What do you wish you had known before you got your chickens

[patmick]

Yes Begonia turned out to be a rooster and so did Mabel. I think Chloe might be one too. That is 3 out of 9. We bought them at a farm store and they said they were females. How many hens per rooster is good?

 

[Wednesday]

Yes  Begonia turned out to be a rooster and so did Mabel. I think Chloe might be one too. That is 3 out of 9. We bought them at a farm store and they said they were females. How many hens per rooster is good?

1 per dozen I hear

 

[newbie32]

I agree to the gateway pet statement! We started with 3 RIRs a couple years ago and now have 12 chickens (with 20 more on their way), 2 ducks, 3 goats, and 2 pigs! It's wonderful!

I think chickens are easy and awesome! I don't know why people but parrots and cockatoos when they could have productive, entertaining chickens! We love having a flock.

I wish I had known:
-in our case, starting with full grown Hens, a small chicken wire fence was not enough to hold them
-secret nests will pop up in your yard
-the float test or the crack test work to determine if eggs are still good when you find a large, hidden collection
-having a rooster keeps the pecking order in line and is just awesome all around- adds drama to the chicken soap opera in our backyard
-a male duck will attempt to copulate with hens (at least- our's does)
-if you start feeding them treats every time you come in the backyard they will always run right up to you and under your feet
-if a bird falls off a tyson truck and you save her, she will lay if rehabilitated successfully!

-even if chicks are full feathered they may not be strong enough to run with your flock
-Nigerian dwarf goats can and will climb a little chicken ladder and wiggle right through a chicken door

I WILL get my dwarf goats some day-you gave me a visual of them climbing into the coop

too funny!!!!

 

[newbie32]

1 per dozen I hear

I was told I could get away with ratio of 1:7 or 1:8

 

[Wednesday]

I was told I could get away with ratio of 1:7 or 1:8

I have heard number as low as that and as high as 2:42. Think it depends of your flock.

 

[cluck cluck 123]

About the pecking order.

 

[newbie32]

I have heard number as low as that and as high as 2:42. Think it depends of your flock.

I think it depends on how mean they are. I don't want a roo that will stress the hens and ruin their feathers. And if you have 2 then I think one had better be willing to be dominated. At least that's what I have learned on here. I am not in the situation where I need to worry about that yet, as mine are still young.

 

[TOP KNOT]

I learned you can't drive chickens like ducks. If you want them to go somewhere don't try to chase them there, go there and call them, they will come...running!!

 

[DawnMarie64]

I wish I had known how attached to my animals I would get.

I have learned that having goats (our big outside dogs), growing a garden (first one ever and I'm 49) and getting chickens for the first time in my life is very time consuming but rewarding. I have learned that getting attached to the little buggers sucks but that's just one of those things that we can't control. My goats come when I call them, the chickens are pretty humanized and its very cool just going out to the coop at night when they are calm and bonding with them. We have 2 goats and 5 hens. My husband says (mind you he didn't want me to get chickens or goats to begin with) "why didn't you get more?" Additionally my first coop was bought from a local farm here made out of scrap wood. My husband later saw that as a "challenge" and built me a bigger and better coop, expanded my garden and put a fence around my garden with the coop inside the fence. My hens are locked up like fort knox. No outside pretators can get to them.

Ahh feeling accomplised!!!

 

[Richleeblessed]

Yes Begonia turned out to be a rooster and so did Mabel. I think Chloe might be one too. That is 3 out of 9. We bought them at a farm store and they said they were females. How many hens per rooster is good?

Hey Does this mean that I can name my silkie hen George?