Storing chicken pellets in a plastic tub?

[Dizzy-Deb]

I am starting to with mine.

 

I am trying not to but cant help as they are such characters. I have & had many other 'pets' and always break my heart when loose them. Have had lectures from OH not to get attached to the chickens but fear its too late.

[Margaret]

I LOVE my Girlies

I even missed them when I was on holiday.

Spent the new bathroom fund money on having a WIR instead of the bathroom.

Hope that answers your question, there is no hope once you start on the slippery slope of hen keeping.

[MarkBevBen]

Oh of course Deb, we're already totally attached to our girls.

 

We'd be devastated if anything happened

[Dizzy-Deb]

I am glad its not just me. My hubby would never ever admit it but he likes them too. I have never known him so eager to be getting on with a building project for my 'pets'.

 

We have even now got a pair of binos in the bedroom so we can look through to see them. Good thing we have no neighbours at the back otherwise they might think we were some kind of peeping tom.

 

I find I cant wait to get home to see how my girls are doing and let them out for a bit. I am even looking forward to being at home all day tomorrow (waiting for wood delivery for WIR ) so can get outside and be with them for a bit. Hoping its dry so can carry on painting the fence panels.

 

I am dreading facing any illness or deaths. I know it will happen eventually and will be gutted when it does.

 

I never realised keeping chickens was so much fun and they had such characters.

[Sherbet]

Am totally besotted, with mine, i rush home at 4.30pm to let them out to FR, i feel terrible if i get delayed and can't get to them. First thing i do in the morning (in my dressing gown) is to go & let them out of the eglu & to say good morning to them. I would say they take over your life Money now goes on treats, such as grapes & Broccolli and time spent building them a WIR for the winter months, so they will be more 'comfy'.

So....watch out, you too will become very very attached!

[chuckmum6]

Absolutely, they are a great source of comfort and amusement too.

[Griffin]

I have to admit to loving some more than others though. Two of my ex-bats couldn't care less if I lived or died, whereas the other two ex-batts think the world of me. My Polands climb all over me, there's nothing better than a Poland sat on top of your head Tiger Lily my Silkie hates cuddles and avoids me like the plague but I have a huge amount of admiration for the job she does as a broody, I can't fault her and owe her enormously. I love sitting with my girls and cuddling them and if they enjoy it my bond with them is obviously stronger.

[debsygooch]

Having had my chickens since the 30th April 2010 I can assure you that they will take over your life (in a totally good way of course). You will talk about them, think about them, laugh at them , worry about them , spoil them, get cross at them cry about them (when the time comes, and not for many a year hopefully).

They are great to have around and give you a reason to go out in the garden come rain or shine.

Hope this helps put your mind at rest

[Mercedes55]

I totally love mine too and also have my favourites. Bella our head ex batt is the tamest of the lot and loves to be stroked and is always the first to try anything. When we first got them I can remember just looking at the mess they were in and thinking that I could never feel any affection for a chicken, but how wrong I was. We've only had our pure breeds for 4 days and already I am attached to them.

 

I know my OH is the same as he talks about them all the time too. When someone told him yesterday about someone having their girls stolen he went and bought 3 padlocks so that they are all safe at night

[Chortle Chook]

I'm fond of my three silkies but not the way I am of my dogs. I'm not sure they relate to me much. My cockerel, Dill, is a real charcter and keeps a smile on my face but does not like to be picked up. In fact he can get in quite a flap though he is never vicious.

My little white hen (Doodle) is very sweet, but I wouldn't say she cares much for me. She just loves the grub. Then comes my little gold hen (Dolly). She came from a garden centre where I think she must have been handled a lot because she is very easy to pick up, ver sweet natured and I must admit that I sometimes find I give her a kiss.

[lisamumof4]

I love my girls to bits They flock round the door if they hear it being opened if they are out freeranging. If they are in their run and hear the door they are all excited. They love being around us especially when gardening (hoping for a tasty titbit to be unearthed). I can't believe how they can imprint on you. Even my hubby who didn't want chickens (it took me 5 years to persuade him) is quite smitten with them now

When Clara died suddenly and unexpectedly a few weeks ago I cried most of that day and would get upset easily for some time after.

[migsy]

The rest of you will think I am heartless! I like my chickens very much and find them amusing. However, I see them as a cross between livestock and pets. I would not spend money on vets bills for them, although I would never let a chicken suffer, but I spend a fortune on my cats. The cats are interactive and cuddly and there is definitely a good level of communication between cats and humans. Chickens and humans do not really communicate (they only make noise to get treats and to be let out) and that is why I do not love them.

[Chortle Chook]

'Imprinted' is probably a good word. My chicks follow me when I have a grub dish in my hand (all hens seem to have superb eye sight) and when I sit outside on the patio having lunch they are there for the crumbs (bits of peach they adore) BUT any affection they have is certainly NOT unconditional the way my dogs' love is.

 

I'd never give one of my dogs away, even to a good home, but I have recently given a little hen away (the home is super - she'll have lots of free ranging). I did not feel any upset when she went. (I would however spend vet money on all my animals as they are in my care and I am responsible for their well being).

[squidsin]

I am not as attached to my chooks as I am to my cat but I'm very fond of them - particularly my little Nugget with her lumpy head. I bought them primarily for egg-laying purposes (although went for bantams as I am city-based and don't have much of a garden) but I definitely don't see them just as 'livestock.' And I make sure they have a great life!

[chickencam]

I think 'fond' is a good term. My hens don't mean as much to me as my cats, but they are lovely characters and their wellbeing is very important to me.

