Reconsidering my chicken dreams....

[cluckmecoop7]

So this is what I'm *probably* going to do.

 

[cluckmecoop7]

I think I'll rehome my oldest flock, which has Creampuff, Marshy, Melody, and Dazzle. But should I do it through CL or at the chicken swap that's going to happen tomorrow at my local TSC?

The CL ad would probably be like:

retired laying hens

Four very pretty & friendly hens. Almost 3 years old. Still lay a few eggs. Buff Orpington's and Golden Laced Wyandotte's. Healthy. PETS & EGGS ONLY. Text for details: 555-555-555

 

[Bcolpetzer]

I've never had chickens. But I've had ducks for 6.5 years. They are so much work. I can't recommend ducks to anyone who wants less work.

I read about their messiness before getting them and it is 20x worse. I adore my ducks, they are wonderful and charming. But after they pass away, I'm out. They are so time consuming. And all of my duck breeds, including my cayuga, shout quack at me all day long. They are so loud!

 

[Bcolpetzer]

What I thought:
I thought I'd go to TSC and get 3 or maybe 4 chicks to have as a tiny backyard flock. Pets only. No roosters.
This was almost 3 years ago...and now I realize that chickens aren't as "easy" as people make them sound. (Newbies, please don't not get chickens because of what I just said. Keep reading...)

What I ended up with:
Okay so here we go.....don't be surprised if you get confused.

Started out with 6 chicks. The night I got them 1 got super sick. I was a greenie and didn't know about this forum, brought chick back to TSC and exchanged it for a new one. Back to 6. About 1.5 years later, got 4 new chicks to start a flock for a chicken who was kicked out of my current flock, and was pining away from loneliness. When the chicks were about 2 weeks old, 1 of my full grown chickens died. Unknown death. 3 days later a chick died. Now I have 8 chickens. Almost 2 years later I get 5 bantam chicks from TSC. Now I have 13 chickens.

Why I started this thread:
Idrk to be honest.... I guess life really got busy and I don't feel like I have the time to take proper care of them anymore...and they were naughty today which made me a little frustrated. Feed costs have gone up...and winter will be here (I don't have the best setup considering winter) I guess I want advice on what to do:

1. Should I sell my chickens?
2. Should I just cut back on numbers?
3. Should I completely drop chicken keeping and do ducks or something?
4. How could I sell what I call "pets"?

Idk......

What do you guys recommend? Feel free to ask questions.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

I think I'll rehome my oldest flock, which has Creampuff, Marshy, Melody, and Dazzle. But should I do it through CL or at the chicken swap that's going to happen tomorrow at my local TSC?

The CL ad would probably be like:

retired laying hens

Four very pretty & friendly hens. Almost 3 years old. Still lay a few eggs. Buff Orpington's and Golden Laced Wyandotte's. Healthy. PETS & EGGS ONLY. Text for details: 555-555-555

If I was you, I'd bring them to the swap tomorrow for starters. Then, if you can't rehome them there, go Craigslist. Just, if you go to the chicken swap, be sure not to touch anybody else's birds or anything. My best suggestion, is do not bring anybody else's birds home. Just your own birds if you wasn't able to find them a home.

As far as the ad, if you don't mind me suggesting or anything...

Pets, yes. Eggs, no. At that age, nobody wants them for eggs. If you want to, I'd throw in the fact that one likes to go broody. Healthy, that doesn't really need to be in there... If you had them test negative recently on certain diseases, then maybe that, but other than that, it doesn't really need to be in there. As far as texting, I suggest letting them go through the Craigslist email. Then everyone's contact information stays private. It's completely up to you, but I just don't think it's a safe idea putting your actual phone number on an ad. Now after you've been talking to somebody interested, and you know they're not scammers, then maybe give them your phone number.

Try this, EDITED: (If you don't mind...)

Four very pretty & friendly hens. Almost 3 years old. Still lay a few eggs. Two Buff Orpingtons named Creampuff and Marshy, and two Golden Laced Wyandottes named Melody and Dazzle. THESE HENS ARE PETS ONLY.

 

[Bcolpetzer]

What I thought:
I thought I'd go to TSC and get 3 or maybe 4 chicks to have as a tiny backyard flock. Pets only. No roosters.
This was almost 3 years ago...and now I realize that chickens aren't as "easy" as people make them sound. (Newbies, please don't not get chickens because of what I just said. Keep reading...)

What I ended up with:
Okay so here we go.....don't be surprised if you get confused.

Started out with 6 chicks. The night I got them 1 got super sick. I was a greenie and didn't know about this forum, brought chick back to TSC and exchanged it for a new one. Back to 6. About 1.5 years later, got 4 new chicks to start a flock for a chicken who was kicked out of my current flock, and was pining away from loneliness. When the chicks were about 2 weeks old, 1 of my full grown chickens died. Unknown death. 3 days later a chick died. Now I have 8 chickens. Almost 2 years later I get 5 bantam chicks from TSC. Now I have 13 chickens.

