What were your worst mistakes when you first started?

[Sally PB]

I am NEVER buying straight run again either! My three were all cockerels and two ended up being very aggressive with me and the girls and I had to cull them. Buff Orpingtons, which are supposed to be docile. Sigh. At least the three pullets I got are actually pullets. And very nice ones.

While we did mostly okay on the coop/run set up, I can see a lot of ways to improve it.

I think my biggest mistake was rushing out to TSC as soon as my husband said, "I think you should get chickens." I should have waited a week and done a lot of research. But with COVID, I thought everyone would be getting chicks and they would be sold out. Little did I know they would have chicks all summer long.

 

[KHasChickens]

Underestimating predators. I left my 10 pullets outside in a (what I thought was a) protected space to forage for 10 minutes while I dealt with an issue for one of my kids inside, and when I came back out, a fox had gotten every single one, except for one we found the next day who had escaped and hid under the deck successfully. So devastating and traumatic for me and my kids.

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

Noooo... just say NO to chicken sweaters!
They actually impede the birds ability to regulate it's temperature by keeping them from fluffing up their feathers to hold warm air next to body.

I just figured since he was concerned about the bird being able to regulate the temp. I understand what you mean though. I wouldn't put one on a normal chicken. Maybe pants...just for the hilarity

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

I am NEVER buying straight run again either! My three were all cockerels and two ended up being very aggressive with me and the girls and I had to cull them. Buff Orpingtons, which are supposed to be docile. Sigh. At least the three pullets I got are actually pullets. And very nice ones.

While we did mostly okay on the coop/run set up, I can see a lot of ways to improve it.

I think my biggest mistake was rushing out to TSC as soon as my husband said, "I think you should get chickens." I should have waited a week and done a lot of research. But with COVID, I thought everyone would be getting chicks and they would be sold out. Little did I know they would have chicks all summer long.

My one pullet out of the whole group is aggressive now too I'm trying to "train" her out of it with love and treats. She runs at me and tries to peck me but when I go to pet her she squats like I'm a rooster I just fluff her feathers by her tail and let her walk away shaking it off. After I do that she leaves me alone. But once or twice a day she runs at me when my back is turned

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

Underestimating predators. I left my 10 pullets outside in a (what I thought was a) protected space to forage for 10 minutes while I dealt with an issue for one of my kids inside, and when I came back out, a fox had gotten every single one, except for one we found the next day who had escaped and hid under the deck successfully. So devastating and traumatic for me and my kids.

We put or 1st batch of pullets in the run too early. We thought it was predator proof but a young hawk attacked while we were at work. Had our neighbor not seen it we wouldnt have known one was injured until it was too late. She ended up pulling through but she is more pet than chicken

 

[HappyClucker7]

I have a few things that aren't exactly mistakes, but I would do them differently next time.

My first mistake was getting chicks from my local feed store. 3 of the 6 chicks I bought died young because of bad breeding. This time, I got chicks from a good hatchery. I would definitely go this route again.

My second mistake was not building the coop high enough to stand up straight in. My back aches every time I have to clean the coop.

My final mistake was not building the coop bigger. Chicken math is taking hold, but I don't have enough room to add more chickens! I am adding onto the run though, so maybe I can add another chicken or two.

 

[Chickenhappy8708]

My family friend rescued a rooster missing all his feathers in a Michigan September, he actually got clothes.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Put up Livestock fencing for the predators, w/ chicken wire attached to keep my birds in.

Should have gone electric from the start, would have looked better (my ground is uneven), and been easier to reconfigure. Fixing it now (admittedly, had no power to the barn at the time, and Solar charges won't deter large livestock).

Built a storage shed with a section I frequently use as a brooder and "time out box" for individual birds using 3/8" exterior grade plywood with a vertical lathe pattern. Its too heavy to move, too thin to not warp, wasn't nearly as "exterior grade" as promised, sucked up paint, destroyed brushes, and still wants to warp, mold and rot every time it gets wet. And the Brooder/Time Out was too small to use as a grow out box for more than 4 birds at a time - already fixed. When the walls fall off, they will be replaced with the same concrete board I used on the barn and the hen house.

/edit and I started my flock at the beginning of COVID - so I was forced to buy the breeds available, not the breeds I wanted.

 

[drinkoj]

1. Let my wife buy chickens without knowing about Chicken Math, as 6 went to 11 pretty fast.
2. Not having my nail gun until AFTER I built the coop. Things would have gone much quicker.
3. Not having enough roosting bar space in the coop; easily fixed.
4. Not letting treated lumber cure all the way. Let it cure for 3 weeks due to length of build but still needed more time, so it curled. Fixed it with a few bricks and gravity.
5. Exterior nesting box:
a) Put a cover over the gap where the hinges connect to box top to the side wall so water doesn't splatter in; Flex Seal Tape for the win!
b) Make sure there is an overhang all around the lid of the nesting boxes or water will find a way in.
6. Water nipples = WIN (horizontal is what we use)
7a. Chickens can squeeze through what you would "think" is too small of a gap in the chicken door to get out.
7b. Chickens WILL find an opening of a tarped/unlinked wire roofing if one exists. Thus why 7a & 7b go together along with my wife finding one of the Leghorns behind the kennel run and having to chase it back to the run door. Thank God it wanted to go back in the run and not over the yard fence into the woods.

 

[thepick4uchicks]

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

Did you have a chick or a grown chicken that drowned them self? Are you serious?