Official BYC Poll: What Is Your Least Favorite Thing About Keeping Chickens?

[Gammas Bearded Babies]

Hands down: death of the birds. I feel too strongly and get attached to the birds the more I interact with them in a one on one basis. That is usually when they have some issue that requires extra attention.
When I decided to get chickens I had this crazy notion that we'd harvest the hens when they were in their second or third year and replace them with new pullets. Yeah, right. My older girls are my favorites! I'm most attached to them.
As for the poop, I'm a weirdo. I love cleaning the boards every morning and composting the load. My veggie garden is absolutely amazing!

Do u put it straight into garden or separate for a while?

 

[Gammas Bearded Babies]

First Saturday Lime has been a huge help with poop smell and fly control! A 20lb bag lasts me about 6 weeks for a 30x30 area.

How do you distribute it? Just throw handfuls around?

 

[Cebarmlds]

Other = winter

 

[blackacres]

How do you distribute it? Just throw handfuls around?

It comes with a cardboard scoop. I just walk around the perimeter with the bag and scoop and distribute it.

 

[JesusisGod]

Can you afford an automatic door??

The fox killed him and 4 hens last week.

Now I just get up for the other hen chickens in different run (more fox proof)around 6am. It's not bad wake up early I can always go back sleep now. No quails boys around either now. I got the ratio right so they a lot quieter now

 

[Babs3]

I use PDZ on the coop floor (no poop trays) and love it. It's much lighter than sand and dries the poop out for easy, clean scooping. It stays fresh smelling without ever changing it out. I just scoop it clean each morning and add more as needed to replenish what gets scooped away

The fox killed him and 4 hens last week.

Now I just get up for the other hen chickens in different run (more fox proof)around 6am. It's not bad wake up early I can always go back sleep now. No quails boys around either now. I got the ratio right so they a lot quieter now

It's sad and I understand but guineas are great to sound the alarm as well. Hope this helps

 

[gimmie birdies]

The golden wet poop, that smells more than anything, and is on anything, and everything.

 

[Silkie fluff butts]

Illness, death and preditor attacks are the worst.

But the other "LEAST favorite" is also our MOST favorite...
Bringing our silly Silkies in from the rain!!! We have 2 that will stay out in the rain all day, day after day, until they are absolutely drenched. We live in a VERY rainy area! So if they are soaked by noon, we bring them in to dry off in their little pen in front of the heater. We love spending time with them, but man, oh man do they make a mess!!! poop, EVERYWHERE! Food EVERYWHERE! And yes, they manage to step in their poop and get it on us. But oh what a splendid distraction from our homeschool day!

 

[Henhouse Harlot]

FLIES.

 

[Egger4me]

Well to be honest it’s the cost of feed! Ugh! I love having them and giving lots of treats. But dang! It’s the only thing that makes me cringe a little. I have some good eaters.