Why I started this thread:
Idrk to be honest.... I guess life really got busy and I don't feel like I have the time to take proper care of them anymore...and they were naughty today which made me a little frustrated. Feed costs have gone up...and winter will be here (I don't have the best setup considering winter) I guess I want advice on what to do:

1. Should I sell my chickens?
2. Should I just cut back on numbers?
3. Should I completely drop chicken keeping and do ducks or something?
4. How could I sell what I call "pets"?

Idk......

What do you guys recommend? Feel free to ask questions.

Just my opinion, you’ve had them for 2 or 3 yrs not clear on that. Won’t get people wanting to pay what you may think their worth and now see winter coming as a problem. Not getting that, you can get tired of raising chickens and do something else. That happens all the time, but I would never recommend ducks. I have them and I love them. But they are messy, stinky and if they have free range with dirty every water bucket and trough in their path, my 6 remaining ducks waste more feed than my 50+ chickens and turkeys do. And can be just as noisy as the chickens with roosters. Whatever you do decide keep the numbers low and reasonable and don’t add unless you know it’s for you. Do beware of people wanting your chickens, check them out. I have known numerous people who rehomed pets to what they thought was another pet situation to only be butchered immediately. I have nothing a against butchering we do it ourselves, but the friends that had it happen with their chickens, ducks and goats was devastated.

 

[Double Yolked]

What I thought:
I thought I'd go to TSC and get 3 or maybe 4 chicks to have as a tiny backyard flock. Pets only. No roosters.
This was almost 3 years ago...and now I realize that chickens aren't as "easy" as people make them sound. (Newbies, please don't not get chickens because of what I just said. Keep reading...)

What I ended up with:
Okay so here we go.....don't be surprised if you get confused.

Started out with 6 chicks. The night I got them 1 got super sick. I was a greenie and didn't know about this forum, brought chick back to TSC and exchanged it for a new one. Back to 6. About 1.5 years later, got 4 new chicks to start a flock for a chicken who was kicked out of my current flock, and was pining away from loneliness. When the chicks were about 2 weeks old, 1 of my full grown chickens died. Unknown death. 3 days later a chick died. Now I have 8 chickens. Almost 2 years later I get 5 bantam chicks from TSC. Now I have 13 chickens.

Why I started this thread:
Idrk to be honest.... I guess life really got busy and I don't feel like I have the time to take proper care of them anymore...and they were naughty today which made me a little frustrated. Feed costs have gone up...and winter will be here (I don't have the best setup considering winter) I guess I want advice on what to do:

1. Should I sell my chickens?
2. Should I just cut back on numbers?
3. Should I completely drop chicken keeping and do ducks or something?
4. How could I sell what I call "pets"?

Idk......

What do you guys recommend? Feel free to ask questions.

Sounds like normal chicken math to me. 6-1 = 13 . Yup, that's correct Chicken math.
Yes, if you are feeling stressed, by all means reduce your flock. I started with 6, reduced to 4, increased to 8, introduced to my husband who had a sudden chicken addiction reaction and at my highest we had (gulp) 20, now back down to 4. Will be gifting the four to a friend this fall as I'll be moving soon but I expect to rebuild a small flock again later.
The real problem with chickens is it's so darned easy to fall victim to the "Dawww! So cute! Gotta have it, one more can't hurt!" trap.
Learning to control your emotions and say "Nope, one more WILL hurt and I am good with x number of chickens and don't need more." will make your chicken keeping so much less stressful and much happier.

 

[Ladies of the Forest]

I’m almost 68 and have 14 chickens. I get so much more than I give, when it comes to my birds. I use the DLM, so the coops are odor-free and easy to maintain. The water hauling was killing my back, but I finally got smarter than the problem and got a longer hose that reaches the coops, instead of hauling the heavy waterers. These birds are so sweet and gentle and add so much to my life that I know they help me maintain a normal blood pressure and a happy outlook on life. Try to keep your chickens They love you right back.

 

[cmelend]

What I thought:
I thought I'd go to TSC and get 3 or maybe 4 chicks to have as a tiny backyard flock. Pets only. No roosters.
This was almost 3 years ago...and now I realize that chickens aren't as "easy" as people make them sound. (Newbies, please don't not get chickens because of what I just said. Keep reading...)

What I ended up with:
Okay so here we go.....don't be surprised if you get confused.

Started out with 6 chicks. The night I got them 1 got super sick. I was a greenie and didn't know about this forum, brought chick back to TSC and exchanged it for a new one. Back to 6. About 1.5 years later, got 4 new chicks to start a flock for a chicken who was kicked out of my current flock, and was pining away from loneliness. When the chicks were about 2 weeks old, 1 of my full grown chickens died. Unknown death. 3 days later a chick died. Now I have 8 chickens. Almost 2 years later I get 5 bantam chicks from TSC. Now I have 13 chickens.

