Having had chickens now for most of my life I know that chicken keeping is a constant struggle. I was lucky and learned a lot from my mother who always had chickens. And my Mother learned most of what she knew from her grandmother who raised and sold dressed chickens and eggs back in the early 1900’s
I look down in the water troths at the baby chicks in the farm stores every year and wonder how many will live past their first year. They are so cute and Cheap and inexperienced folk have no inkling in what is involved with keeping them safe. They buy way too many chicks, (overcrowded later), some buy one of those flimsy prefab coops that are way overpriced.(not predator proof and set up all wrong). They think chicken wire keeps chickens safe. no wonder the hatcheries crank out so many thousands upon thousands of chicks every year!
Some have no real plan for a chicken coop until after the chicks are brought home. Soon they realize chicks grow fast and improvise using Uncle Joe's old Ice fishing Shanty or the old shed, playhouse or dilapidated garage out back as there first time coop. some might be lucky at first with this setup and not lose any birds for a couple years, until...the predators find you.
Common complaints will be.
Feather picking and bullying due to overcrowding
Egg eating due to nutritional deficiencies with overcrowding and boredom.
Infestations of chicken lice and mites.
The realization that laying hens don't lay an egg every day like a machine for years without end.
Some are discouraged by the cost of feeds and medications
Others are disenchanted with the work involved and the realization that POOP and STINK happens.
Most don't realize that predators dig in, fly in, claw in, can fit through holes or gaps down to in inch.
Statements like “I don't have this or that predator because i never see them here”
Really!!
They are predators..their goal is to not be seen...they are good at it because that is how they live!!!
By the time the first birds start coming up missing they did not know that their stuff was not adequate against predators and they are so mad they declare war and think the answer is to hunt, trap and kill every predator known from there area. Not realizing that nature has a balance.
A weasel will keep your home and barn area rodent free.
A fox’s main diet consists of mice and voles.
Raccoon and opossum cleans up what others leave behind like rotten fruits and road kill.
These also are necessary critters.
The real answer is simple...Build a Secure Coop in the first place.
Most will have so many unpleasant experiences that they give up, sell or give away all their chicken stuff, never to return.
I often wonder why some folks go into a project without first doing a little homework and discovering some of the basic facts.
Read a book for goodness sake, or nowdays do some research on the internet and do some planning first.
Before I had my first baby i bet i read 4 books about babies and infants. And referred to them many times during the first few years.
When I purchased my first car back in 1976 I got Chiltons repair manual so I knew how to diagnose and fix it. (it was a fire hydrant red 1965 Mustang)
When i needed a new hot water heater a couple years ago I researched the different brands and choose the one with best performance history then searched for the store that sold that brand.
The internet makes it so easy.
Sometimes i get so frustrated with some of the posts I read on this site i have to log off and stay away for a while. Such stupidity!
Some advice I see given to people with problems is so far off track that i know it furthers these folks dilemma that they find themselves in.
again I have to watch my typing and tone and keep what I really think to myself.
Sorry about this long post but i just read the 4th gruesome post about dead chickens and i got fed up.
There… I talked it out...i'm OK now...rant over.
For the most part I know that there are quite a few really good folks in this community “Thank goodness for Backyard Chickens” that this resource is so helpful to those who need help.
I look down in the water troths at the baby chicks in the farm stores every year and wonder how many will live past their first year. They are so cute and Cheap and inexperienced folk have no inkling in what is involved with keeping them safe. They buy way too many chicks, (overcrowded later), some buy one of those flimsy prefab coops that are way overpriced.(not predator proof and set up all wrong). They think chicken wire keeps chickens safe. no wonder the hatcheries crank out so many thousands upon thousands of chicks every year!
Some have no real plan for a chicken coop until after the chicks are brought home. Soon they realize chicks grow fast and improvise using Uncle Joe's old Ice fishing Shanty or the old shed, playhouse or dilapidated garage out back as there first time coop. some might be lucky at first with this setup and not lose any birds for a couple years, until...the predators find you.
Common complaints will be.
Feather picking and bullying due to overcrowding
Egg eating due to nutritional deficiencies with overcrowding and boredom.
Infestations of chicken lice and mites.
The realization that laying hens don't lay an egg every day like a machine for years without end.
Some are discouraged by the cost of feeds and medications
Others are disenchanted with the work involved and the realization that POOP and STINK happens.
Most don't realize that predators dig in, fly in, claw in, can fit through holes or gaps down to in inch.
Statements like “I don't have this or that predator because i never see them here”
Really!!
They are predators..their goal is to not be seen...they are good at it because that is how they live!!!
By the time the first birds start coming up missing they did not know that their stuff was not adequate against predators and they are so mad they declare war and think the answer is to hunt, trap and kill every predator known from there area. Not realizing that nature has a balance.
A weasel will keep your home and barn area rodent free.
A fox’s main diet consists of mice and voles.
Raccoon and opossum cleans up what others leave behind like rotten fruits and road kill.
These also are necessary critters.
The real answer is simple...Build a Secure Coop in the first place.
Most will have so many unpleasant experiences that they give up, sell or give away all their chicken stuff, never to return.
I often wonder why some folks go into a project without first doing a little homework and discovering some of the basic facts.
Read a book for goodness sake, or nowdays do some research on the internet and do some planning first.
Before I had my first baby i bet i read 4 books about babies and infants. And referred to them many times during the first few years.
When I purchased my first car back in 1976 I got Chiltons repair manual so I knew how to diagnose and fix it. (it was a fire hydrant red 1965 Mustang)
When i needed a new hot water heater a couple years ago I researched the different brands and choose the one with best performance history then searched for the store that sold that brand.
The internet makes it so easy.
Sometimes i get so frustrated with some of the posts I read on this site i have to log off and stay away for a while. Such stupidity!
Some advice I see given to people with problems is so far off track that i know it furthers these folks dilemma that they find themselves in.
again I have to watch my typing and tone and keep what I really think to myself.
Sorry about this long post but i just read the 4th gruesome post about dead chickens and i got fed up.
There… I talked it out...i'm OK now...rant over.
For the most part I know that there are quite a few really good folks in this community “Thank goodness for Backyard Chickens” that this resource is so helpful to those who need help.
I'm laughing b/c you sound like I think! 
3 later we've about got them sorted! 
Its right with chickens. They do need alot more care and maintenance then people generally realise. When I was a kid we had chickens on the farm. They lived in an old pig barn. They roosted in the roof beams and were free to come and go as they pleased. I can't remember having lost too many to predators, I do remember quite a few really old hens that used to hobble about. Sometimes I think that having chickens can be over thought but of course everyone's situation is different. My current flock is under lock and key in a run at the end of my garden. They take up most of my free time at the weekends and evenings. But I do love being with them!
