What was your worst mistake as a chicken keeper?

[3KillerBs]

You DONT kill them? Are they poisuous to people?

Not only are rat snakes non-poisonous destroyers of rodents and like vermin, the old-timers swear that if you've got rat snakes they'll keep the rattlesnakes and copperheads away.

Rat snakes are your friends -- as long as you protect your eggs and chicks.

 

[rosemarythyme]

You DONT kill them? Are they poisuous to people?

I think you're thinking rattlesnakes, which are a completely different snake.

I love snakes but all we get are little garter snakes here, and they run away when disturbed.

 

[Fluffy Lambs]

Oh my goodness, I’m glad she’s okay! She still likes you right? Freya has had a little grudge on me because I put her back when she would escape.

She didn't know what happened to hate me

 

[RoosterWhisperer]

I think you're thinking rattlesnakes, which are a completely different snake.

I love snakes but all we get are little garter snakes here, and they run away when disturbed.

Me too, I love to play with the little cuties! They stink though. Literally.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Me too, I love to play with the little cuties! They stink though. Literally.

Yeah... unfortunately they like to crawl up on my driveway (thankfully it's a private driveway, but I'd rather they not get flattened by the mail truck) so I pick them up and relocate them onto the grass or in the weeds, and they thank me by releasing their musk on me.

 

[RoosterWhisperer]

Yeah... unfortunately they like to crawl up on my driveway (thankfully it's a private driveway, but I'd rather they not get flattened by the mail truck) so I pick them up and relocate them onto the grass or in the weeds, and they thank me by releasing their musk on me.

Nice work!
That’s what that substance is, okay! Thank you rose!

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

My biggest mistake was probably not building a bigger coop. I don't have the space for all the chickens I want.

This is what I used my prefab for as well for a while. Now it is being used for chicks until they're big enough to move in with the old flock. The "run" underneath us hardly big enough for food and water, let alone more than one full grown hen. We built a big run and attached it but still makes you wonder what dingleberry designed these things.

 

[TheOddOneOut]

1. I had chicks in a brooder too small and hot for them.
2. They were fine.
3. Nope.
4. I now use a different brooder.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

I didn't walk away immediately after realizing the chickens I was going to purchase were kept in unhealthy conditions. Bought two young hens anyway (companions for a lone hen at the time) Both were very sick.
Spent tons of time and money trying to rehab them. One recovered only to lay a single egg before being lost to the neighbor's dog. The other lived about 6 months before having to be euthanized. Thankfully, my original hen did not catch anything from them (that I'm aware of)
I learned so much about basic health check practices and treating illness, but man was it a tough lesson. Never ever again will I buy mature birds unless the keeper is just as concerned with proper husbandry and bio security as I now am.

I have done this too! I wanted to save them. And I did...they are healthy now but I wouldn't do it again. I lucked out but I knew I was doing something stupid and did it anyway.

 

[MTKitty]

Worst mistake: I just started chickens, so my worst is pretty minor, atm - I didn’t think through the layout of my coop when I ordered it.

Consequences: Placement of the doors (people and bird) are on adjacent walls, limiting placement of additional roosts.

The Fix: If I were handier, I would add a chicken door to the wall where the people door is and abandon the other. Since I’m not handy, I’ll live with it.

Lesson Learned: Sketch out floor and yard plans, including considerations for prevailing winds, weather impacts, and interior vertical expansion.