Someone talk me off the roof!

[dbounds10]

ok - so I did not do as much research as I should have, jumped in with 6 chicks (all doing great so far). But the more I read on here, the more I freak out!
Impacted Crop? Fungus? Leg Mites? Impacted eggs?

Holy Crap! Please tell me that these things are not as common as they seem and I will be able to maintain this flock without having an avian vet on staff!!

 

[Cloverleaf Farm]

No, not as common as they seem.

If you take good care of your flock and keep them and their area clean, you'll be fine. That being said, EVERYONE that keeps chickens will have to deal with mites or lice or both from time to time. Just keep a close eye on your girls, and then treat as necessary.

 

[jswalker]

I'm new too, but I think you will be ok. Lets see if more seasoned chicken owner can better answer your question!

 

[ralleia]

Not common at ALL. I've had chickens for seven years, and we only clean the coop out when we get around to it (which ends up being 3-4 times a year).

We might lose one hen (out of 30) a year to some ailment. The biggest danger is overheating during a heatwave--but then the cattle are dying in the field from the heat as well when that happens.

I think that overly-nervous chicken owners are a far greater hazard to a chicken than any of the chicken ailments!

NOW COME DOWN OFF THAT ROOF AND PLAY!

 

[allpeepedout]

My grandmother had chickens for decades. They were in a big fenced pasture, and she occasionally clipped their wings to keep them from flying out. Every now and then she "dusted" them for lice, like once a summer. They foraged a lot, ate ground cow feed, ate all the leftovers and she fed them soured cow's milk. We only cleaned the big chicken house once a year. I don't recall any injuries or illness. They were much less work than the dogs, cats, horses, cows. She let her old hens retire, and only terminated one roo who was aggressive. She let a hen brood a new batch every now and then to keep up her numbers. She got lots of eggs and sold them.

I have my first batch of chicks now, just 7 babies, and they have been nothing but fun. Only issue was with brooder too hot. The work part is keeping things clean but soon they will go outside to bigger quarters. They grow rapidly and shockingly increase water consumption in particular.

All in all, a lot of fun, especially if you enjoy watching animals. I'm amazed at the personalities and pet-like qualities.

 

[schellie69]

I think it just seems overwhelming at first. Its like any animal there are things that can happen does not mean that they will. Last year I found out my hens had worms I thought it was the end of the world luckily the great folks on byc helped and now I know what to do. Just take a deep breath and know that chickens are great and fun. Come off the roof.

 

[kelidei]

Hi... don't worry! I have been doing this for two years and at the moment I have about 75 adult birds. I have lost about 5 over the past two years. One hen was egg bound... one we believe broke her neck when she ran full speed into a wall, two died this past summer during an excessive hot spell and one just died... we don't know from what... she was fine that evening and in the morning she was gone.... no marks, no symptoms... looked almost peaceful... Now out 75 birds that's pretty good odds. I have never had an issue with mites or lice or any other chicken disease. I worm them once a year. As another poster mentioned I think if you are diligent with coop and yard management you can stay one step ahead. Also as much as I moan and complain about winter weather I think those of us in the north have an advantage due to months of below freezing temps.... it kills just about everything, particularly bugs and parasites

I think that the import thing to remember is that some chickens will just die sometimes... just like any other livestock... they are not the most robust or brilliant of creatures (although I love them dearly!). It is hard especially if it happens to be one of your favorites but you will see with time you develop a healthy "farm mentality". You may be sad for a while but it just the natural cycle of life... You see them come into the world... and you will see them leave this world... that is life. My advice is to just enjoy them, care for them the best you can and you will have far more joy than sorrow.

 

[nittanyxi]

If you treat everything that can go wrong with a chicken as if it will happen..... yeah, you will feel like jumping off the roof.

If you treat everything that can go wrong with a person as if it will happe.... Yeah, you will feel lke jumping off the roof.

Relax, most of the things that can go wrong with both of the above senarios you probably wont have to deal with.

Deal with things as they come. Enjoy your chickens. Enjoy life.

 

[DianeS]

You'll be fine! I jumped in last summer with four young adult chickens, and it's been fine. One case of scaly leg mites which were super-easy to treat, one unexplained death, and one bloody comb from who-knows-what. That's IT. No impactions, no crop problems, no injuries that needed treatment.

They're super-easy to take care of, too. I don't fuss with mine much, thought the people here assure me I'll start fussing more eventually! LOL! They eat pellets, and leftovers, and the rabbit poop. (EW! But whatever...)

Go have fun with them!

 

[dbounds10]

Thanks guys! I appreciate the feedback. I think I need to stop reading on here for a couple days and get out of information overload!