What was your worst mistake as a chicken keeper?

[InterestingChickens]

1. What did you do?

Had lots of sharp wood chips in the run from a tree being chopped down previously. As well as sharp stones leading to bumble foot.

2. What were the consequences?

All of my chickens got bumble foot.

3. Did you fix it? How?

Removed rubble from run and got great advice on how to deal with bumble foot here on BYC. They are still on the mend for 8 months now, but we are getting to the end of it.

4. What did you learn?

Make SURE there are nothing they could cut their feet on.

 

[RobinGel]

Has ANYONE had a good experience getting chicks from TSC? I got a handful there last month, & so far, so good. One did have a terrible bout of pasty butt & weakness which I nursed her through but all are thriving now. At about 4 weeks I don’t see any red combs either. Maybe I just got lucky?

Yes! This spring is the first time I've ever bought chicks from TSC. My local TSC kept marking chicks & ducklings down to $.50 or $1.00 and they kept doing it til almost June! So I kept buying them til all my bins were full... that was almost 100 peeps total. I only have about 60 left & they should start laying soon.

It was lotsa work but I enjoyed it. I had friends that were ordering pullets so it worked out well. I only lost 4 ...
1 was fine eating starter crumbles but once she started eating grains problems developed very quickly. She wasn't digesting anymore she was puffing up like a balloon, crying and had bubbles & liquid coming from her vent.. my friend is a surgical RN said she must have internal deformities. So I culled & buried her.

The other 3 I lost were my fault. The wooden bins I raise peeps in come with a wooden top that looks like a fence. These bins are used by local manufacturers to ship machine parts, so they are made quickly with air tools.
Anyways the tops I used to section off the area if the part of the barn I wanted the chicks to stay. As they grew they began flying, roosting & acting like chickens ... as expected.

Somehow the 1st one slipped & got her ankle wedged in between 2 boards... the more she tried to free herself the worse it got for her... she dislocated her hip & broke her thigh bone... she was culled & buried. So I flipped that top to put that larger gap on the bottom.

The 2nd one was a similar freak thing... she also got her leg wedged between 2 bins and she unsuccessfully tried to get herself free... she was culled & buried. So I moved the bins further apart.

The 3rd one was already in the big chicken coop when her leg got wedged in between 2 boards near the end of the roost. She tried very hard to free herself & actually almost did... the problem was her foot was hanging by only a tendon ... and she still wasn't free. I had to cull & bury her too. So I took the board off and so far everyone is still good.

I keep reading about TSC peeps & problems. I didn't think the TSC people knew much about chickens & certainly didn't trust the high school kids who didn't see a difference in a leghorn peep & buff orphington peep!

The peeps I got were Brahmas, Buff Orphingtons, ISA Browns, Leghorns, Marans, Silver laced Wyndottes, Gold Laced Wyndottes & Americaunas. I was basically picking peeps with small combs ... other than the Leghorns I picked for egg production.

As for males & females ...
In the rooster barn I have...
6 Gold Laced Wyndottes,
3 Silver Laced Wyndottes,
4 Brahmas,
1 Americauna

So I'm pleased with the peeps from TSC .. as are the people that bought pullets from me.

 

[kjorgey]

View attachment 2809406

We learn from our mistakes, right? Even pros and experts make mistakes.
I was wondering what your biggest mistakes were as chicken keepers.
Maybe newbies could find this thread and learn from it.

1. What did you do?
2. What were the consequences?
3. Did you fix it? How?
4. What did you learn?

Please remember, we all make mistakes. Please do not belittle or bully ANYONE for their mistakes.

My biggest mistake was a recent one. Becoming all too comfortable about my chicken's safety while foraging in our fenced in garden. After 2 years of no attacks, yesterday it happened. A neighbor's cat. My hen just may survive with some TLC, but that has been my biggest mistake. Overconfidence in their safety.

 

[Melky]

View attachment 2809406

We learn from our mistakes, right? Even pros and experts make mistakes.
I was wondering what your biggest mistakes were as chicken keepers.
Maybe newbies could find this thread and learn from it.

