Poultry Keeping: Expectation vs Reality

[PippinTheChicken]

Is there anything that you expected before you got chickens, but it turned out you were very wrong once you got them?

For example:
I imagined lots if cute little chickens carefully and happily hopping down the ramp out the coop in the morning.
What actually happened is that I witnessed them pushing eachother and squeezing through the door, tumbling and slipping on the ramp.

I'd love to hear some

 

[ILoveDaffy]

Expectation: Cuddling sweet fluffy little chickens that would fall asleep in my lap.
Reality: Chasing my chickens until I caught them, and then they poop in my lap.

 

[Isadora]

I read a blog post that said they never fed their chickens except during the winter, which got me thinking that chickens wouldn't be very expensive to feed. This person lives in Kentucky, not somewhere where chickens are a little bit feral, like Hawaii.

 

[AvocadoAbi]

Expectation: Cuddling sweet fluffy little chickens that would fall asleep in my lap.
Reality: Chasing my chickens until I caught them, and then they poop in my lap.

HAHA I can't tell you how many times this has happened to me!!!

 

[DonyaQuick]

My expectations: six friendly but not necessarily huggable, completely normal, very chickeny chickens. I thought going out to the coop would be accompanied by cluck-cluck and other very normal chicken sounds.

Reality: the morning is a lot of very loud screeching and growling like I have my own personal Jurassic Park velociraptor pit. The rest of the time I have a honker, a singing/wailing chicken, a meep-meep bird, a Minecraft villager, a tiny soprano death metal screamer who also says "ububu", and one normal-sounding chicken. All of them pile on me for hugs the instant I sit down and it's difficult to get up sometimes because they just keep jumping back on. At first it was only one that always wanted to be grabbed and taken around with me like a weird wiggly teddy bear, but it's up to 4 out of the 6 now and they have pushing and shoving fights over who gets to be grabbed next.

 

[Everose]

Expectation: A beautiful mixed flock free-ranging and eating my pests, a full basket of multi colored eggs, and a rooster who crows at dawn.

Reality: All white chickens looking grungy and dirty, all colored chickens are outsiders (little racists), the egg basket gets about two little brown eggs a day, the wolf spiders are taking over the property, and my rooster sneaks up behind me while I'm milking and let's out a humongous crow just to her me screech back in shock.

Edit to add: I also expected them to leave the carport alone, there's nothing there for them after all, but apparently it's the best pooping spot around.

 

[FiestyFeathersFarm]

How are there not a million responses to this thread, it’s great!

Expectation:
Chickens are alright, they poop a lot and might be kinda annoying. Can’t be too expensive to raise a chicken . Think I’ll just get a few laying hens for eggs. Absolutely no roosters. Maybe throw in a couple turkeys for Thanksgiving dinner. This will be a great experience for the kids.

Reality:
Chicken poop actually ain’t that bad. Goes from 5 to 12 chickens within month. Buys incubator. Wastes/gambles $$$ on shipped eggs. Hatches 9 more chickens equaling 21. Has 6 roosters. Becomes attached to said turkeys, goes hungry Thanksgiving . *The one annoying chickens* Sneaks out for kid-free-chicken-watchin therapy. Puts in order for 23 more freakin chickens. Also ISO fertilized eggs

 

[BigAspirations]

Expectation: It’s quite relaxing to wake up to the sounds of Roosters crowing on surrounding properties. If these eggs hatch Roos, meh, no troubles.

Reality: being woken at 4am and getting more annoyed with each crow - spaced about every 35 seconds. If it was longer, laying still and wincing, just waiting for the next. I see so many people worry about their Roo annoying neighbours and wanting to keep him. Not us. When we ate him, we had 35 seconds of silence - cause that’s as long as he ever gave us.