suggestion: Word your question in professional poultry terms if you wish to be taken seriously and want your questions answered by professional or serious chicken owners. Using correct terms denotes a serious attitude and a base knowledge from which one can build. Questions about how others feel about their chickens because you feel like yours are humans and you would donate your kidneys to them is~to me~ just a way of saying, " I love my chickens more than you love yours because I give them names, diaper their little butts, cuddle, stroke, pet, or otherwise rub them all over my body and if you do not, apparently you just don't luuuurve them enough and they will be seriously emotionally and socially scarred if you don't." These are questions aimed at controversy and garnering support for your own actions/feelings. I hope this helps you receive answers to your questions in the future. I've been on here for years and have always had my questions answered, no matter how big the forum grows. There is a core of steady members who frequent the board and are dedicated to furthering the knowledge base, so just mind how you ask and what you ask and then be patient, is the best advice I can offer.
Professional poultry terms? You want to publish a glossary of those terms and how to use them, because I have yet to find a Professional Poultry terms dictionary. Besides, you're putting all the blame on the poster. I don't think that's at all fair. At least give a little bit of recognition to the role that the other people on the forum take. It can'e be ALL the poster's fault. Putting all the blame on the poster is really kind of nasty, I think. And no, frankly, a good many of the questions that receive a poor response AREN'T answered by the existing materials posted, and AREN'T about 'wittle fuzzies'. A good many of us search the materials and questions already posted rather extensively. Part of the problem is that the search capabilities here really are very weak. You can only make very general searches, and you're likely to get thousands of responses back. It just is not an efficient search. Even if they WERE couched in less than 'Professional Poultry' terms, I think they deserve some sort of help. It's been a little over a year now, and I don't find I get any really useful answers to chicken questions here. A lot of others chime in with the same question, there's criticism, chiding, but no real answers appear way too many times. And I do extensive searches before I post a question - uh - I mean posted. I don't ask chicken questions here any more. It's just too slow and unreliable. I just go to RR or other pets. My chicken info, I get from a vet or an experienced old timer down the road. First of all, I don't really believe a web site forum is a good place to ask questions about keeping any animal. I feel most of the questions should go to a much more experienced person who sees the animals face to face, or a veterinarian. Someone on a bb can hardly answer a question like, 'what disease does my chicken have'. Secondly, it seems that either the more experienced people don't chime in, or everyone who answers is as clueless as me and wants to know the answer too. I think this board has a long way to go before it can really claim it helps people raise chickens. The information posted is ok, but most of it just brings up more questions - and those aren't answered. The experienced people need to work harder at answering and less at socializing, the search capability needs to be improved, the information needs to be better indexed and organized....I don't think anyone here should be patting themselves on the back and blaming new posters with questions, QUITE that vigorously. Every organization or group can use improvement and this one is no exception.
I have found the problem of unanswered questions when posting in a specific area of the forum (I won't say which). They seem to have their own little cliques and I apparently am not included in any one of them. I would post a question/comment and it would go completely ignored. I agree that the wording of a title has a lot to do with whether or not I even look. I also try at least once a week to go through a few sections where I feel I can help and answer any of the questions without responses farther down on the page as I can. I'm not saying you don't search first but a lot of people don't. My favorite is "When can I switch to layer feed?" That question gets asked at least 6 times a day. I think this is a great place to get information. It's not always as timely as we need it to be but I was lucky enough to find urgent help for my sick hen and she is doing great now. I don't think it matters if you use the proper terms or not but it would probably be helpful if you befriended one or two really friendly and knowledgeable people that you could PM with important questions. I found myself a nice local buddy who helps me out when I have questions.
Another reason questions seem to go unanswered, at times~~~the weather. When the weather is wonderful, all of the chicken people are outside doing chicken things Weekends in the Fall & Spring are when shows are held---so people aren't online
While I take care of my own chickens as best I can, I'm not sure that I have the knowledge to actually help someone else. Like many, I came here looking for help. However the last question you asked appears to be on 9-7-11, concerning "Why would egg yolks be runny? The hens are less then a year old." in the Chicken Behavior section. One possible answer is that the membrane between the yolk and the white of the egg has broken down. Another reasonable answer is in how you crack the shell open. When looking for an answer, more details always help. You say "hens" as in this runny-yolk is from more that one hen? All eggs runny, or maybe just one hen's egg? If only one hen, find which one. If all hens, the issue could be related to their diet. If only one or two hens, it could be a weak hen. Any ideal on where the hens came from? You raised them? Tell us about them. Free-rangers? How fresh is the egg when you collect it? How's the weather where you live? Been really hot? Dry? And it could be something as simple as the method in which you yourself crack an egg. I've never understood why my wife uses two hands to crack an egg. Give us all the information you can think of, let us make our best guess. But every hen can have a bad egg day. That happens. Spook...who knows little of real chickens. **and by the way, our silky's slept in a pile in the corner of the coop. Never roosted. Silly chickens. I think all the other chickens laughed at them.
Professional poultry terms? You want to publish a glossary of those terms and how to use them, because I have yet to find a Professional Poultry terms dictionary. Besides, you're putting all the blame on the poster. I don't think that's at all fair. At least give a little bit of recognition to the role that the other people on the forum take. It can'e be ALL the poster's fault. Putting all the blame on the poster is really kind of nasty, I think. 4. If you ask questions and you get offended with any answers and think they are rude or nasty when they are merely being informative, then others may not wish to answer your questions anymore for fear of getting the same response. Suggestion: Realize that you aren't always going to find the answer you~specifically~seek and you may not like the answers offered. If things like this tend to get you upset or offend you, then this indeed may not be the place you want to ask your questions. Everyone has different perspectives and even different posting styles. These are not necessarily meant to offend or be "nasty" to you or even pointing blame. Remember that the internet is a big ol' place and this is America...you can choose to utilize your options to sift through any answers you receive, not post on the forum or even find your information elsewhere. Getting angry or giving a tart retort could be the reason why those "cliques" avoid your threads.