What is one thing you figured out about chickens that you wish you knew when you began?

[cherrynberry]

We do have a shallow ditch line running along the barn that goes under the large, tin-roof cage on the side (for separation and weather protection) that we put water in when it's hot and dry because they like to splash and run through it, it just never occurred to me that a creature who literally bathes in dirt (lol) might need a shampooing once in a while

Definitely NOT often. Only when needed. I rarely ever give my birds bathes it is definitely not needed unless there is an issue where bathing would help. In the case of flystrike, maggots drown.

 

[avkootz]

Its a bummer too. Especially when it is a life long disease or one that sticks around.

yeah, my mom was really nervous about the chicken herpes virus when she first started, but so far the closest we ever had to a sick chicken was when we thought Tiny (they all have ridiculous names) might have an egg stuck. She almost got a dunking to loosen it up, but it worked itself out.

 

[avkootz]

Definitely NOT often. Only when needed. I rarely ever give my birds bathes it is definitely not needed unless there is an issue where bathing would help. In the case of flystrike, maggots drown.

i will have to look up flystrike and some of the other things in your list; I pretty much just feed, water, and set them free in the yard every morning so my knowledge is behind my mother's and brother's- thank you for helping me catch up! I want to help more!

 

[cherrynberry]

i will have to look up flystrike and some of the other things in your list; I pretty much just feed, water, and set them free in the yard every morning so my knowledge is behind my mother's and brother's- thank you for helping me catch up! I want to help more!

Okay. The only other things I do are sit in my chicken pen and watch them. I have gotten pretty good at spotting issues faster. If any of your birds have poop stuck on their back ends, its good to clean it. I have only had one hen who needed it. She is an old lady and got flystrike many times. She has finally settled down after treatment.

 

[Angel07]

I was lucky. I grew up with dad breeding chickens so he made all the mistakes for me. He stopped a few years ago. Now I'm into breeding our birds and everything is already set up for me. One or two fences are a bit broken but I'm not needing them yet so I can wait a bit longer before I have to have those done.

 

[avkootz]

I wish I had known that I actually like chickens. That chicken math is real. That fence math leads to chicken math. That the egg song is louder and longer than the crow. That picking the ones for dinner would be challenging...they all have features. And much more.


A couple months back I had a hen that was off. Droopy tail and stagnant. Otherwise head up and alert. Not enough symptoms to ask for help. Gave Vet Rx and mash to make sure about food and water. In a couple days she perked up. Moral...start small.

i feel like a kindergartner among high schoolers- what is chicken/fence math?

I hear you on that egg song, my mom described it all summer but I only heard it recently, GOOD LORD, idk if they're squawking because they're proud they just laid an egg or crying out in pain from having to give birth everyday! I wonder how that trait evolved- you'd think announcing you just plopped out what a lot of predators consider a treat, that chickens would've died off with the dodo a long time ago.

 

[NatJ]

I guess my question is- washing the birds? My mother literally washes everything but I've never seen her clean a chicken except in the kitchen with sharp implements! Do they need baths sometimes or is this a show chicken thing?

Healthy chickens that are not going to a show should not need baths. (Possible minor exceptions if they get into something really messy, but I've never personally seen one that needed a bath.)

But if a chicken has a problem, you might need to wash off blood or manure or something before you can accurately see the problem. (Sometimes getting the chicken clean is all you need to do, like with pasty butt in young chicks.) Then you need to dry them off before they get chilled, especially if they are young chicks.

 

[MildlyOffensiveChicken]

Fully prepare the brooder or coop prior to the arrival of birds.

If you have room and means, buy a tiny bit more feed and other treats/vitamins/etc as you will need for a specified time. 8 weeks for CX or 16 weeks of grower for layers. Don’t waste time buying a single bag at a time.

 

[The Moonshiner]

I think everyone should learn about biosecurity and chicken diseases before they get chickens.

You're boring me.
It's a wise thought but if I had to do that much learning before getting chickens I'd still be working on getting some.
Isn't it easier to learn the old fashion... Birds are easily replaced so no big deal if a few of the first flocks were wiped out.
Then gradually learning ya that works but it's cheaper to keep a flock alive then to replace it once a year or so.

 

[Kiki]

You're boring me.
It's a wise thought but if I had to do that much learning before getting chickens I'd still be working on getting some.
Isn't it easier to learn the old fashion... Birds are easily replaced so no big deal if a few of the first flocks were wiped out.
Then gradually learning ya that works but it's cheaper to keep a flock alive then to replace it once a year or so.

Hands-on learning does work well.
Although I prefer not ever have to deal with diseases.