Undecided- Anyone ever feel the same?

[OneLostHen]

I'm trying to decide if I really want to keep my flock or not. I've brought it up to my hubby and get the generic "whatever you want to do" response. But I don't know what I want to do. That's the dilemma. I'm hoping you guys understand the ups and downs of flock keeping.

When I had chickens prior, I was able to free range them in my backyard. I had no restrictions and more room at that house.
Here I have to have my hens in a run. Which I feel is set up pretty decent. It's a combination of kennels attached to each other with sun tarps over them for shade as it gets hot in my area. They seem perfectly happy with their set up. But it doesn't have a rain proof roof over it. And that does bother me. They can (but never do) hide in the coop when it rains. Yet they opt to stand in the middle of the run and get soaked.

The run gets ants more than occasionally, the nest boxes in the coop harbor mosquitoes, my one hen has already gotten broody at less than a yr old, so I have that to look forward to (not). She was a chore to break too! We aren't an egg eating family. No reason, we just don't prefer them. So eggs are piling up. I thought I'd spend more time out there with the hens, enjoying them, giving them grass treats. But I only go out there to let them out, hush them down when they egg song as I'm paranoid about disturbing the neighbors, and to close them up in the evening.
I love them and am protective of them, spoil them as much as I can. But can't help but feel like it's a chore sometimes instead of fun. Now the brutal summer heat is looming and I'm even more unsure.

Would I enjoy spending time out there more if I made a better roof?
Would I enjoy a small quail covey more than the hens? Or would they turn into a chore as well?
What do I do with the run if I get rid of the hens?
Will I regret it? Or do I sit with this decision a bit longer till an answer is more obvious?

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

My advice is to rehome them and take a break. I’ve done this in the past and it will give you an idea of whether you miss having them or not. Personally, when I could not free range I enjoyed chicken keeping a lot less. I ended up selling my entire flock last time we moved and had a couple months without them then more time after we got to our new place to decide what my new chicken setup would be like and to pick breeds more suited to that. Some chickens are fine with confinement and some are more bothered by it. Getting started again with chicks or pullets is always fun so I say take a break and reevaluate.

 

[OneLostHen]

I definitely think I'd enjoy it more if I could free range too!

They're small cochins, so they really don't take up much space. But the confinement leads to more pests as their whole lifestyle is in a 5x25 foot area.
I don't even want to think about fly season

Thank you for your detailed insight!

 

[Not-so Slick Chicken]

I'm trying to decide if I really want to keep my flock or not. I've brought it up to my hubby and get the generic "whatever you want to do" response. But I don't know what I want to do. That's the dilemma. I'm hoping you guys understand the ups and downs of flock keeping.

When I had chickens prior, I was able to free range them in my backyard. I had no restrictions and more room at that house.
Here I have to have my hens in a run. Which I feel is set up pretty decent. It's a combination of kennels attached to each other with sun tarps over them for shade as it gets hot in my area. They seem perfectly happy with their set up. But it doesn't have a rain proof roof over it. And that does bother me. They can (but never do) hide in the coop when it rains. Yet they opt to stand in the middle of the run and get soaked.

The run gets ants more than occasionally, the nest boxes in the coop harbor mosquitoes, my one hen has already gotten broody at less than a yr old, so I have that to look forward to (not). She was a chore to break too! We aren't an egg eating family. No reason, we just don't prefer them. So eggs are piling up. I thought I'd spend more time out there with the hens, enjoying them, giving them grass treats. But I only go out there to let them out, hush them down when they egg song as I'm paranoid about disturbing the neighbors, and to close them up in the evening.
I love them and am protective of them, spoil them as much as I can. But can't help but feel like it's a chore sometimes instead of fun. Now the brutal summer heat is looming and I'm even more unsure.

Would I enjoy spending time out there more if I made a better roof?
Would I enjoy a small quail covey more than the hens? Or would they turn into a chore as well?
What do I do with the run if I get rid of the hens?
Will I regret it? Or do I sit with this decision a bit longer till an answer is more obvious?

I get that
Having animals to care for is a lot of work, and you don't get to take time off from it.

Some people just enjoy having them around, and some find they feel better when they no longer need to care for them.

Perhaps it feels like it's more enjoyable to keep them, makes you happy, and there's just some things that need to be fixed so it isn't causing you stress

If you feel like the stress is too much, the situation isn't what you want, or you're just going in a different life direction from chicken keeping right now, then that could be your answer.
You could always rehome and give it a break for a year or two, and then decide if you miss having birds.

