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

[HickoryHollow]

Chicken Math..... you build for three hens and you wind up with six.... Always double your estimate of capacity.....

and your lack of self control when you go to the feedstore....

I had a pretty good mentor when I jumped in.... Dad turned his back on farming but he came away with all the stuff his dad taught him.

One of the best advice is not to Anthropomorphize. like "Omg my hen hates me because she wont come near me" Or one hen chases another pulling out feathers shes bullying.... That's pretty much chicken life.... Hen pecking and hierarchy... Normal squabbles..

Good luck and have lots of fun.

deb

I originally built for 6. I now have 51! It's a sickness!!!

 

[ochochicas]

I wish someone would have told me that in a matter of one day they would decide that the brooder is just a resting place and now the whole room they are in becomes their home. We came home to chicken poop everywhere in our office one day. They had ruined books and everything. I spent two hours that night cleaning and then making sure they had a lid from then on. We thought it was cute when they were perched on the edges of the tub so we put puppy pads over the carpet, never thinking they would want to travel the whole room. Oh well you live and you learn. Also I agree with waiting to get your chicks, I got mine late Feb. and I had to keep them in the house until 7.5 weeks, i felt so bad for them having to be in such a small area. Granted this has been a very terrible winter. I know it's hard to wait!! Also that they are addicting, I am looking around for more as well!

LOL I'm laughing with you on this one. Went out to feed the horses one day and came inside to find all eight of ours running around on the carpet. They pooped all over, but that is why we have old carpet. We have a woodstove so I have not even noticed extra dust or dander with the extra animals in the house. Our chicks are great though and most are very friendly. It has been worth having them in the house, although every couple of weeks I find myself spending money on a larger "house" for them. I'm sure they will be a lot happier when they are outside, but I'm enjoying my new pets inside while I can.


Wow rc4u - Just plain rude!

 

[dstinett]

Heck, I've slept with special needs chicks. I do limit my indoor chicks to spring and summer. That way 1/2 their day is outside in playpen. Makes clean up a little easier.

 

[Michelle K]

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!

What would be used as a natural de-wormer. Black walnut is good antiparasitic. Any other opinions & how often should it be used?

 

[mhopson19]

I cant believe that there is no common sense in somes thought about chickens and there care...and what the chickens do and how fast they grow..AND in the house....wow...dander and dust every where....but to each there own...seems some things are different in the east south and west....not like the high central....JMO....

that's kind of mean. if you have never had chicks or chickens before, you just don't know. that's what this thread is for, teaching people who are about to get or who just got their first set of chicks, so they don't have to make the same mistakes that we did. Before I got chicks and did a lot of research, I didn't know exactly how many square feet for each bird, or that they have to have food and water 24/7, or how fast their feathers came in and they started flying. everyone is a newbie at some point.

 

[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.

 

[jonalisa]

I cant believe that there is no common sense in somes thought about chickens and there care...and what the chickens do and how fast they grow..AND in the house....wow...dander and dust every where....but to each there own...seems some things are different in the east south and west....not like the high central....JMO....

You may know more about chickens than many of us, but you might find yourself outnumbered when it comes to other things. We all have weak spots. Perhaps you could take a different approach and be a mentor to those just learning.

Edited for courtesy.

 

[ChaoSS]

You may know more about chickens than many of us, but you might find yourself outnumbered when it comes to other things. We all have weak spots. Perhaps you could take a different approach and be a mentor to those just learning.

Edited for courtesy.

Shouldn't have edited it. The guy writes like a 2nd grader.


I wouldn't worry about it though, the internet is a rude place. The moderators can't make things a perfect place, no matter how hard they work at this, so we just have to have a thick skin about things.



We all do stupid stuff though, I find myself thinking that this or that question on some of my forums is just a really stupid question, then I'll ask a perfectly good quesstion, get answers, and realize that "duh, that was a really stupid question". Lot's of answers are obvious when you already know them.

 

[jonalisa]

Well I didn't want to get the thread locked when it is obviously a helpful thread. And I read his post history and I think it was just a case of bad judgment...rather give him the benefit of the doubt than deteriorate a perfectly good thread.

 

[dstinett]

Keep in mind some of these posters are children. This is a great place to learn. I've posted questions for my nine year old so she get different opinions. As you know, mothers know nothing. I would be so angry if she got responses like what I've seen on this sitr