Scared to get chickens!

[KentuckyDuckMomma]

Hi there! I’m from Kentucky and I’ve been on this group for about 2 years maybe. I have 4 ducks and love them - easiest animals I’ve ever taken care of!

I’ve really been wanting chickens and live more on my own/self sufficient. My coop for my ducks have the railings at the roof for just a couple of chickens if I wanted to get some and grow from there. BUT I see everyone’s post on here about their chickens and it makes me not want them. Between all the sicknesses, bullying from other chicks, parasites/lice/mites, leg issues, water belly, etc I’m just terrified to get them since they seem more trouble lol

Is it REALLY that troublesome to have chickens?

 

[Isadora]

You may get a bit of a warped perception about how much trouble chickens are here because often people are posting looking for help. Have you looked at the stories of my flock section? Lots of awesome stories about individual chickens and their personalities and how much fun they are to own.
I adore my ducks but if I had to choose between my ducks or my chickens I think I would keep the chickens. I have found them to be less messy and they interacted better with my children.

 

[SourRoses]

We found our brief sojourn into duck ownership to be much more challenging than chicken keeping. Mainly the water cleaning.
I haven't experienced issues with parasites or leg deformities in 11 years of keeping chickens.

The hardest part of keeping chickens, in our experience, is the structural design and limitations. They always need more space, something to do with their numbers not staying constant So it's more of a building problem than anything.

That said, I've never kept chickens with ducks. I don't know what problems may arise besides that drakes can kill hens from reproductive endeavors. Separate housing may be called for.

 

[nuthatched]

Ducks suffer from the exact same things?
Going to a hospital and wondering why everyone is sick or hurt is just about as silly as going on to a poultry help site and getting worried that 'they always seem sick'. If people need help, that's were they go.
I'm not going to talk you into to chickens if you don't want them.

 

[lomine]

Personally, I like my ducks way more than I like the chickens. I'd say my chickens are more like livestock to me. I have them mostly for fertilizer and bug control, honestly could do without the eggs as most are given away. They do seem more prone to heath issues and are slightly suicidal.

The ducks are more pet like. I love watching them and got more just for fun. Though most of their eggs are also given away, I do like using them more for cooking/baking. If I had to pick just one, I'd pick the ducks.

Last year I got some bantam chicks at Tractor Supply to try them out for bug control with less feed cost. I have really enjoyed them and plan to eventually just have bantam. Will let the older large fowl that are left die naturally. (Those left are the best broodies of the flock so they get to stay for life.) Bantams may be an option for you, especially if you have a limited amount of roost space.

 

[KentuckyDuckMomma]

Personally, I like my ducks way more than I like the chickens. I'd say my chickens are more like livestock to me. I have them mostly for fertilizer and bug control, honestly could do without the eggs as most are given away. They do seem more prone to heath issues and are slightly suicidal.

The ducks are more pet like. I love watching them and got more just for fun. Though most of their eggs are also given away, I do like using them more for cooking/baking. If I had to pick just one, I'd pick the ducks.

Last year I got some bantam chicks at Tractor Supply to try them out for bug control with less feed cost. I have really enjoyed them and plan to eventually just have bantam. Will let the older large fowl that are left die naturally. (Those left are the best broodies of the flock so they get to stay for life.) Bantams may be an option for you, especially if you have a limited amount of roost space.

Same! Our ducks are pets and are attached to us too. I know chickens can be the same but I’m worried to get attached if they’re just going to die. I just see more stories of issues with chickens than good things besides eggs but that’s what I’d want them for. I’d want them for meat too but not sure if I could ever do that. Free range chickens seem to do better but my front yard is closer to a road and we have a ton of foxes

 

[TheyBeChillin]