Plenty of people love their animals, but things are just overwhelming and it makes it feel like they're shackled to home, and travel (whether for vacation or work) is either a dread or a nice break from taking care of things.

 

[OneLostHen]

I agree. I do tend to get stressed easier than I thought. But then again, my journey back into chicken keeping has been anything but a smooth ride. I guess I'm hoping that feeling of waiting for the other foot to fall will go away eventually.

Maybe I'll get a nice heavy duty tarp and secure it today or tomorrow over the 1st 15 foot kennel and see how it does with this weekend's expected rain. If it handles it fine I might relax a tad.

Thank you!!

 

[RubelliteRose]

Maybe I'll get a nice heavy duty tarp

One of my thoughts was that you should try a waterproof tarp to see if that helps. If you don't already have one, Project Farm on youtube has a video testing various tarp brands

 

[Appalachickens]

I definitely think I'd enjoy it more if I could free range too!

That would be tough. I have my 12 in a 168 SF area but they seem to be happier when they can get out and roam during the day. When I walk out to the run and say, "Does anyone want to come out an play?" they come charging over to the door like a little herd of elephants.

I don't even want to think about fly season

Also tough. Sounds like a smaller yard so the flies would be right there?

 

[thecatumbrella]

I’m sorry you’re feeling this way. If I were in your position, I would start putting feelers out to rehome. I’m very picky about who I give my birds too. If you can find someone caring with a free-range opportunity, you might feel more confident in passing the flock on. Either way, it’s okay to decide that chicken keeping is just not that rewarding right now.

I’m on a chicken hiatus myself! I miss having them, but it’s really nice to have a break. This will also allow me to make bigger changes to the coop/run while it’s empty.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'm trying to decide if I really want to keep my flock or not. I've brought it up to my hubby and get the generic "whatever you want to do" response. But I don't know what I want to do.

That has to be your decision. I don't know how much he helps with the flock but it sounds like he's OK with whatever you decide.

They seem perfectly happy with their set up. But it doesn't have a rain proof roof over it. And that does bother me. They can (but never do) hide in the coop when it rains. Yet they opt to stand in the middle of the run and get soaked.

Mine do the same thing and that does not bother me. Mine are out looking for worms or other treats that the rain might bring out. They are obviously doing what they want to do. It does not hurt them.

The run gets ants more than occasionally

I don't like fire ants either. I am not comfortable treating them in the run with chemicals. I do not have any good suggestions for that.

the nest boxes in the coop harbor mosquitoes

They are breeding somewhere in water that stands for several days. I make it a point to dump my waterers every two days minimum to assure mosquitoes can't breed. And I try to not have standing water around. But if you are in an urban or suburban area they may be breeding on your neighbor's property. Not a lot you can do about that.

my one hen has already gotten broody at less than a yr old, so I have that to look forward to (not). She was a chore to break too! We aren't an egg eating family. No reason, we just don't prefer them. So eggs are piling up. I thought I'd spend more time out there with the hens, enjoying them, giving them grass treats. But I only go out there to let them out, hush them down when they egg song as I'm paranoid about disturbing the neighbors, and to close them up in the evening.
I love them and am protective of them, spoil them as much as I can. But can't help but feel like it's a chore sometimes instead of fun. Now the brutal summer heat is looming and I'm even more unsure.

It sounds like you are not enjoying them that much right now.

Would I enjoy spending time out there more if I made a better roof?

Why do you think that would help? Does them enjoying being out there in the rain really bother you that much? Or is it something else?

Would I enjoy a small quail covey more than the hens? Or would they turn into a chore as well?
What do I do with the run if I get rid of the hens?
Will I regret it? Or do I sit with this decision a bit longer till an answer is more obvious?

I don't know what your answer is. Are you sure you want animals of any kind? Why would you be able to enjoy quail or anything else more than you do the chickens now?

I don't know your lifestyle or what that run looks like so I don't know what you could do with that run. Tear it out and sod the area? Put in a swimming pool or vegetable garden? Those can become chores also.

Good luck figuring it out.

 

[farmer90]

As a quail keeper I can say that they are very cute but also require as much care as chickens. So there's not much difference in the big picture. You might feel a bit more excitement with them at the beginning as you do with every new beginning, but eventually it will wear out too. And when you said that you are not a big fan of eating eggs, I don't see much point in quails either as they lay a lot and make terrible pets.
If it's all getting too overwhelming I think taking a break is a good thing. This way you can take some time to consider whether you need livestock or not into your life. And if the answer is yes, maybe you should consider someone who gives you meat or milk instead of eggs?