What were your worst mistakes when you first started?

[ChickenCanoe]

3622

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Or you could process roos...

They taste just like chicken.
I hatched about 60 or so chicks mid summer till now. There is a lot of chicken in my freezer's future.

 

[MissChick@dee]

Not checking very well for lice and mites before entering a chicken show, Turns out i got eliminated from the show because all birds had Lice lol.

Yikes...should’ve said “alright everybody who gave my chickens lice?”

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Lots of people thought my taking on old hens was a mistake, because they would have health issues (mine had scale leg mites and one, a bad abcess that soon meant she had to be dispatched), poorer eggs (they'd been badly fed before I got them) and simply wouldn't live long enough for me to enjoy them. They were wrong. It just made me want to have more chickens.

An acquaintance of mine has started an enterprise for rescuing battery hens and finding homes for them.
One thing that people assume is that they are poorly fed. That is just not the case. They don't get to forage like backyard and free range chickens but they are well fed. Virtually every large egg producer has their own local feed mill. The trucks run from the wee hours and all day running feed directly to the farms. Those chickens get feed within 24 hours of when it was milled.
That's fresher than any small holder's chickens can get.
Their bottom line depends on egg production. Feeding chickens poorly will put them out of business.

 

[Hermit]

Leaving out water buckets and expecting chickens not to just randomly drown themselves.

Yep… lost almost a full flock of pullets my first time out. One actually froze inside the roaster dish I used it looked like she’d gone for a BATH.

 

[Cragg Klefor]

An acquaintance of mine has started an enterprise for rescuing battery hens and finding homes for them.
One thing that people assume is that they are poorly fed. That is just not the case. They don't get to forage like backyard and free range chickens but they are well fed. Virtually every large egg producer has their own local feed mill. The trucks run from the wee hours and all day running feed directly to the farms. Those chickens get feed within 24 hours of when it was milled.
That's fresher than any small holder's chickens can get.

True. I take in ex battery. Weight is normally not bad, depending on underlying conditions (which in fairness can be many). The real problem I find is it takes a little time for them to take to using grit, so within the first 24hrs you are dealing with crop issues if they can access Anything other than layers pellets. But they are brilliant little creatures.

 

[Shadrach]

An acquaintance of mine has started an enterprise for rescuing battery hens and finding homes for them.
One thing that people assume is that they are poorly fed. That is just not the case. They don't get to forage like backyard and free range chickens but they are well fed. Virtually every large egg producer has their own local feed mill. The trucks run from the wee hours and all day running feed directly to the farms. Those chickens get feed within 24 hours of when it was milled.
That's fresher than any small holder's chickens can get.
Their bottom line depends on egg production. Feeding chickens poorly will put them out of business.

What's more, health issues often arise because these hens are then allowed to free range without any time period in which to acclimatise to their new diet and the pathogens that are found in natural ground.

 

[frostic]

My worst mistake, not checking their poop and they had worms, didn't know it and 2 of the chickens attacked the one with worms and almost killed her. but now shes ok, dewormed and happy back in the flock(outside)

 

[ShouldabeenaVET]

Best. Thread. Ever!

 

[meetthebubus]

I thought I'd have 2 flocks one meat, one egg laying love em too much for meat

Otherwise I've changed my run a dozen times, expanding, improving this or that
Dont think it's possible to be totally prepared that's why this thread is so full so fast good topic

 

[BigATC]

My deepest regret is not putting my foot down when my dad decided how my coop should be built. Now I'm stuck with a coop that I despise and I can't get rid of it without hurting his feelings, and it's built in such a way that I really can't even modify it either.

Perhaps just letting him know that a different coop would be much better for all concerned "now" that you have had some experience with this flock/coop? Hope it works out for you.