Is your dog's unusual barking a secret code for something mysterious?

[Redwing]

Some really active members on here have given up their chickens. Some give up soon after taking the chickens on - within 6 months others after a number of years

 

Have you given them up in the past or considering doing so? Have you ended up with chooks from someone who has given up?

 

Aside from the unavoidable reasons such as relationship breakdowns, moving to unsuitable houses etc.. I wonder if it's lack of research, setbacks, muck that puts people off or whether it's a novelty thing

[Duncan08]

I Love having my girls, only had them since March and couldn't imagine being without them now.

 

Before I got them I did a lot of research for about18 months and thought long and hard about the commitment to more living creatures in the home. They are "fashionable" at the moment though don't you think, which doesn't always help the cause of the current "popular" animals. Teapot pigs are suffering as people don't realise quite how big they will grow and I think sometimes there is a lack of understanding about the level of commitment involved, (and the expense).

 

My husband was ready to stop when one of our girls died on my lap in the first few weeks as he thought it was all too upsetting, but once we have our WIR and cube set up we are going to take in a couple of Ex Batts.

 

I am trying hard to think of what might make me stop, maybe if my health meant it was hard to keep them cleaned properly. Or if there was perhaps a problem with the neighbours, (although it would have to be a big problem) Finacial restrictions may be a problem, but they don't have to have everything that they get now, we just like to buy things.

 

If I had to travel a lot, then I would have to reconsider but I am fortunate that my mum and dad live with us and they enjoy the hens as much as me.

I suppose you might eventually just get bored, and fed up of the restrictions that the responsibility of hens (and other animals) place on you.

 

I love that they get me out in the fresh air in all weathers, I am forever fiddling about with their house, run, food, treats, perches - but I suppose at some point I may tire of doing it in all weathers. But as soon as I lay my hand on the door handle and they all come running over to see what I have for them it puts such a big smile on my face, whatever day I have had, that it always cheers me up.

 

I am looking forward to getting my cube and my WIR set up so I can add to my flock, just can't imagine life without them at the moment.

[Tweety]

It's a really interesting question. I too did a lot of research and hard thinking before getting my first hens in June 2007, but maybe not everyone does and they discover that the reality is not quite the same as the dream.

 

I love having hens, and for the past 4 years I have thought that I would not be without them for the foreseeable future. However, my OH is about to move work wise and he will probably be away a lot more than he already is, and I will hopefully have the chance to go with him more often. So, whilst I am not giving up immediately, I have decided that I will not be getting any more hens

 

A lot of my girls are OAPs now, so I shall not replace them when they die, and I shall see how it goes with the rest of them. If it becomes difficult to get someone to look after them while I am away, I have a friend with a farm and lots of chooks who I know will give them a very happy home - but I hope that won't be necessary.

[Olly]

It's a really good question,as I can't imagine life without my hens. I can see however that I might have to give up for health reasons, if for any reason I couldn't clean them out or get up the garden daily to feed them - I'm in good health, but you never know what life holds. I'm lucky enough to have good friends who would help out if I were ill short-term.

 

I wonder if people just don't think it through. Last week I had a bad cold, felt ghastly, phoned in sick to work - but I still had to get up, get dressed (sort of) and trudge up the garden to check on the hens and change their water. It has to be done no matter if you have flu, migraine, gastro-enteritis or a bad back, and no matter how cold, windy or wet the weather. The rewards are worthwhile for me, but maybe they're not for others?

[Eggasperated]

I started keeping chickens about 2½ years ago and after the initial few weeks started having terrible problems with feather pecking, this got so bad I nearly gave up but I decided that I would not be beaten by a few chickens , after rehoming the worst offender it became more manageable but still didn't go away altogether.

Now with a further three girls added last year I still have problems with the Black Rocks pulling feathers but have decided that all the spraying and bumper bits were causing more distress than the girls losing a few feathers; so with a more laid back approach to hen-keeping I find I no longer feel like giving up.

However OH retires in a couple of years and wants to move to France so I think then may be the time to give up.

Of course like keeping any animal it's not easy to just go away for a few days so I think this may influence some people, plus the obvious of having to brave all weathers to look after them, and as for the companies who promote keeping hens as a way of obtaining cheap eggs .

[meezers]

Well after almost 3 months with no eggs I was beginning to wonder why I bother keeping chooks, I did try to imagine giving them up - but the thought of buying eggs all the time ( as opposed to just 4 months of the year ) and imagining how empty the garden would be without them was enough to stop that idea. Also Chickadee has started to lay so they have a reprieve

[squiffs]

I researched a lot - but I think all the research in the world doesn't necessarily set you up for when you first start out with chickens, it's still sort of daunting and new, and you constantly question whether you're right or not until you've been through everything they can throw at you. I wouldn't rehome my girls now unless it was for their own good.

