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

[KBGChicken]

I wish someone had told me how much baby chicks poop! There is always so much poop in their brooder. I also wish I was told how hard setting up the heat lamp would be (well for me it was).

 

[mhopson19]

Okay, this is basic one, but I wish someone would have told me you HAVE to have a lid on your brooder or they will fly out and never be able to get back in. When we first got them we just stuck them in a small tub inside for a couple of days to get a more permanent brooder set up and they kept flying out and pooping on the carpet of the room we had them in! So, for new chicken people- lid on brooder, even indoors.

Second thing, don't raise ducks with the chickens. Set up two separate brooders for the first few weeks. Not to say that it's impossible, because it isn't, but it's a lot less work. Not knowing any better we tossed them all in together- which was fine, no fights or anything, but the ducks squash the chicks to get to food and water, and play in the water and get the brooder SOAKED. Although baby ducks shouldn't be wet any more than chicks should, really, they can still handle it better than chicks can.

Also, do your research on the breeds you want before you go pick them up, or get them, and memorize what they should look like at a few days old. When we went to TSC the guy told us that even though the chicks were in the red pullets bin, he knew for a fact they were RIRs. We believed him and got 6. A couple of weeks later we realize.... hey! these aren't RIRs; what are these? We actually got 6 red stars, which isn't a big deal, we love them anyways. But do your research on the breed before you take the advice of just anyone who works around the chicks.

I'm still a newbie myself, but these are the main things i've learned in the past month...wow, I've had chicks for a whole month and none have died! That's a better track record than with my garden.

 

[ochochicas]

Our chicks are now in a very large wading pool in the living room. They can fly out of it, so we have it covered with one of those nets that is used to keep crows and other birds out of fruit trees. It was less than $10 and works really well. The chicks respect the net and have not tried to get out of the pool.

Agreed about heat lamps being hard to set up. Mine does not stay how I set it and I worry about it moving and touching something flammable and catching on fire. One more week and hopefully I can put it away for good!

 

[what did I do]

I wish someone would have told me NOT to project my own maternal feelings onto a broody hen. I let her keep her eggs and she hatched out only two -- TWO ROOSTERS!!!

 

[lcox726]

Thats good information. thanks

 

[azahn]

What I did not fully appreciate or pay attention to, was how destructive chickens can be to your plants/flowerbeds, etc. I would let them free range all day, and mass plantings that were 10 years in the works were basically destroyed in under a year. Another thing I didn't give much thought to was how quickly soil would become compacted around a mature oak tree. I positioned my coop so they would have the benefit of it's shade during the summer, but that also meant a daily walking trail to the coop in the morning, and in the evening, and maybe another time or two during the day. I have since relocated the coop about 30 feet further away, but it was a real chore. Also, if you have a way of sloping the coop floor just slightly, any water that collects will easily drain out instead of pooling in the coop. Live and learn!

 

[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

 

[Varglet]

Chicken math. Enough said.

Also, how addicting the assorted bantam bin can be...