What were your worst mistakes when you first started?

[Stockpilejoy]

Over thinking it all. Thinking every lil sneeze is a respiratory infection. Had I stopped and just watched I would have realized that some chickens do indeed sneeze for other reasons besides illness. I have one who sneezes every time she eats crumble or dust bathes. My biggest lesson I learned is not to panic.

Funny that you mentioned that because just yesterday one of my new 11mos old hen sneezed. I've never witnessed a hen sneeze and immediately thought, "O my goodness is she coming down with something". I definitely need to chill more.
Just finished reading this entire thread and it was a great read. The comments made me laugh, smile, and feel sorrow but all in all very educational.

 

[harveyhorses]

So very sorry for your losses, its never easy
If you don't mind please could you explain what you mean by 'ground out'

It ceased to shock, when the snow reached about 1/2 way up the poultry netting. Also had a ton of branches laying on it. It put out a little tingle, but not the usual WHAM.

 

[MotherOfChickens]

Funny that you mentioned that because just yesterday one of my new 11mos old hen sneezed. I've never witnessed a hen sneeze and immediately thought, "O my goodness is she coming down with something". I definitely need to chill more.
Just finished reading this entire thread and it was a great read. The comments made me laugh, smile, and feel sorrow but all in all very educational.

I always read, "If a chicken sneezes, it is sick, treat right away because chickens don't just sneeze." Boy is that a false hood. I ran out got Tylan 50 and treated her... Then had an egg withdrawal of 8 long weeks.... only to discover she kept sneezing. That was it though. No rattle. No eye bubbles. No discharge of any kind. So I sat out there one day and just watched her... and noticed, she sneezes when she eats crumble... every. single. time.

Lesson learned. Lol.... Now I pay closer attention and evaluate any situation without over reacting.

 

[FaithVondras987]

Not letting my chickens free range, my first chicken I kept in her coop and run for 8 months.... she eventually developed bumble foot, I did tons of research and I found that letting her free range atleast 90% of the time can prevent it..... never had a chicken with bumble foot again. ( I still check constantly, just incase)

 

[aart]

Not letting my chickens free range, my first chicken I kept in her coop and run for 8 months.... she eventually developed bumble foot, I did tons of research and I found that letting her free range atleast 90% of the time can prevent it..... never had a chicken with bumble foot again. ( I still check constantly, just incase)

Oh nonsense.....free ranging does not prevent bumble foot.
Sorry, I don't mean to be rude, but this info must be debunked for others.

'Bumble foot' is an infected wound.
A chicken can cut it's foot on something sharp in lots of places....in run or range.
Then that cut has to get infected so badly that its immune system cannot fight it off.

 

[MotherOfChickens]

Oh nonsense.....free ranging does not prevent bumble foot.
Sorry, I don't mean to be rude, but this info must be debunked for others.

'Bumble foot' is an infected wound.
A chicken can cut it's foot on something sharp in lots of places....in run or range.
Then that cut has to get infected so badly that its immune system cannot fight it off.

I agree... I've read articles where people who have free range chickens fight bumblefoot a lot too. All my gals are contained in a coop and large run (too many Redtail hawks here) and only 1 (knock on wood) is dealing with bumblefoot.

 

[MotherOfChickens]

FUNNY! And THAT, Folks, is one of the more insidious ways that Chicken Math sneaks into our homes and coops ...
Actually, incubating is a lot safer route for me than buying peeps.
First off, when I incubate, I know exactly what the peeps will look like, because they'll all be Nankin Bantams. They're they're not auto-sexing and their plumage is all pretty uniform, even as adults. As adults, they look so similar that DD is the only one who can tell some of our hens apart without checking leg bands.

Second, adding other peeps means adding other breeds, and our coop and run space is maxed out. Since the Nankins are a conservation flock, we can't really mix them with other breeds. Any new hatchlings we decide to keep can go straight into the flock.

Third, and most importantly in terms of Chicken Math, we have some 4H families waiting for Nankin peeps - all straight run, of course, so we don't get overrun here at home. We learned, the hard way, that TSC peeps can be hard to place once they're past the beady-eyed-fuzzy-butt stage, especially cockerels. That's actually why my "extra" coop is now a bachelor pad/frat house!

Which brings me to the final point. I have absolutely no problem with not eating the Nankins' eggs. I simply can't do it! I'll eat eggs from absolutely any of our other bantams, but not my Nannies; not even in the dead of winter, when there aren't enough eggs to justify running the 'bator, and even if there were, they're all dead from the cold, anyway. Nankins are so critically endangered that, to me, it feels like the equivalent of scrambling a Bald Eagle egg! Ridiculously silly, I know ... but there it is! {{{...Sigh...}}}

What does a Nankin look like... will you share a photo, please!

 

[BY Bob]

Oh nonsense.....free ranging does not prevent bumble foot.
Sorry, I don't mean to be rude, but this info must be debunked for others.

'Bumble foot' is an infected wound.
A chicken can cut it's foot on something sharp in lots of places....in run or range.
Then that cut has to get infected so badly that its immune system cannot fight it off.

I have to agree with aart. Bumblefoot occurs based on injury to the foot. Doesn't matter where they are an injury can occur.

 

[BReeder!]

Bumble foot is tied to infection and injury. A run with rough rocks or hard wood chips could cause the injury. A run that has a lot of poop or wet areas could be a breeding ground for the bacteria or fungus that would cause an infection.

What I am saying is confining chickens to a run is not really the problem, but a run that is not well suited for confinement and not well maintained could be lead to bumble foot being a common problem with a flock.

Also, not pointing fingers here. The run in question may be well maintained and well suited to keeping chickens but other factors not specific to the run setup and maintenance could also be the culprit.

 

[MotherOfChickens]

I've no idea how my one gal developed bumblefoot. No telling. But I will say this much, it is a pain in the rear to deal with!