1. What did you do?
2. What were the consequences?
3. Did you fix it? How?
4. What did you learn?

Please remember, we all make mistakes. Please do not belittle or bully ANYONE for their mistakes.

You can never predator proof enough. We needed keyed locks and wyze cam probably to avoid flock attacks our up over and down latching was not enough and we never leave things open.

 

[lauraschicks]

My worst mistake? Hatching chicks. Now I have 5 roosters. What did I do? Nothing so far, I can’t bring myself to kill them, they follow me everywhere like puppies! What I learned? I am always buying from TSC now.
( I’m sure there are many more mistakes, and maybe I’ll share more later. )

I have found that unless you really know how to determine what breed you are buying and/or pattern and feather sexing, then you have a good chance of not getting what you think you are. I bought 4 Speckled Sussex from TSC and ended up with 1 Cornish Cross pullet, 1 Cornish Cross cockeral, and 2 Buff Columbian Brahma (I think). Now I new up front that I didn't have 4 speckled Sussex even though they were labeled that way. The chicks were 2 different colors after all, but I was really planning on at least 2...

 

[lauraschicks]

My biggest mistake was a recent one. Becoming all too comfortable about my chicken's safety while foraging in our fenced in garden. After 2 years of no attacks, yesterday it happened. A neighbor's cat. My hen just may survive with some TLC, but that has been my biggest mistake. Overconfidence in their safety.

The second of my biggest (no make that 3rd) mistakes was similar. I had my flock foraging in a fenced area that we had never had problems with until I ran up to the store for a quick few items. When I got back I had about 15- 30 birds massacred including my chickens, guinea and Silver Appleyard ducks (>6 years ago now and I can't remember the exact number, but over 1/2 of my remaining flock). We figure a dog jumped the fence and had playtime. Never found out for sure who or what.

 

[SusannasMom]

My biggest problem was I rescued a possum from the side of the road and it found it's way into the coop and killed many ducklings.
@josephdad what was your biggest mistake, you have had a lot

 

[josephdad]

oh wow @SusannasMom idk i cant choose
but every time i make a mistake i become better at taking care of my little friends

one time, i forgot to lock both locks of my coop for the night (i have some really restless chickens) but i forgot to slide the one lock in all the way so one chicken got loose overnight and idk if she died or she's still wandering around
i like to imagine shes just finding her way home
sometimes i have dreams about her but thankfully i have learned from my mistakes

 

[Araucana Nest]

Has ANYONE had a good experience getting chicks from TSC? I got a handful there last month, & so far, so good. One did have a terrible bout of pasty butt & weakness which I nursed her through but all are thriving now. At about 4 weeks I don’t see any red combs either. Maybe I just got lucky?

I haven't purchased from a feed store or TSC in many, many years. Mainly because I got the chicken addiction and read up on breeds and started to order directly from hatcheries or from breeders. I don;t like the idea of many people taking care of my chicks or handling them. It isn't good for the chicks. When I did purchase at TSC however, I remember getting mostly what I thought I was getting, even when I didn't know the breeds very well. Only the very first time I purchased from a local feed store, not a TSC, did I ever get a huge surprise over the results. I've had very few losses of chicks, even mail order chicks, so I've been very lucky but I also go overboard in their care for the first two weeks.

One suggestion for those who would like to purchase chicks from TSC is to go to the TSC website and order the chicks directly from Hoover. The prices are excellent, the Marek's vaccination is included, and shipping is practically free. I highly suggest you call Hoover's to find your exact shipping date and to make sure they vaccinate for Marek's (which is included in the price so be sure to have them vaccinated). Last time I ordered 10 Barnevelder pullets from Hoover, I received 10 Barnevelder chicks, very healthy and active. Grew out beautifully. Only thing is that there were 4 cockerels but that was even better than Cackle's record last time. If you don't need ten chicks, give away a couple to your friends, family, neighbors... share the love

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

Getting more chickens before I was ready for them, not predator-proofing my coop enough, and not starting a rooster-only flock sooner.