Making this whole chicken thing harder than it has to be

[patandchickens]

Well, sure, chickens have been "doing their chicken thing" for thousands of years.

OTOH, "their chicken thing" that they do on their own contains a very high component of dying young and sometimes messily, from various diseases and disorders and from predators.

If one doesn't mind losing more chickens, and losing them younger and sicker, then sure, just kick 'em out there and don't worry and let them be chickens.

However, those who have the time and energy and interest to take a little more active care of them will have larger and more-productive and longer-lived flocks.

Anyhow, plenty of old-time farmers DID pay very close attention to their livestock and take good individual care of 'em. They tended to be the farmers whose animals did better, on the whole

Pat

 

[M.J]

yes i believe that some can be at times nerotic about their animal though its because the want the best for them but some times what they feel is the best is just the worst

such as you never saw a horse with a horse blanket years ago and yet now you do wich is altering evelution for they will start to not grow winter coats causing them selves to become unhardy to winter

but thats just my opinion and you can take it or leave it and think that it is garbunzel

 

[sunnychooks]

Quote:
Oooops... Sorry!
When I mentioned the "good ol' days" I was meaning it in a sarcastic coloquial kind of way, not that they were actually good for either people or chickens! That's the problem with the written word... no one can see this:

(Should have included it in the original post

!!!).

 

[silkiechicken]

Quote:
A lot of people tend to worry alot...

I don't worry about poopy butts on hens, let them sleep in 38 degree weather outside and go in when they choose to do so, just add the hens without a problem provided you do it at a logical time (work with their behavior and let them fight it out), and just let them roam. A few bad eggs doesn't scare me as long as the birds "look right". I think a lot of people tend to over worry about their pets and children even... and then there are some who could care less about either. No need to go to the extremes on either way. Get the right care when needed, but don't need to go overboard if someone get's a cut or chips a nail.

Like maintaining a car, do it regularly but no need to fret over a scratch, but don't wait till it rusts.

 

[paisleycj]

I'm looking forward to trying to have a rooster as more of a pet. It's got to help tame them down some. We always had too many chcikens at a time for any real individuality to show. I've always enjoyed sitting and watching them, and it's great to be able to share that with my granddaughter now. My daughter surprised me when I told her I was getting chickens again. She told me that hatching out chicks when she was a girl was one of the best memories she has. That really makes me feel good, I know it was sure fun at the time.

 

[patandchickens]

M.J :

such as you never saw a horse with a horse blanket years ago and yet now you do wich is altering evelution for they will start to not grow winter coats causing them selves to become unhardy to winter

Sorry, but horse blankets have been around for at least 150 years, I sincerely expect much longer. I have a reprint of a horse-furnishings catalog from 1889 and they were selling LOTS of kinds of horse blankets, many of them surprisingly 'modern looking'.

I find it amusing to see what people think that "olden times" were like, as it very often does not match historical reality (or the great range of conditions that existed at any one time) very well at all.

(P.s. nothing is altering horse 'evolution' -- it takes only 1-2 winters for a horse that's been used to being blanketed to adjust to being naked and colder. It's physiology, not genetics. Also, many horses are kept outdoors these days that would just never have *been* living outside 100-200+ years ago, such as a lot of thin-coated hard-keeper TBs. Blankets are not always unreasonable coddling -- they weren't 100+ years ago and they aren't now. SOMETIMES, but not always).

Pat​

 

[gritsar]

Ever since the idea of me keeping chickens for eggs came up and I found this forum, I've felt stuck. Stuck between the wise and helpful advice I get from the members here and my SO, who is a wise and level-headed man. The difference being, his experience comes from growing up on this farm when they had commercial chicken houses. He about busted a gut the first time he saw me cleaning chickie butts and just smirked at me a little while ago when I took the chicks their first hard boiled egg.
I've had to come to a compromise in my own mind. If it's something I feel strongly about, I do it; no matter how much razzing I get from him. On the other hand, I have seen some things on the forum that I've felt were either unnecessary or uncalled for, and I don't do them; even when it seems like everyone else is.
While my chicks are still very young and I can't afford to be crowing yet (pardon the pun), my chicks do seem to be thriving and that's all I care about in the end.

 

[speckledhen]

My grandfather raised chickens on his farm all my life. He threw corn on the ground. He didn't name his chickens. He didn't know diseases. He lost them from time to time to predators and shrugged his shoulders.
You know what? I do it the way I do it because I choose to! I enjoy spending time with my girls and boys. This is my chosen hobby, I like it. It keeps me sane. Heck, it keeps me from going all Eric Rudolph, for goodness sake! Yes, I could spend less time, pay less attention to them. Toss them the cheapest food I could find on the ground, let their waterers turn black with mold rather than give them fresh water in squeaky clean waterers with ACV in it to promote health. I could let them out in the morning, forget them, then lock the door after dark without doing a headcount. If some were missing, oh, well, them's the breaks, right? Yes, I could do less. But, I like them. They are each different with different personalities. They like me and not just as a two-legged food dispenser. Olivia doesnt jump on my lap and snuggle up under the crook of my neck because she thinks I have food there. She knows I dont have food. She wants to spend time with me, period. They are my friends. They are my enjoyment, my exercise, they keep me moving and thinking and feeling. I want them healthy, happy and comfortable. This is my chosen life. So, could it be simpler? Maybe. And what else would I be doing? I can't think of anything I'd rather be doing.

 

[suburbanhomesteader]

Wow, what a great set of responses. I had not thought about the difference between pets vs livestock, but that makes perfect sense to me.

In case you didn't understand, that list was a partial list of stuff I worried about or took care of, that my dad razzed me about. Of course they have fresh, clean water at all times, and I keep them disease free and clean pasty-butted babies, too. It just seemed as though there was a kernel of truth in what my dad said, and now I understand the difference.

I certainly hope I didn't offend anyone with my word choices; I wouldn't have gotten this far without everyone here, who love their girls and boys so much. I am grateful to everyone in the forum, especially because it gives a place for us to talk about questions like this!

Thanks so much for your input; I have enjoyed reading the postings on this thread!

 

[kstaven]

We all view animals in our own way and raise them accordingly. One thing I have to mention concerning animals on a farm almost a century ago concerns my great grandfather. He Immigrated to this country in 1911 and farmed. They had chickens, cows etc... I can remember him when I was very young always saying that "you get back from animals what you put into them". He always cared for animals very well. Cows and chickens had names as did many of the others, and yet they where food animals and egg layers. So in many ways I think there where good owners and those who don't care about animals just like there is today. We just see and hear more of it because of the media and the internet.

I know for fact that my great grandparents, grandparents, or father would have beat the you know what out of anyone caught abusing an animal.

Their barns where kept clean, coops where regularly cleaned, corrals where always well maintained much like any responsible owner would do today. Keeping animals well in those days meant the difference between eating and starving. Something many of us could be facing in the near future considering the state of the world, the monetary system and the food supply.

I owe so much of what I know and how I do things, to past generations I was blessed to know and learn from.