Things You Wish You Would Have Known?

[lkschuppener]

Wish I had known how much I still loved chickens from when I was a little girl growing up on a ranch!! I would have gotten them MUCH sooner than 60 years old!!!

 

[All Ball]

I'll repeat what I said in a similar thread a couple years back - I had lived in a house with chickens when I was young, and assumed my new batch would be similar - I had no idea how LOUD they could be - not in egg songing, but in yelling at the top of their lungs for their scratch treat in the early hours of the morning....My poor neighbors....

Other than that, I have been lucky and well-prepared by all of the great folks on BYC and all the great books and resources that weren't around a few decades back - being introduced to the wonderful worlds of deep litter, fermented feed, natural chicken-keeping and gardening around free-rangers has really made chicken-keeping fun and relatively easy.

 

[bullrunslabs]

I wish I had known:
How addicting chickens are, chicken math is REAL.
How much pride and enjoyment my children get out of selling the eggs and hearing people complement them on what a good job they are doing.
That even if you have never seen certain predators around your property, they are there, waiting for you to come home late or for you to miss a quarter sized hole in the back corner of your coop. (I had a weasel come in and behead each and every one of my chicks and hens, then leave their bodies for my small children to find in the am).
Importantly, that chicken wire is not designed to keep other animals out, simply to keep chickens in. I use welded wire mesh for everything now.
I have learned that they easily live with other animals, I know keep three meat rabbits, and 3 koi in their water holding tank at our "Chicken Complex". They keep the rabbit manure to a minimum, and clean up any dropped feed from the rabbits, reducing the mice and rat problems that are everywhere on the Oregon Coast.
They are destructive! They will destroy a young garden in a blink of an eye. And they are very smart about how to get to it!
They do poop everywhere! Especially in front of the door, so watch your step
They are brutal to each other, especially during the rainy season here. It is so long and they spend so much time inside during the wet months, they get mean, keeping them occupied can be challenging but fun also.
You may build what you deem to be the perfect coop, but they may not like it. Relax, and adjust on the fly. We have moved nest boxes, reconfigured entire coops, changed litter methods and added new coops. They will decide what works best for them and we will happily accommodate.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Plan for rodent control from the very beginning. It's a reality you'll attract rodents. Had I been prepared and proactive we wouldn't have gotten rats in the house. We use tamper proof bait boxes with chunx poison. One in the run (if no chicks in there) and one in shed or at side of house facing coop. No more nightmares of being overrun with rodents.

 

[lillylusfarm]

That chickens can and will bite.
Build bigger than the flock you have now (chicken math is crazy).
Make sure your run has a roof to have happier chickens and a cleaner coop.

 

[austrolover1]

How much food they would eat ($$$$$$$).
It is SO much better to get chicks from a local feed store or breeder than online!

 

[lovemy6hens]

I wish I would have known:
- How fast baby chicks grow
- How to pick up & hold a chicken

 

[ChickNanny13]

ALL of the ABOVE

I call mine "Pets with Benefits = Stress relief, entertainment, exercise, bug control and eggs One thing I keep forgetting, they do love to "help" in my garden, just wish I could teach them to DIG where I want the hole

DLM & FF are the way to go!
DE & PDZ & Poop Board a must have for easy cleaning.
Next set of chicks (Sept) will be trying out MHP & water nipples (horizontal).
Chicken Math is the "worst", can't stop at one

BYC is the BEST for help & information. Great way to make friends from all over the World!

 

[tdwise]

I am new to the forum and just learning. My wife has chickens and has taught me some things. But, I thought I would come here to get input from all of you, too.

I am doing research for a project and this is what I'd like to know: what are the "Things You Wish You Would Have Known?" (before you got chickens for the first time). Think back to when you first got your flock. What mistakes did you make? (Or see others make?)

Would appreciate your input. The more responses, the better - even if they are duplicates. Thanks in advance!

Chickens get worms! So you need to know how to prevent them or deal with the difficult eradication of them...which includes disposing of precious eggs..sniff...

Use of DE and ACV...

Definitely the coop situation...we bought a prefab, $200 piece of junk that would Not have protected my flock...ended up ordering plans online and spending $800 in materials and built their castle...all had to be done in 30 days as that is tractor supplies return window to return the piece of junk.

I never knew how much I would love my chickens!!!

 

[Siggie]

I have been brooding in my workshop. I cannot believe how much dust they stir up. I have a fine coat of dust over everything now! When I move them out to the coop next week (if I can get it finished by then) I will have to pull everything out of my workshop to give it a good thorough cleaning top to bottom.

I sooooo feel your pain!! I have my chicks on my front porch and I will have to do the same....take ALL the furniture and stuff outside and hose it down because I have about a 1/2" of dust on EVERYTHING!!! I may even take the hose to the inside of my porch!