Scared to get chickens!

[TattooedMama]

It certainly can seem that way. I agree with PP who said it may just seem you hear more negative because this is where the internet comes to troubleshoot their chicken problems. That skews the perception that there are more negatives than positives. Also, you really have to take it with a grain of salt because many come for help after they make mistakes that could have been avoided with doing their due diligence in the first place. If you can handle messy ducks, chickens won't be a problem!! My biggest gripe with chickens is that I want them to free-range, but not $#1% on my patio. That's it... that's what I hate.

Don't get too much into trading birds with every Tom, Dick, and Sally in the neighborhood and avoid the grown birds at the feed store and with that alone you will greatly reduce (by estimated maybe 90%) of your chances of getting diseases or illnesses.

While they can be obnoxious and sometimes health issues occur, I think it is still worth it to get chickens. With the cost of eggs (and life!!), I'm not sure it makes any sense at all for people not to have them at this point.

 

[3KillerBs]

I haven't had any issues with my chickens, but I have read a lot of threads about people having issues. There are several things that I think contribute to people having problems:

• Inadequate understanding of chickens' space and ventilation needs -- which contributes to health, social, and sanitary problems.
• Purchasing birds based on either cuteness or availability without researching what would be best suited to their needs and situation. Despite the fact that I do urge people to Go Ahead, Pick the Prettiest Chickens!, there are some choices that people can make which set themselves up for future trouble if they don't understand what they're getting -- such as birds unsuited for the extreme heat or cold of the owner's climate and buying high-production breeds as lifetime pets.
• Incorrect diet, either through providing an excess of "treat" foods OR through the mistaken believe that modern backyard birds could "feed themselves" the way "Grandma's chickens on the farm" did.
• Lack of understanding of chickens' social structure -- flock dominance among hens, the unlikelihood of multiple roosters being best buddies forever, and the unwillingness to effectively deal with a cockerel/rooster's problem behavior.

Doing your due diligence beforehand dramatically improves your chances of having a trouble-free chicken experience.

 

[David61]

well, did you read about all the problems and stop reading before you saw "WHY" They had the problem, how to fix the problem, how to prevent it in the first place.
I did my homework. All the bad things i didn't want to happen to them, put up with, have to do... i did something about it before i got chicks.
Used 1/2 HW cloth on coop (armor against predators) , deep litter, poop board (clean coop=healthy birds), hawk net the run, what meds needed if, look at their poop, feet,vent, base of feathers, spray everything with martins 13.3 twice a year regardless...
by doing these things it as been not only easy but fun.

My first flock went strong for three years. 8 or 9 eggs everyday out of ten ladies.
Sadly, illness took 3 and a dog got in the netted run and killed 4. with in the same month last summer.
I knew the fence was rusted in the ground on the netted day run. (40 yr old chain link) . I just got my first egg from my second flock of 14 new chickens.
I have ten day feeders and water, many day feeders and water, lots of sq ft in armored coop and run. Toys, swing, perch, clutter to break up line of sight... Happy birds=large eggs.

 

[ChickyWhicky]

I just want to chime in that I have had my flock of about 30 for over a year now and have had such minimal issues, virtually zero. They are easy keepers, in my opinion. I have a very organic and natural approach to chicken keeping. I provide the basics and they just go about their chicken lives doing chicken stuff. I have a healthy flock and get tons of eggs, no fuss.
I think any type of animal we keep domestically can/will require stuff at some point. I will say I've had to fuss more over my dogs, cats, horses and fish than my chickens.

 

[rosemarythyme]

They are expensive when keeping chickens too.
My hens haven't been laying for a couple months due to molting and winter break.
I had to keep feeding them tho.
The 4 eggs I got this last week cost about $10 per egg.

x2. Eggs are extremely expensive here (last winter I paid $8 for a dozen) but there's no way my flock is saving me any money. I save up eggs in late summer and fall to make it through winter - haven't gotten an egg since October, perhaps, and won't see any until maybe later this month (I have a single hen that's squatting and reddening up). Eggs are just an extra benefit of having a pet that can lay them (pretty sure the same is true for ducks).

 

[LightswitchRaves]

***Disclaimer: This is from the perspective of a chicken short- and first-timer. But FWIW, I work with wild bird species, and have for years.*** I started my first foray into chickens when I rescued (inherited) 7 chickens with the house I purchased about a year and a half ago. From those 7, I'm down to one. To be fair, I don't know how well they were taken care of before I got them. Also, their coop was old and hard to clean. 4 of the ladies were leghorns that were purchased as layers and if I were to guess, they weren't purchased from anywhere reputable. The leghorns had been purchased by the previous owners, but since they only owned the house from December 2020 until we bought it in June 2021, they weren't there for long. They added the leghorns to 3 chickens that THEY had inherited when they bought the house in December 2020. One of the leghorns was already sick when I purchased the house and I had a wildlife friend humanely euthanize her. I did my best, but it just always seemed to be an ongoing fight with them actively trying to die, and me trying my best to keep those fools alive! The original 3 birds that had been living here since at least prior to December 2020 were a silkie, an easter egger, and a naked neck, I have no idea how old they were. They were healthy overall, but the easter egger and both silkie just up and died within a few months of each other, but their deaths seemed more natural than the leghorns that just seemed always sickly. Annnnyway, while my experience is limited, it does seem like some chickens are actively trying to keel over no matter how hard you try! =) I'd stick with heritage breeds as some birds have been bred for a purpose (all of the eggs!), seemingly at the expense of survival. I think my remaining girl, Martha, is a heritage breed (turken/naked neck/big ol' dinosaur). From what I've read, and in my experience, she's been super easy to care for. Once she was the last girl standing, we bought her a new Fluffy Butt Hut and put it closer to our house so we can interact with her daily. She's super chatty and loves to follow us around. I was worried she would be lonely as an only chicken, but she seems to be thriving. She's my fun little dinosaur, although I still have that nagging thought in the back of my mind that I'm gonna fail her too. As a final note, I was REALLY surprised at how gross chickens are, but the good news is that they seem to be cleaner than ducks? I work with seabirds whose defense mechanism is to simultaneously dive-bomb and poop on you. They have really good aim and eat fish, so it's extremely unpleasant to say the least! But I was still surprised at the grossness of my chickers! haha. Good luck with your decision, and I'm jealous of your ducks. Waterfowl are just so damn cute.