Jessica, I can not believe your beautiful creek ran dry! Wow. That must be strange. It was so pretty and full when I was over there.
Greg, I agree with your post. My only thought about it is what may be misconstrued as "worry" may just be newbies (like me) trying to learn what to do to avoid costly mistakes.
Other than reading books and attending a class prior to getting my chicks, I had never even touched a chick before I bought mine in April. I don't foresee burn-out because I'm researching problems before they arise. I actually feel more confident about raising chickens than ever.
You see, in our day and age, many (dare I say "most") kids don't have access to farms. The knowledge and experience has not been handed down, like it had for years, and years, prior. All of this comes natural to someone who has been raised around it. My mom was raised on a farm. I was raised in the city of Seattle, long before "city chickens" were acceptable. My mom had been born with club feet and was unable to garden. We didn't have chickens, she couldn't care for them. So, I wasn't raised around either. I know a lot about both now - but what I know has come from taking classes, being involved in clubs, and learning from others who have similar hobbies as my own.
Because I am taking the time to learn how to take proper care of my chickens, my children are having the benefit of growing up learning some of the skills of former generations - they will instinctively "know" how to care for chickens. If they choose to have chickens of their own as adults, they won't have to do the research, because they grew up immersed in it.
If people "disappear" off this site, it may not be because they were burned out. It may be because they no longer needed the site because raising chickens became second-nature.
