What were your worst mistakes when you first started?

[Anna Ranieri]

No you did not make me angry. I was just putting our own circumstances out there. When I see photos of some of the set-ups here I wish my girls could have those. But like I said, we do the best with what we got (plus a LOT of recycling materials). I myself did not take offense. But believe when I say this.... if I ever breakdown and buy a lottery ticket and win, my chooks would be living in a run/coop that would be featured in “glamorous chick” magazine lol!!!

know that feeling.

 

[Anna Ranieri]

You really made me laugh. My Mom had pet bantams on her farm waaay back when and the story has always been that they were so spoiled they didn't know enough to come in from the rain. She would have to go out in the rain and take them to the coop.
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Is this your mum? Just noticing the striking resemblance between the person on this pic and your daughter.

 

[RoosterML]

Liar? Thats very kind of you.
Never had a chicken that got injured, sick or died under my care. Never got any behaviour issues. They were always fed naturally and i never used chicken feed as an easy way out to feed them. I chop vegetables, fruits, meat and fish for them every day and they eat plenty of seeds. They got plenty of exercise and training every day. I clean the coops every 2 days so neighbours dont even know i have chickens.

Only chicken that died under my care is the one my father accidently dropped headfirst into the water, causing it to inhale water. Wasnt even my mistake. If you are call someone a liar, first get to know them

It was a joke, Everyone has a way of doing things, right or wrong as it may be. Correct I don't know who you are and applaud you on your methods that have given you great success, I also do not consider feeding chickens poultry feed an easy way out. Enough said on that. Again what I said was a joke I apologize if you didn't see it that way.

 

[Anna Ranieri]

I might open a real can of worms with this one, and believe me, that is NOT my intent! We each have our own ways of doing things, some of them from learning on sites like this one and some by trial and error. We do what we think is best for our setups, our locations, and our own personal comfort zones. If there was only one “right” way to raise these feathered yard-poopers, this entire web site could be read in half an hour! So while what I do is what has worked extremely well for me, it is not intended to tell anyone else to change their keeping methods. There. Disclaimer clearly (I hope) stated.

I guess aside from ordering entirely too early in the year, my other personal big boo-boo was relying on books and experts. Sorry, books and experts. But a broody doesn’t heat the entire space she and her chicks are in. She doesn’t have night lights under her wings and she doesn’t let them run all over the place after bedtime, eating all night long. She doesn’t wait until they are 7-8 weeks old, or even older, and then put them through integration. She lets them eat whatever she finds - dirt, germs, seeds, bugs and all. She lets them drink out of mud puddles or water collected on sidewalks, with no additives. She provides them a warm, dark place to hide if she warns them about something or if they get spooked. They run all over their environment, on dirt, exploring and learning how to be chickens, and they regulate their own comfort level by ducking under her for a quick warmup, then they’re back out in the chilly air again.

All of that made me wonder......If a two pound hen can do it without all of the “help”, why do we do it so differently and think we’re doing it better? So I put away the books and pulled out my common sense. I duplicate the real experts as closely as possible. And suddenly I’m not stressed, the chicks are calm and confident, and we’re all happy.

Okay, I’ll go away now.

I bought a mum and her 2wk old chick, I had no experience what so ever so had no option but to leave it all to mum to take care of her baby, she has done manificently and I'm sure her 21wk old pullet daughter will agree

 

[Anna Ranieri]

Offering youngsters lots of treats led to picky eaters. Had to go cold turkey to get back on track.

Same here!

 

[No More Empty Nest]

Is this your mum? Just noticing the striking resemblance between the person on this pic and your daughter.

Yes it is my Mom!

 

[No More Empty Nest]

Liar? Thats very kind of you.
Never had a chicken that got injured, sick or died under my care. Never got any behaviour issues. They were always fed naturally and i never used chicken feed as an easy way out to feed them. I chop vegetables, fruits, meat and fish for them every day and they eat plenty of seeds. They got plenty of exercise and training every day. I clean the coops every 2 days so neighbours dont even know i have chickens.

Only chicken that died under my care is the one my father accidently dropped headfirst into the water, causing it to inhale water. Wasnt even my mistake. If you are call someone a liar, first get to know them

It's good to hear about your success! It's my first time with chickens and reading everything here, I often wonder if anybody ever has chickens that don't get sick or injured or die early.

 

[Wendy Case]

Gah!!! That is so true!!

Oh that's SOOOO true!!

 

[Anna Ranieri]

It's good to hear about your success! It's my first time with chickens and reading everything here, I often wonder if anybody ever has chickens that don't get sick or injured or die early.

There's a guy in our neighbourhood had his five 8 year old hens, still laying on occasions too! He's had them since they were chicks - he had a flock previous to these (his first ever) but lost them to a fox and is how he learned his first lesson about predators - so sad but a learning curve he made good use of.

 

[Folly's place]

Over time, if you free range at all, there will be losses to predators. Birds will get sick and die, sometimes when they are young. If you plan to keep them for years, everyone dies eventually. Accidents happen, and some seem to be suicidal/ stupid too.
Also over time, we all do dumb things, stuff breaks, and somebody has a better idea or product that works better than what we've been doing.
So much for philosophy!
Just enjoy the trip!
Mary