[bellekatz]

I recently gave up after 5 years of keeping chickens. I have problems with a disc in my my back so OH has to do cleaning duties in the WIR. I downsized twice but couldnt resist the lure of lovely new pure breeds. In the end, it was OH who was not happy about cleaning out days and wanted rid. We also have a naughty cat who over grooms and refuses to use a litter tray.We wanted a second cat run so she could live outside if necessary. Having said that, we split the cats up and they all cried to be squashed in one run together!! We do have chickens next door though so I am not totally without the sounds, though sadly without the eggs

[Mum]

Well, I'm guessing, with feed prices rising, austerity measures for everyone, sometimes you just have to balance spending money and time on your chickens vs paying the bills/putting food on the table. Let's be honest, unless you have a thriving chicken/egg business, they really don't earn their keep compared to the investment.

 

Then again, there are the neighbours who begin tolerant and then end up not so.

 

Perhaps it is the fact chooks are delicate creatures and can expire without warning - very upsetting! No amount of research prepares you for that

 

Maybe, despite researching, the reality didn't meet the dream?

 

An electrician recently told me his son was getting rid of his girlies ... simply because of the time they take up and the lack of time he is able to give to other pursuits. If he had been local, I would have taken the chooks off his hands!

[sandyhas3chucks]

At huge risk of upsetting a lot of people...

my first ever hens were exbats and sorry rescues I think that the information is/was hugely misleading to people ...

many saying keeping hens is easy...

An awful lot of people have serious bullying problems..which is very very distressing and many people have not experienced the real kill that can happen and therefore do not fully understand when advising..

Then there is the clean them out once a week, when ex bats don't roost you have to clean daily and OMG the flies te first summer with an Eglu on grass!!!

I do realise that my experience is limited to the many problems that exbats have and the frequent visits to the vet, which seem inevitable...

I have rehomed (to me) 3 that someone asked my vet to PTS as they found them too hard work and a going on holiday worry.

I also took on two "posh" girls that I knew when their folks stated working more and felt they could not give them the life they needed.. this DID coincide with a drop in egg production(age) also a coincidence I think when meat laying started and vets were needed.

I also took on a lone hen and the very lovely person was distraught at parting with her and kept in constant contact.

She will never keep hens again as she lost her 1st lone hen and then this ones pal and finds it all far too worrying and upsetting as so much can and does go wrong..

The 2 posh birds only once bothered to email and ask how the girls were. I think they wanted grass again

Me...........

Exhausting and worrying and heartbreaking as they are I can never imagine life with out these funny little girls in my life!!

[Mrs Potts]

I can't say money isn't an issue, but it is an issue I balance by not having other things. Anyway, I think instant material gratification is not a good thing for most of humanity!

 

I did alot of research - about a year of research on this forum and others, spoke to other hen keepers in the area and then looked after some whilst my neighbours went on holiday. Smitten! I deliberately chose ex battery hens because I thought that even as a beginner, they'd be better off with someone inexperienced but avidly reading as much as possible. I reasoned that even if they only lasted a week, it would be a week on grass and in the sunshine.

 

What would make me give up? My physical inability to look after them, I think - clean them out each week, be aware of their needs. We have a chat every day. Last winter was shaky - several trips to the vet and one died when I was extremely ill and managing very short trips up to see them morning and night as I locked them away, all the while nursing swine flu with complications. I have to say I was the illest I had been in years, but nothing was going to stop me checking them twice a day. I could not have foreseen the swine flu and the complications it has left me with even now, but they are here, my responsibility and two are still regular layers, so I think they are doing all right and I'm still hanging on.

 

Mrs P.

[mollyripkim]

Like other posters I researched and wanted chickens for years before taking the plunge although quickly upgraded from a Go to a Cube which I find much easier. We do holiday twice a year and my girls go back to their breeder, it is work organising it all and taking them over and collecting again but I feel that it is well worth it.

I think that despite all the research I wasn't prepared for the devastation to the grass in the first year, now solved, but it was expensive and time consuming and I can imagine some people would give up to get their garden back!

Personnally I can't imagine being without my girls, they give so much pleasure (and a few eggs) so the work is worth it plus I work from home in my office so it's a lovely excuse to get outside.

[surfer_chicken]

I love my chickens and I will always have them in my life, but I know my parents will not replace the chooks when I go off to uni next year shame because it'd probably make me come home more often to see the chickens But I understand, I do all the work with the chickens and they don't have the time in the day to clean them out and sort out food and water. Plus they'd be clueless when it came to illnesses and worming!