Why I started this thread:
Idrk to be honest.... I guess life really got busy and I don't feel like I have the time to take proper care of them anymore...and they were naughty today which made me a little frustrated. Feed costs have gone up...and winter will be here (I don't have the best setup considering winter) I guess I want advice on what to do:

1. Should I sell my chickens?
2. Should I just cut back on numbers?
3. Should I completely drop chicken keeping and do ducks or something?
4. How could I sell what I call "pets"?

Idk......

What do you guys recommend? Feel free to ask questions.

What I thought:
I thought I'd go to TSC and get 3 or maybe 4 chicks to have as a tiny backyard flock. Pets only. No roosters.
This was almost 3 years ago...and now I realize that chickens aren't as "easy" as people make them sound. (Newbies, please don't not get chickens because of what I just said. Keep reading...)

What I ended up with:
Okay so here we go.....don't be surprised if you get confused.

Started out with 6 chicks. The night I got them 1 got super sick. I was a greenie and didn't know about this forum, brought chick back to TSC and exchanged it for a new one. Back to 6. About 1.5 years later, got 4 new chicks to start a flock for a chicken who was kicked out of my current flock, and was pining away from loneliness. When the chicks were about 2 weeks old, 1 of my full grown chickens died. Unknown death. 3 days later a chick died. Now I have 8 chickens. Almost 2 years later I get 5 bantam chicks from TSC. Now I have 13 chickens.

Why I started this thread:
Idrk to be honest.... I guess life really got busy and I don't feel like I have the time to take proper care of them anymore...and they were naughty today which made me a little frustrated. Feed costs have gone up...and winter will be here (I don't have the best setup considering winter) I guess I want advice on what to do:

1. Should I sell my chickens?
2. Should I just cut back on numbers?
3. Should I completely drop chicken keeping and do ducks or something?
4. How could I sell what I call "pets"?

Idk......

What do you guys recommend? Feel free to ask questions.

I

What I thought:
I thought I'd go to TSC and get 3 or maybe 4 chicks to have as a tiny backyard flock. Pets only. No roosters.
This was almost 3 years ago...and now I realize that chickens aren't as "easy" as people make them sound. (Newbies, please don't not get chickens because of what I just said. Keep reading...)

What I ended up with:
Okay so here we go.....don't be surprised if you get confused.

Started out with 6 chicks. The night I got them 1 got super sick. I was a greenie and didn't know about this forum, brought chick back to TSC and exchanged it for a new one. Back to 6. About 1.5 years later, got 4 new chicks to start a flock for a chicken who was kicked out of my current flock, and was pining away from loneliness. When the chicks were about 2 weeks old, 1 of my full grown chickens died. Unknown death. 3 days later a chick died. Now I have 8 chickens. Almost 2 years later I get 5 bantam chicks from TSC. Now I have 13 chickens.

Why I started this thread:
Idrk to be honest.... I guess life really got busy and I don't feel like I have the time to take proper care of them anymore...and they were naughty today which made me a little frustrated. Feed costs have gone up...and winter will be here (I don't have the best setup considering winter) I guess I want advice on what to do:

1. Should I sell my chickens?
2. Should I just cut back on numbers?
3. Should I completely drop chicken keeping and do ducks or something?
4. How could I sell what I call "pets"?

Idk......

What do you guys recommend? Feel free to ask questions.

I totally get you! I started out with my backyard flock of four..got 10 chicks to sell..kept half of them..kept getting more, you know, heritage or rare breeds. I know them all by name, and for the most part who laid which egg..up to around forty now, so moved to four acres so they can roam..they choose MY GARDEN, of course and seem to find way around most fencing..I'm downsizing..selling at least 10, in bonded groups. I feel like if I charge enough, they will go to people who will care for them. It's hard choice for sure! But to let the frustration ruin the entire experience isn't worth it to me. It's an evolving experience

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Just my opinion, you’ve had them for 2 or 3 yrs not clear on that. Won’t get people wanting to pay what you may think their worth and now see winter coming as a problem. Not getting that, you can get tired of raising chickens and do something else. That happens all the time, but I would never recommend ducks. I have them and I love them. But they are messy, stinky and if they have free range with dirty every water bucket and trough in their path, my 6 remaining ducks waste more feed than my 50+ chickens and turkeys do. And can be just as noisy as the chickens with roosters. Whatever you do decide keep the numbers low and reasonable and don’t add unless you know it’s for you. Do beware of people wanting your chickens, check them out. I have known numerous people who rehomed pets to what they thought was another pet situation to only be butchered immediately. I have nothing a against butchering we do it ourselves, but the friends that had it happen with their chickens, ducks and goats was devastated.

My big ducks don't waste any feed at all. I suspect that once I change the feed bowl for my bantam ducks, they won't waste either. I'm sorry to hear that about feed, especially with the prices going up.