POLL: Chickens - easier, same or harder then you thought, once you got them?

[chicknadventure]

building the coop was harder than I thought.

picking the breeds I like was harder than I thought

maintenance, is a piece of cake. Easier than any animal I have ever owned. By spades.

Just make sure that you don't sacrifice functionality in your coop and run for cuteness. We almost did that. Glad that my pen is cute AND functional.

Simplify as much as you can. They can be as hard or as easy as you want them to be. The most work is in the beginning.

Good luck!!!!!!!!!!

 

[chickfan]

For me, it was harder at first, getting the coops set up and experimenting with many things until I found what works best for me, with minimal effort. Now it is mostly easy...basically we let them out in the morning, gather eggs in the afternoon to help keep snakes away, and close them up at night. And of course make sure they have food and water. There have been illnesses and other things that were pretty stressful, due to illnesses mostly, but few and far between.
Two things that are trouble for me, are (1) we can't leave them to travel. We have a motor home sitting for 4 years, because we haven't been able to travel. And now we are...ahem...older and never know when our travel days may be over. Of course we could just get rid of all, go do our traveling, and get more when we get home, but that idea leads to the next problem, which is my getting too attached to some of them. I can't stand the thought of getting rid of the ones that I love so much.
I don't regret having them, and have enjoyed learning about them, feeling their soft feathers, smelling the sweet smell on the back of their necks, not to mention the eggs. And the fun when my granddaughter comes out and paints their toenails. So there is a pro and con list, which leads to an emotional state I'd rather not have to deal with. Travel vs. chickens.
Just remember that they are a commitment that will keep you home, whereas a commitment to a pet you can travel with doesn't interfere with anything. And not everyone is as emotional as I am, so that is hard on me.

 

[Sunnysimplelife]

Can you get someone to house sit for you? We are going on vacation and my daughter's boyfriend house sits for us and manages the animals. Also if we gone after dark I pay a neighbor girl to put them in. Of course I am in the city so she just lives next door.

 

[chickfan]

We would want to be gone at least a month, maybe longer. I wouldn't want someone llving in my house for that long, and it would probably be impossible to find someone anyway. We have a close friend who boards horses here, and he would be more than happy to help with the chickens, but he can't get out here twice a day, due to working out of town a lot.
I keep thinking a solution will come to me like a lightning bolt, but it hasn't yet, and I've been waiting a long time! LOL
We did have two guys living here for 2 weeks to watch our goats, years ago. One worked for a friend, and the other just did odd jobs. It worked out well, for the most part. But it was only 2 weeks. These guys are long gone now anyway.

 

[Sunnysimplelife]

Oh it would be so nice if you could get out and go camping if even for a long weekend. Best of luck to you!

 

[Rock Home Isle]

Once the coop is built, and the run finished, chickens are very low maintenance.

I've been keeping chickens as a backyard project since 2012, it's been a great project.