What were your worst mistakes when you first started?

[MrFluffyandGirls]

Not knowing my sweet little silkie roo would turn into a raging human hating raptor when I added a harem of beautiful hens for him to take charge over.

 

[Wendy Case]

Thinking I could LOVE a rooster into being nice.

*im thinking is there a limit to this thread cause I could really take up space*​

Not understanding my rooster was my problem!
Loving this thread!

 

[Wendy Case]

Really.....not knowing that my rooster wiggles on my lap could leave a wet spot
I felt so dirty and violated.
Things went down a little differently when he’d mount the top of my shoe

 

[Wendy Case]

I thought of another one, and this ones IMPORTANT!

“Free ranging fairy tales”

Free ranging is great- don’t get me wrong, i free range daily. BUT there are drawbacks that you have to work out ahead of time.

1. PREDATORS
And
2. Total destruction of your yard.

You need a LOT of space
or
a VERY well planned “restrict and rotate” system to avoid having your yard end up a moonscape by the end of year 1.

Those pictures you see on blogs and in magazines...
of beautiful chickens happily grazing in pastoral settings...
with the sun shimmering off their beautiful feathers....
amidst lovely gardens and lush lawns....


Oh honey,
That’s fake news!

 

[SixSlickChicks]

Without a doubt...getting day-olds before the coop was built. My husband was away for the first 2 weeks, so by the time things were ready the girls were 8 weeks old. They lived in a massive cardboard box in the living room. I would come from from working nights and there’d be a chicken on the coffee table or one on the lamp shade And the dust...

Once they no longer needed heat (I used an EcoGlow brooder heat plate) we rigged up a little outdoor ‘playpen tractor’ out of greenhouse hoops and chicken wire so they could spend time outdoors each day. I’d drag it around so they had shade or cover half with a tarp if it was raining a bit. I had to carry them back and forth from the house in a big Rubbermaid tote, or one under each arm once they got too big.

On the plus side:
*They’re super friendly and docile because I handled them so much
*The dog and chickens are bffs because they spent so much time together
*I trained them with a squeaker toy and small treats every day so now when they free range I can round them up in no time
*The coop is a palace

Would I do it this way again? Hell no.

 

[Anna Ranieri]

Thinking young children and roosters don't mix under any circumstances, therefore, I must eliminate accidental cockerels. Turns out, this is completely false. Not all are the devil.

Wonderful thread idea, by the way! Can't wait for responses to come.

~Alex

Really glad you've learned this I don't have roosters they are not permitted where I am, however I know a few people with roosters which are like puppy dogs with feathers, playful, affectionate and so docile but also do a great job looking after their girls. I guess it's the same with everything in life - there are the good ones and the bad ones. Out of curiosity do you have a rooster now and if so how is he with the kids?

 

[MissChick@dee]

I thought of another one, and this ones IMPORTANT!

“Free ranging fairy tales”

Free ranging is great- don’t get me wrong, i free range daily. BUT there are drawbacks that you have to work out ahead of time.

1. PREDATORS
And
2. Total destruction of your yard.

You need a LOT of space
or
a VERY well planned “restrict and rotate” system to avoid having your yard end up a moonscape by the end of year 1.

Those pictures you see on blogs and in magazines...
of beautiful chickens happily grazing in pastoral settings...
with the sun shimmering off their beautiful feathers....
amidst lovely gardens and lush lawns....


Oh honey,
That’s fake news!

So true! You can only take that type of photo...once!

 

[Anna Ranieri]

Clipping my Roosters claws with human toe nail clippers.
Having a running bloody mess and no quick-stop.
Not crating the running bloody mess once I got the blood stopped.
Then trying to bandage a Single toe rather than the whole foot.
Not using vet-wrap to make the bandage.
Then feeding my Rooster stool softeners to pass the swallowed bandage.

I used to keep budgies years ago and if ever a claw (or beak) got cut to bleeding the trick was to dab on some nail varnish, it stopped the bleeding instantly, then when the nail varnish dried it came off on its own and claw/beak remained sealed - no infection, no more bleeding, healed fast and there were no repercussions - only had to apply it the one time. This method never failed - I have no idea if it would work on chickens though.

 

[The Moonshiner]

Getting heavily into showing pretty much right of the bat.

 

[Anna Ranieri]

Our first batch of chicks were in a cardboard brooder in the garage under a heat lamp, and I carefully monitored temperatures until they were about 2 weeks old. Then, one afternoon my dh wanted to give them some time outdoors during July when it was about 90 degrees F, so we set up a round of hardware cloth and they really seemed to like it! It was so much fun watching them jump around on the grass! Then, I left for a few hours to go shopping, and when I got back in the afternoon, they were all dead. The tree shade they had been set up under was gone by afternoon, and apparently the heat from full sun killed them. I put a thermometer on the ground there, and it read almost 110 degrees F. I hadn't realized how vulnerable they still were at 2 weeks to excessive heat. Heart breaker. We almost decided then and there not to have any more livestock, ever. But a second batch of day old chicks was ordered, and thankfully, the pullets are close to laying first eggs. But I'll never forgive myself that terrible mistake.

So sorry for your loss I hope someday you will learn to forgive yourself, you had good intentions and would never have left them out there had you have known the outcome. I'm glad you didn't give up and will be nice for you when your pullets start to lay.