 

I wouldn't go overboard with vet bills, but would look after their health and quality of life for as long as I felt it was of benefit to them.

 

I must say that I do have my favourites. Maddy my Goldline is a lovely inquisitive character and so much more friendly than the others. I was also particularly fond of one of my original Omlet hens, who was naughty, she would peck me when my back was turned, but she was a real character and I was sad when she died last autumn.

[dancing cloud]

I took one look at my first six (raggedy ex-batts) and it was LOVE ! Having never had chickens before, I didn't really expect them to be the great little characters they are or to be as individual.

 

Some are more immediately loveable than others - Daisy, my first top chook, would jump up and sit on my knee for a chat every morning, whereas Sky will run away if you even look like wanting to stroke her - but they are all my little girls and it's still love

[MarkBevBen]

What an interesting thread, hearing about all your different views and ways of looking at chicken ownership.

 

Even though we've only had our girls for a week, we see them as part of our family for sure

[the bradley bunch]

i would certainly say that i am 'attached' to my chickens i love each of them very much but in very different ways and for very different reasons

 

the bond i have with them is no where near as strong as the one i have with my cat though. but i think that is partly to do with the circumstances that max came into our lives...my husband brought him home for me as a rescue kitten nearly 2 years ago when i was very very poorly and he would just cuddle up in bed with me all day everyday, so our bond became very strong. it was also at the time that i found out that i was unable to have children, so i think that little max's love kind of filled that void.

 

i think of myself as mommy to all of my pets and i often talk to max about his chicken sisters! but whilst i'd be upset if anything happened to one of the chooks if anything ever happened to max i would be absolutely heart broken

[Dizzy-Deb]

I agree entirely, atlhough getting attached to my chickens and they are a part of the family now. The bond is not the same as say with a cat or dog. We recently had to have one of our cats put to sleep and to say we were utterly devastated (and still are) is an understatement. As much as like my chickens they would never break my heart as much as loosing our cat did. xx

[coco]

I care about my girls but as said not in the same way as my dogs and cats. I worry about them when they aren't well and would get them veterinary treatment within reason. I am fonder of some more than others, Prue has got to be my least favourite at the moment as she is being really horrible to the new girls, much more so than the ex batts who /i thought I would have the most problems with. Flora has got to be favourite, probably as I nursed her through a respirastory infection flollowed by Coccidiosis.

[helen1962]

I love my hens my favourite Hilda passed away in July and I was terribly upset. The ones I raised from chicks love to sit on my knee when I enter their run and although they may not be cuddly, I do find they do enjoy human company. The reason I know this is because my hens have a garden seat as a perch in the middle of the outside bit of the run and often I will take a coffee out there and sit with them. The first thing they do is stop their scratching about. Brenda jumps onto the back of the garden seat and sits as close to my shoulder and neck as possible and shuts her eyes. Wendy the Light Sussex jumps up and sits on my knee settles down and shuts her eyes and Ruby my last remaining ex-batt jumps up and sits right next to me cuddled up against my thigh. They all remain this way until I have finished my coffee and decide to move. They know I haven't got any treats for them but that does not seem to matter, they just enjoy the closeness. I think sometimes it is a reassurance thing.

[Lavenders_Blue]

I love my girls to bits and missed them when I went on holiday earlier in the year. I will be terribly upset when each one passes away.

 

I am particularly fond of Bella who likes to hop onto my lap, close her eyes and go to sleep. With the others it's definitely cupboard love but Bella seems to just enjoy human company.

 

If/when they become ill (I have been lucky so far, hope it stays that way) I will treat them within reason BUT... I think I will probably draw the line a lot sooner than I would for, say, a dog.

[goodinparts]

When the chooks arrived, my family & friends tried their very best to convince me that they were "livestock not pets"...and the plan was that though I was naming them, these were to be generic names so that when I lose, say, Margot in the future her replacement (~whatever breed she is) would be Margot too. "Don't get attached" people said "Chickens are only with you for a few years at best..." That was back in June - and now I have to say I'm not sure I'll manage to stay detached at all! I'm completely fascinated by them, love watching and chatting to them, and have already persuaded my boys to make them a playground and invested in an extension to their Go run...and when Margot was poorly before coming in to lay I was really worried about her,

BUT this summer I had to have both an elderly dog and an even older cat pts (both had untreatable illness) and I wept buckets - and I don't think it will be that way with the chooks. They bring joy to my life, and beauty to my garden I am thrilled that they seem happy living at the vicarage but I don't think they really care about me - so it's not the same sort of relationship as with the dogs, or even the cats (who, let's face it, pretty much see me as a cross between a warm lap and a dinner lady)

Mind you, since Broody Brigid seems to be SO good at living up to her name, I'm hoping to hatch some chicks myself in the spring - and I bet then I'll be so involved I'm a lost cause!

[Dolly]

Oh dear yes! It was my DH who wanted them originally, not me, but I am totally smitten. I couldn't imagine life without chickens now. When poor Roxy was injured, there was no question about the vets bill for me, as long as she was ok and her quality of life wouldn't be compromised, I'd have paid anything!

[beach chick]

like someone said earlier, I think I am 'fond' of my girls. I do my best for them and continually try to improve how they live: housing, food, cleaning, lifestyle etc, and god knows I've spent enough at the vets on a few of them! but, having lost about 7 or 8 over the last 3 years (visiting dog, Mr. Fox, illness) although I am sad when they are gone or have to be pts it is nothing like the same as when you lose a cat or dog, or even a rabbit - at least for me.