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

[Chickenclucker]

I love all my chickens but i wish i would have researched breeds a little more.. Right now i have a variety of sizes and assorted chickens.. egg layers, ornamental, etc. My main regret is rushing into getting the first chickens I could get my hands on! now I have 2 coops with 16 chickens and Even though my flock has grown from the 6 starter chickens I am still only averaging 1 to 2 eggs a day, with most of the chickens being of egg laying age I wish I would have stuck with the larger sized chicken who lay consistently. I could get rid of the ones who aren't laying but I have grown pretty attached and I will feel bad if I uproot my chickens and put them on craigslist or what not.

 

[mamahen10]

Never introduce new adult birds into the flock because of the increased chance of diseases. Quarantining them as you should is just too impracticable in most settings. Bigger & taller coop & run.

 

[TracyLynn]

YESSS ! i agree ! Know what you want/expect out of your flock and research breeds. Do you want them for eggs? meat? companionship? ornamental? taking into consideration your climate is important too. Some Chickens don't do well in heat.

 

[Chickens R Us]

I wish I had known about chicken math, I had to build another bigger coop. I will thoroughly research a breed before buying. I had wanted a dark egg layer and saw an add on craig's list for Cuckoo Maran pullets, I ended up with 3 roosters and 1 pullet but worst yet all mutts 3 of them had yellow legs and one has lacing. I found this out buy posting pictures on here. I feel so stupid for not knowing what I was buying. The lady told me she would give me my money back but never did.

 

[lauranickerson]

Definitely agree with the last few people! Research the breeds before you jump on buying them right away! I decided to get some "straight run Black Sex Links," "Production Red pullets," and "High Production layer pullets" at Tractor Supply this Spring. Turns out my 8 sex links were ALL boys, 2/6 of the Reds were boys, and the high productions were Buff Orpingtons. I couldn't do much about the Reds that were labeled pullets, but if I would have researched Black Sex Links before buying them, I would have known that you can pick out the girls. I'm sure the woman at TSC knew what she was selling me.

I know what to look for next year...that's for sure!

 

[lauranickerson]

Oh, and ALWAYS inspect hens BEFORE you buy them that you're buying on Craigslist or the like. Always quarantine them also. I bought 5 laying hens from Craigslist and she said they were "perfectly healthy." NOT! I checked them when I got them home, and they were so grossly infested with lice that I didn't even want to touch them. Then I wormed them after getting advice on here. They seem much happier and look much healthier, though I'm still nervous about them being dormant carriers for diseases, but I wasn't about to build a whole other coop for just them. I learned my lesson.

 

[lawnbirdman]

Chicken hawks (red tailed hawks) are called as such for a reason. Do not keep your girls locked up in a run without netting on top. My first loss was a full sized australorp that tried to escape so fast that she put a dent in the fencing on the door. She could have gotten away had she had a chance to run. Since then I put netting on top for any time they need to stay locked up in the run, otherwise I have had no predator losses while free ranging all day every day.

 

[MsChickenMomma]

One thing I wish I had known was to never leave my barn windows open unless you have fencing over them like a screen. I left my windows in the coop open because it was a beautiful breezy summer night, and I wanted them to get some fresh air. Next morning I came out to find two chickens dead with their bodies ripped open. One of them was still alive, and her back was completely gone.

A pair of raccoons had climbed up the metal siding of the barn and through the window into the coop. It was heartbreaking.

 

[fussypuss]

Make sure your pen is very safe!! First day that we got chickens one got out of the pen and it was really hard to get her back!!!

 

[Mac14]

I had a perfect design for a coop, drew it out and everything. But, I was at a friends house, and my dad and sister had saw a different coop design that looked cool. So, they called me to see if it was okay, I said it was fine because I just wanted it to be built. The coop we have is beautiful, but, it is a huge pain to clean, the new laying pullets have a hard time finding the nesting boxes, and most of the pine shavings get kicked to the lower level that the chickens don't use very much anyways. I am very grateful for this coop, but I wish I had told them to keep with my idea.
Also, chicken math would have been nice to know about, but it was bound to happen even if chicken math didn't exist.

Here are pics of the inside and outside of the coop, during and after construction.

During.

After.

During.

During.

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