 

I only hope they will store the eglu away in the garage for me to use again when I get my own place

[Salop Chuck]

I agree with you that some advice about keeping hens creates the impression that it is just a matter of giving feed and fresh water every day, cleaning out once a week and regularly collecting eggs. This can be a little misleading as it doesn't address the behaviour problems with may occur and an alarming array of illnesses and conditions that may beset hens during their lifetime.

 

I have had to deal with Coccidiosis, bullying, feather pecking, egg peritonitis, tumours and cardiac deficiency to name a few. While dealing with these conditions is challenging it certainly doesn't put me off keeping chickens either now or in the future. The thing that keeps me going is this forum (the best there is ) where I have received oustanding and helpful support and advice during the last 3+ years of keeping chickens.

[Alis girls]

I have toyed with the idea this year after 2 of my Omlet hens died. The pattern seems to be the same - stop laying and always after a moult which I am assuming runs them down. However one died of peritonitis and one of cancer. Now my newest is moutling and the last Omlet hen who has laid solidly since I got her has stopped. She isnt moulting so assuming its her time to stop - I hope she will live a long and happy retirement but the fact they are not robust leaves me a bag of nerves. However I think in the spring I will get some more - i love them and enjoy watching their antics - OH seemed like he might come round to idea of WIR. They are not easy by any means, and the fact they are fragile creatures is very sad. Not sure I could cope with ex bats would spend the whole time crying.

[memphisto]

My OH has gone off them but lets me freely get on with them and he does help out too, but he isn't as keen as me.

 

Personally, I feel a sense of completion by having my girls, so I couldn't see me giving them up, although, I do admit, with this weather + arm in a sling, that maybe I should have not got so many but then they all come to see me for treats or tap on the window for me, then I'm completely in love with them all over again!

 

My cousin's friend has left her beautiful silkies in my care, as she had to move from the house she shared with her former boyfriend, she is actively looking for a place to take her plus chickens but she says people are negative and think they are incredibly destructive- would agree in parts- my big girls have been on mission: destroy the garden this week. The silkies are fab in their , keeping the grass prim and proper!

 

I know chicken keeping is seen as a bit hippy-ish and some people can fall in love with the ideology but find reality very different, especially come winter, I've never known so much mud but I love it.

 

Maybe people are also ill informed when buying chickens, it is like taking on a cat or dog but it is not given as much emphasis, people think chicken keeping is easy, its not its hard work but so very rewarding!

[Barkisland]

There are lots of reasons I think.

From a personal perspective, I think they are time consuming if you look after them properly, and more messy than I expected. Not everyone wants to spend every Saturday afternoon up to their oxters in chicken poo.

We've also had a problem with rats recently.

Then there's illness and infestations to learn about and cope with.

I quickly succumbed to Morehens and ended up with a few too many. I currently have 10, but I would say 6 is the optimum number for me, and I wouldn't have more than that in future.

My husband was helpful at first, but the novelty wore off quickly and he and regards them as very much mine. He couldn't be relied upon to care for them if something were to prevent me from doing so.

My pure breeds have all stopped laying for the winter, and my ex batts are getting on a bit, so there aren't so many eggs at the moment, one or two a day from 10 hens is a poor return. My Cream Legbar only laid for one season and then gave up. She's been freeloading for 2 years now!

It's not so easy to be spontaneous and go away for a few days here or there. The hens have always got to be planned for. We're planning a longish trip overseas next year, and I am concerned that our neighbours, who have previously been extremely obliging, might not want to do the full stretch of chicken sitting - it's a big ask.

So I am not going to replace any girls that may pop their clogs between now and returning from our travels. Hopefully we'll still have some layers by the time we go, otherwise there will be no incentive for the neighbours to look after them.

Longer term I do plan to carry on keeping a few girls, but no more than 6 in future for me.

Edited December 12, 2011 by Guest

[Redwing]

I must say that after spending hours today cleaning out coops and and filling up 94 pots/drinkers/feeders whilst being cankle deep in mud I did question my sanity

 

Some interesting thoughts there, I guess we dont really know whats going on in these people's lives or what makes them tick. I agree about the vision of a few hens pecking around your immaculate green lawn and the actual reality being a heck of a shock!

