What is your "If only someone had told me!" moment?

[herrade]

1) A number of people have already mentioned poo. I'll just add that the following poo classification chart has been my number one resource in my first year with chickens:

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/?topic=17568.0

I read early on that you should always watch the poo for signs of illness, but there are many, many types of chicken poo, and most of them are normal. Study up, and keep that link handy!

2) Also, as a total chicken newbie, I recall being overwhelmed by all those strange chicken behaviors. Like sunbathing—Why is my chicken dropping to the ground in mid-stride and playing dead? Or chicken yoga—Why does my chicken periodically stretch out the wing and leg on the same side of its body? Or crop adjustment—Why is my chicken "yawning"? All that stuff seems really benign to me now, but whenever they made some odd or unexpected movement, I tended to assume the worst (ie, Mareks).

3) Weather: Have a plan for heat and cold, especially when it comes to water supply.

4) If you have chickens, you will have predators. I started with four hens, free-ranging 24/7, and after eight weeks lost three to a bobcat in a single attack. After that, the fantasy of free ranging was over. They are on lock down, except when I can monitor them for free ranging.

5) A lot of people swear by natural remedies, and if that works for them, great. I was using a natural worm treatment for six months and thought everything was great -- no sign of worms at all. But then one day my favorite hen became very ill -- turns out she had such a huge load of worms that she had developed a blockage. Luckily, she expelled it within 48 hours and has recovered fully. But now I use a prescribed de-wormer twice a year.

Have fun!

 

[DeGarmom]

I wish SOMEONE had told me to never look a rooster in the eye. It took me 20 years to find this piece of information. They are the prettiest, so of COURSE we all look at them.

I can't tell you how many roos we had to cull because they attacked my daughters when the girls were young. The last thing you want is to have your kids afraid to collect eggs. Problem was, after the first incident, the girls kept looking at the them to be sure they weren't nearby, which just compounded the problem.

Roosters are extremely protective of their hens. When you get down to it, the rooster feels challenged when you stare. Even when I handle them, I don't meet their eyes with mine. Some roos are rather friendly, don't get me wrong, but for the most part, they'll come after you if you give them what they think is an excuse.

It's been 6 years since I figured this out, and I have LOTS of chickens (there are currently about 40 roosters my pens) and I rarely have any problems with them (maybe 3 isolated incidents in the past 6 years.)

 

[byc4me]

I wish someone had warned me how addictive chickens can be! After only a year, I'm afraid to step foot in TSC or Agway for fear they'll have chicks and they'll be too tempting. I also wish I knew earlier about the 'oil gland.' Several times I saw my chicks lift their feathers and rub it like crazy with their beaks. I thought for sure they had growths on their butts

 

[heartsizedfarm]

This is proving to be a very useful informative and entertaining thread!

 

[happybooker1]

I wish someone had told me "you'd better have a plan in place to get rid of all your boys", because I didn't & had to scramble at the last moment when they started crowing. I have "illegal" chickens in my subdivision and SURE don't want any roo's crowing and causing attention.

I ran ads on Craigslist and just GAVE them away, got a couple of phone numbers and quickly had a network of about 4 ppl that would take them off my hands when they became OBVIOUS boys! I wasn't afraid of them being eaten because they were all Bantam chickens, so I'm hoping they're still alive and well and being "daddies" and bosses of their own flocks.

 

[Murs]

I wish someone had told me that chickens are actually candy dispensers for dogs! My dog loves, loves, loves the treats they leave behind. YUCK!

 

[dstinett]

I can't believe how snarky some people can be on these forums. I love this site and have learned so much. There have been several days I didn't want to even look because some know it all got ugly with another. We all love our animals and are just trying to educate ourselves so we can give our pets the best life we can.

 

[DublinGirl]

I just read an article in our local newspaper that avocados can KILL chickens. I always give my chickens leftover kitchen scraps (the bulk of their diet is regular chicken feed) and I had no idea that avocados would be harmful. Is there a longer list of food that might kill a chicken?

 

[CentralOregon]

I wish someone told me how fast chicks outgrow a brooder so I could have started with a huge one instead of having to buy a larger one again and again.

 

[browland84]

I'd love to know as well!