What were your worst mistakes when you first started?

[Pokka]

I'd love some tips on catching my birds. Do you recommend ignoring the skwarking panic and simply chasing them down, or grabbing a leg while they are trustingly coming up to you, or what? I hate the idea of making them scared of me because they think I'll grab them if they come too close, but recognise the need to check them regularly. I have an open plan run/pen so no smaller area to catch them. Was thinking of catching them a couple of times a month while settled roosting, but then it's dark and hard to see (even with a headlamp). What do others recommend?

My advice would be to be busy with/around your chicken as much as possible, so that they get used to you. We have been sitting down with our hens as much as possible, right from the beginning. Not just in the coop and run (that are both high enough to stand in), but also when they are walking free in the garden. We have a small stool for this purpose. Sitting down with some mixed grains or mealworms, feed them out of the hand, observing them, lifting them, just holding them for a bit, check their feet etc. My children, 8 and 10, love doing this, too. My son has a game, where he takes a mealworm with some tweezers, and makes them jump up to get it. I have recently bought him a clicker - after reading somewhere that clicker training can be used for chicken, too.

 

[Pokka]

My worst mistakes:
- knowing about lice, but not actually being able to recognize them on a hen, when getting my very first birds. I saw grey balls on some feathers, but didn't realize that they were lice eggs. That single hen infected the 4 other other, clean hens that I got on the same day and I have never gotten rid of lice in my flock anymore since. I am powdering them with DE every now and then, and rather not use any chemicals, unless really needed.

- I almost lost a chick, due to a not recognized gap. My nests are cardboard boxes with hay, that are placed in a metal locker cabinet of which I took out the doors. The first time I had freshly hatched chicken (after getting a broody hen some breeding eggs), a chick managed to fall in the gap between box and sidewall. In the half dark I, luckily, noticed something unusual and grabbed it. I was a motionless, fully cold chick, but still alive. In a reflex I put it back under the hen. Then, thinking, I grabbed it and put it in my bra instead to warm up. It fully recovered. Of course the gap got filled up right there and then.

- a pullet managed to get hit on the head by a falling brick and died .
My husband had put in a window in the new outside wall of the coop. To protect the window sill temporarily, he had put a brick on it. Probably, another chicken tried to jump up to the window sill anyway, causing the brick to drop. It hit the prettiest pullet of all... That was really sad, missing an animal in the evening when wanting to lock them up, not finding it in the run and not finding it in the coop. Then finally disovering it in between the old innner wall and new outer wall with a smacked head

 

[aram-19]

My worst mistake was when I got 3 roosters at the same time, I didn’t know roosters did fight until they actually started, I got scratched by one and my dad decided to traded the 2 roosters for some hens, and we kept the other rooster.

 

[Anna Ranieri]

My worst mistakes:
- knowing about lice, but not actually being able to recognize them on a hen, when getting my very first birds. I saw grey balls on some feathers, but didn't realize that they were lice eggs. That single hen infected the 4 other other, clean hens that I got on the same day and I have never gotten rid of lice in my flock anymore since. I am powdering them with DE every now and then, and rather not use any chemicals, unless really needed.

- I almost lost a chick, due to a not recognized gap. My nests are cardboard boxes with hay, that are placed in a metal locker cabinet of which I took out the doors. The first time I had freshly hatched chicken (after getting a broody hen some breeding eggs), a chick managed to fall in the gap between box and sidewall. In the half dark I, luckily, noticed something unusual and grabbed it. I was a motionless, fully cold chick, but still alive. In a reflex I put it back under the hen. Then, thinking, I grabbed it and put it in my bra instead to warm up. It fully recovered. Of course the gap got filled up right there and then.

- a pullet managed to get hit on the head by a falling brick and died .
My husband had put in a window in the new outside wall of the coop. To protect the window sill temporarily, he had put a brick on it. Probably, another chicken tried to jump up to the window sill anyway, causing the brick to drop. It hit the prettiest pullet of all... That was really sad, missing an animal in the evening when wanting to lock them up, not finding it in the run and not finding it in the coop. Then finally disovering it in between the old innner wall and new outer wall with a smacked head

So sorry for your loss, must of been awful for you, my heart goes out to you and your poor bird

 

[OldEnglishGameBantam33]

Not vacinating well.

 

[Clubber1234]

Not vaccinating and having all of my chicks die of Mareks disease.

 

[Anna Ranieri]

Not vaccinating and having all of my chicks die of Mareks disease.

Awwww I'm so sorry for your loss It's hard enough losing one but to lose all..... so very sorry for you

 

[Clubber1234]

Awwww I'm so sorry for your loss It's hard enough losing one but to lose all..... so very sorry for you

Thankyou It was hard to lose them all and what's worse the mother hasn't got it and she is all by herself know.

 

[Anna Ranieri]

Thankyou It was hard to lose them all and what's worse the mother hasn't got it and she is all by herself know.

Awwwww hun, I really feel for you and their mother will you be able to allow her have more? Just thinking it might be therapeutic for you and their mother to try again?

 

[Clubber1234]

I was thinking I might try and hatch some more.
I'm not sure.