The truth about chickens

[fishnet1971]

that is IT in a nutshell. very nicely done.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

1. When your chickens get mites, they can jump on you and bite you some. I take two showers a day and keep my clothes bagged in the garage until they are washed to prevent problems. (They have been treated and are free of them now, but I'm traumatized because I found them in the house once and sprinkled borax everywhere.)

2. I don't like being exposed to the pesticide powder treatments for mites (which is the one that really works well for frequent treatments).

3. It is scary going out after dark in the country by yourself to do the nighttime closing up and food removal.

4. I have spent $4000 total on my chickens.

 

[Pinky]

Quote:
Only $4000?? Man, I wish my chickens were more like yours

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

even if your chickens & other pets stay on your property like good little girls and boys it is guaranteed that one of your neighbors dogs won't, and after it shreds your innocent little Henny Penny right in front of you or worse your kids, THIS neighbor will act like it was your fault for having chickens. Horrible sounding, but oh so true and easier to be prepared than not.

 

[stargazer2014]

Luke13:34 :

YOU will decide that having chickens is a good idea.
YOU will do all the research and find the right breed, right hatchery/breeder, right coop plan, right feed..
YOU will build a brooder in your garage being as resourceful as you can
YOU will spend your hard-earned money on way more chickies than you 'need' just to meet the minimum order
YOU will take the day off work to wait for the post office to call
YOU will wipe the pasty poo off their buts, encourage them to eat and drink and spend hours in BYC asking about the slightest peep or feather out of place
YOU will cry when one chickie dies
YOU will spend hours watching over the babies as they grow- and stress over precise temperature control every hour
YOU will build the coop and reinforce your run to withstand bears and zombies
YOU will place the girls in the coop and stay up all night wondering if you put them out too soon.
YOU will shovel your way through three feet of snow to feed and water them in the worst blizzard since 1905
YOU will call farms and check craigslist for the best price on hay
YOU will drive to the feed store and haul 50 lbs of pellets
YOU will sit with them, play with them, be pecked by them and chat with them
YOU will clean their poo
YOU will wait the impossible wait and sing the egg song with them as they start laying

... and ALL your friends and neighbors will line up for FREE EGGS just as soon as they start popping them out.

I was second guessing myself and our desire to have our own little flock, until I read this. I will do all that...and more.

Geez...I'm going to have to figure out a place for them to retire in style once they get to that point.....

 

[CrittersNPets]

Chickens may be easier than kids (sometimes) but remember, children are yet another excuse to get more chickens. After all, I KNOW my daughter needs her own coop and chicks and have my DH convinced also

 

[95yj]

You just need to figure out how to turn every negative into a possitive:

1. Baby chicks grow up. Those cute little fur balls get bigger - a lot bigger: thats when they get productive and useful
2. Chickens poop. A lot. You'll step in. It gets on your birds and likely on you. If they free range, it will be in your yard, on your steps, in your driveway, ect: And it makes amazing compost
3. If your birds free range, be prepared for your flowers and gardens to get destroyed. They will eat, trample, and dust bathe in your plantsFree weeding
4. You have to clean your coop and run:Not so bad if you manage it right, plus, more compost...
5. Chickens get sick. Most of their diseases are contagious and even when they no longer show symptoms, they can be carriers and pass the disease on to other birds:under the right conditions they stay pretty healthy, sickness is pretty rare
6. Chickens get killed. All that effort into raising and caring for your birds just to have the neighbor's dog break into your pen and kill them allyeah, no possitive
7. Sexing isn't 100%:In nine months you have a roast chicken

 

[fishnet1971]

even if your chickens & other pets stay on your property like good little girls and boys it is guaranteed that one of your neighbors dogs won't, and after it shreds your innocent little Henny Penny right in front of you or worse your kids, THIS neighbor will act like it was your fault for having chickens. Horrible sounding, but oh so true and easier to be prepared than not.

oh sooooo true....
Rule #99 - keep a shot gun loaded with 000 Buck in it at all times near your door.​

 

[corliss]

If you decide to free range, you have to decide whether to chance losing some to predators or staying with them. If you stay with them, you will need to devote at least an hour of time per day to being within striking distance. This isn't all bad, however. Our chickens are nearly a year old and I've spent more time outside in this year than in the ten years we lived here. I've seen gorgeous sunrises and sunsets, a variety of animals I'd have otherwise missed and find it gives me time to just sit and think. I have a feeling it's a lot like meditation except instead of a mat I have a chair and six chickens to watch. And there is something hugely engaging in observing your chickens scratching and pecking and just enjoying themselves versus being stuck in a small run all day.

 

[Mrs. K]

You may not believe this, but we have had quite a storm, 20+ inches of snow, and -20 temp. However, although still at zero for the high, the sun was shinning, and bundled in many layers, today I sat and watched my girls in their little sun porch, drinking water, fluffing their feathers. You are right, it is a reason to get outside, and hear the lone wood pecker, tapping away in the cold clear air. A reason to take the short walk. There are darn good reasons for getting chickens, that people do not even consider. mk