Hello! I got my first set of chicks this last spring. I got four pullets- two Rhode Island Reds and two Barred Rocks.
We haven’t had any trouble of disease, parasites, nor have I had any issues with bullying. I scoop the coop once a week, and change the bedding once a month in the warmer months, and twice in the winter months. I change their water bowl daily, and I have a bucket with feed which lasts about 4-5 days before I need to refill it. They’re all very friendly with people, following us around the yard and jumping up on our shoulders- however, I spent a lot of time with them when they were chicks, so I’m sure that has a lot to do with it.
I live in the Southeast so we don’t get cold often. However, when it did get really cold I had to put Vaseline on their combs twice a day to keep them safe from frostbite, which did the trick. The only issue I have is one of my pullets, Fern, who frequently has poop collect around her vent. When this happens, I usually just rinse it off with water.
I get about 3-4 eggs per day. We haven’t had to buy eggs ever since all 4 of them began laying. To buy eggs most similar to theirs at the store, it’d cost about $10.00 for 12 eggs. However, there’s only 3 of us in my household. The eggs aren’t free by any means, but we got them to have a bit of self-suffiency, and overall I believe that it’s worth having them for it.
Granted, I only have 4 chickens, so that probably also helps keep things easy. But they’re good chickens and very easy to care for! I hope this helps!

 

[KentuckyDuckMomma]

You may get a bit of a warped perception about how much trouble chickens are here because often people are posting looking for help. Have you looked at the stories of my flock section? Lots of awesome stories about individual chickens and their personalities and how much fun they are to own.
I adore my ducks but if I had to choose between my ducks or my chickens I think I would keep the chickens. I have found them to be less messy and they interacted better with my children.

what type of chicks and how many do you think would be better as a person who is starting out? I don’t want too many if I don’t have the hang of it and they just die. I’ll check out the section you mentioned and do my research! And is it okay if they aren’t free range all the time? We have foxes really bad around here

 

[Isadora]

what type of chicks and how many do you think would be better as a person who is starting out? I don’t want too many if I don’t have the hang of it and they just die. I’ll check out the section you mentioned and do my research! And is it okay if they aren’t free range all the time? We have foxes really bad around here

Of course not free ranging is fine! Most people don't recommend it anyway due to predators. I've free-range my chickens because my main reason for having them is for pest control.
What breeds you get depends on what your main purpose for having them is. But I would definitely recommend heritage breeds over hybrids that were created to produce a lot of eggs. The hybrids are very prone to egg issues and typically have short lives.
How many you get also depends on the space you have.
So what do you expect from your chickens? Once we know your goals, I'm sure other members will chime in with what breeds will suit you best.

 

[KentuckyDuckMomma]

Hello! I got my first set of chicks this last spring. I got four pullets- two Rhode Island Reds and two Barred Rocks.
We haven’t had any trouble of disease, parasites, nor have I had any issues with bullying. I scoop the coop once a week, and change the bedding once a month in the warmer months, and twice in the winter months. I change their water bowl daily, and I have a bucket with feed which lasts about 4-5 days before I need to refill it. They’re all very friendly with people, following us around the yard and jumping up on our shoulders- however, I spent a lot of time with them when they were chicks, so I’m sure that has a lot to do with it.
I live in the Southeast so we don’t get cold often. However, when it did get really cold I had to put Vaseline on their combs twice a day to keep them safe from frostbite, which did the trick. The only issue I have is one of my pullets, Fern, who frequently has poop collect around her vent. When this happens, I usually just rinse it off with water.
I get about 3-4 eggs per day. We haven’t had to buy eggs ever since all 4 of them began laying. To buy eggs most similar to theirs at the store, it’d cost about $10.00 for 12 eggs. However, there’s only 3 of us in my household. The eggs aren’t free by any means, but we got them to have a bit of self-suffiency, and overall I believe that it’s worth having them for it.
Granted, I only have 4 chickens, so that probably also helps keep things easy. But they’re good chickens and very easy to care for! I hope this helps!

It does! I wouldn’t want anymore than 4 just starting out anyway.. eggs are sooo expensive! I just see where people post about certain wood chips have mites in them, fleas and lice from outside animals, water belly, feet issues, and I’ve had no issues with my ducks so I just didn’t know if chickens are so particular or just the people are?