 

I cant imagine being without my chooks but different people have different wants from their hens I suppose, mine havent laid an egg in at least 4 days now and with feed costing about £5 a day many people would think its a bit of a raw deal

[Space Chick]

Eggs....EGGS.... Chickens actually lay them

 

I have to admit, I do get upset at this time of year when I'm sorting their feed and water before/after work and they are all in bed... And I only get time with them at the weekend, when I am catching up with cleaning

 

But I can't imagine life without them, they make me giggle with their antics, and looking after them is good honest Real hard work and a welcome relief from the stresses and strains of modern life

[chick wiggle]

Good Grief Tasha! 94 drinkers? i too would question your sanity Except i know how passionate you are about your chooks On a slightly smaller scale i too questioned my sanity, when this morning, i was slip sliding my way through the quagmire my girls have created where once there was grass, in order to clean out 2 cubes and 2 eglus, all the while been watched by 21 pairs of beedy eyes making sure i was doing everything right!

I simply cannot imagine my garden without them now, it would be so boring, but none of us know what the future holds, and im sure there are many, many reasons why people give up, but not this lady, not yet!

[craftyhunnypie]

Ha ha ha Redwing! This is a good question! I know how you feel filling all the drinkers etc! It's a battle sometimes in the bad weather or when you are tired in the mornings, but I would never change a thing. My chickens are so rewarding, not just for the eggs but for their individual little ways. They are a brilliant boost - I don't think I'll ever suffer any depression with having this lot - I laugh every day at them!

I think a lot of people give up when they realise how much a chook can poo! It annoys me a bit. I'd much sooner have chook poo on my hands than dog poo!!! I don't mind getting my hands dirty & the chooks love a nice clean house.

I think it's novelty value too with a lot of people, which is also annoying. A huge lack of research before getting chickens is another reason for people getting rid.

Only us nutters carry on regardless!

Emma.x

[quickcluck]

I did heaps of research before taking the plunge and I have to say I continue to do research all the time, as there's always something to learn....

 

I love my girls dearly and would never be without them now, but 1 egg out of 19 chooks I do question my sanity too!!!

 

Some info can be but that can be said about anything really and we only take in the good stuff if that's what we want to see!

 

It is hard at times, the losses especially. My oldest chook penny had to go to the vets for a sleep yesterday. We made the decision for her as we didn't want her to suffer unnecessarily.. however, it's always heartbreaking..... but the flip side is the joy of newbies

[Sam]

I cant imagine being without my chooks but different people have different wants from their hens I suppose, mine havent laid an egg in at least 4 days now and with feed costing about £5 a day many people would think its a bit of a raw deal

 

So how many eggs do you get a day in the summer with 204 chickens?! Thought you would have eggs coming out of your ears!!

 

 

I suppose the fact that they can be quite noisy is an off put, but not worth giving them up!! We spoke to a neighbour who has chickens before getting any and their chickens are always silent so we assumed ours would be the same

And it's not the nicest getting up in the freezing cold but a wir makes that easier

[chicken bark]

I agree that lack of research could be a problem.

I admit that a few weeks last Winter I thought it might not be for me but that was during the longest Winter I can ever remember.

 

I'll have had my chickens two years in February and am more addicted to them each day. I don't mind cleaning them out (when I get off my backside to do it), I love watching them, collecting eggs etc. The good definitely outweighs the bad. When the weather is horrible it makes doing anything a struggle. I think I have too many (40-50) but always want more.

 

I have had hens off someone who was downsizing as they could no longer bear all the mud (They downsized to 30 though so it was A LOT of mud), I also had some from a family that was moving abroad.

 

With more chickens mud is a problem this year but mainly because the silly wonderful chickens all choose to be in the muddy bits rather than the grassy bits.

 

I thanks my chickens for getting me out of the house in all weathers otherwise I would become a hermit.

[Lavenders_Blue]

I don't think any amount of research can prepare you for the reality of keeping chickens. I did loads of research before getting my girls but my goodness, the mud! The poo!

I remember being in tears a couple of times in my first winter, being outside in the freezing cold, knee deep in mud, shovelling what seemed like a ton of poo out of the coop with a howling gale blowing wood shavings into my eyes However, we adapted - we found a more sheltered spot for the coop to avoid those nasty sawdust-in-eye moments, we ordered a load of woodchip to put down in the garden and we constructed a pen to keep the hens off the grass. Sure, come the spring the garden still looks awful where we've tramped across the grass to get to the hens but it's nothing a bit of reseeding doesn't sort out, and we plan to put stepping stones down in the future, which should help.

Then come the first summer I had them, I never expected them to start shouting and trying to cock-a-doodle-do at 4.30am I thought it was only cockerels who did that (it isn't ).

I guess, for me, seeing my pathetic little ex batt girls blossom into beautiful, healthy girls laying the most amazing eggs I have ever eaten was worth all the effort. We've found ways round all the problems we have encountered so far and, thankfully, I can now honestly say they are dead easy to look after. However, I can easily see how the above would be totally off putting to many people.