What's the hardest part?

[Egg_newton]

incubating eggs seems to be the hardest part for me. Everything else is pretty easy. As long as they have adequate space as to not get stressed and pick on each other. The only real issues I've had is getting older chickens from other people. I have found that not everyone takes as good of care they should. Four had lice, one had mites, and one was knocking on deaths door with all kinds of issues from the day I got it. After four months I finally lost the battle with him. I would say get day olds. Only issue I've had with them is one developed a crossed beak.

 

[Keenonf]

I would say watching a chick fight to live but doesn't make it. It sucks when you try everything and nothing works. You feel guilty even though you know you did everything you could. Everything else is fun. Well besides culling of course. I enjoy feeding them and give them treats and watching them free range. Even cleaning the coop isn't that bad because they can tell the difference when you do.

 

[embkm]

The actual care for them is easy. Putting up with dust if you have them inside is hard. The hardest part about raising chicks is losing them.

To me, the biggest factor in the decision between chicks and Point of Lay chickens is what will they be for you? Will they be simply egg producers or will they be pets that happen to lay eggs? If you just want eggs, don't bother with the hassle of raising them from babies. Just find some hens for sale on CraigsList and put them in the coop/ run and just collect your eggs. If you want pets, the bonding you will do as they grow from chicks is definitely worth all the care and wait. The hardest part of all is raising them to 17 weeks, just to find out the hard way that their coop was NOT predator proof. So my advise... when you think you are preditor proof, add another layer of protection. There is no such thing as too safe! Losing your pets is much much much harder than losing "just a chicken".

 

[A.T. Hagan]

The hardst part for me is making sure I've got their adult housing squared away BEFORE I put the chicks in the brooder.

As with many others the second hardest part is knowing when to stop getting more chicks!

.....Alan.

 

[brendapa]

They are sooo easy. As easy as a cat. Except my cat when she needs to be brushed.

There are parts that are not as fun like fresh water in the winter when it's 12 degrees and you know you have to do it at 6 AM before work.
Even the electric dog bowl water has to be cleaned every morning.

The hardest part is predator proofing. Even though you think you have it, a predator will sneak in on you.
I've got it down pat. A mouse can not get in my pens. If there is the slightest chance I won't be home to lock them up, they do not go out.
I cover all the tractors from hawks.

Last Sept a feral cat got my white hen in the middle of the afternoon. I didn't even know there was one loose in the neighborhood.
The sad part is they are not afraid of cats because mine is harmless. The poor hen probably never knew what happened. The others were like "duh".

Chickens are on the bottom of the food chain and they know it.

 

[nanawendy]

For our family it is limiting the fuzzy butts. I truly have fallen hard.
But... I have not had any problems as yet and am 1 year into it.
Have fun

 

[gryeyes]

The hardest thing for ME was discovering my elderly dacshund was a chicken killer. Not just a chicken chaser, but a killer. It's a horrible feeling when an old, spoiled, much loved dog of 11 years kills one of the babies you raised from just days old. I was SO mad at him. But it wasn't his fault - it was mine. And when he got into the run a second time and killed a second chicken. It's not fair to get rid of my long-time companion just because he did something I didn't expect him to do. I became extra vigilant about closing and locking the run gate, and securing all weak spots in the run enclosure.

He killed a third when she got out of the run through a small gap in the fence and went Free Ranging right past him. I'd just enlarged the run and missed securing a small spot where the ground dipped into the tall grass; she found that spot when I THOUGHT I had the run tight.

On the plus side of that equation, yes there is a plus - I watch Zorro very closely because he's a master at finding weak spots in the run. He's helping me predator proof it on a constant basis.

 

[trunkman]

Like everyone says, the hardest part is resisting getting more, chicks or chickens, once they start to lay it's just fun going to the coop to see how many eggs you have from the chickens, and lots of fun watching your chicks change and grow from day to day...It's the best hobby I ever took up. Get ready to get hooked and its no work at all, just fun...

 

[moonlyghtegirl]

Just get your chicks, it's like having kids, you figure it out along the way. I am much happier with them than without...

 

[peterlund]

Quote:
I agree... Culling is hard... necessary sometimes, but hard. Other than that it is like ordering a teenager to skip the cute lovable toddler stage... Get the day-olds... You wont be sorry....