Owning a few chickens, how hard can it be?
Give em seed, leftover greens, fresh water, shelter, plenty room to do their thing then sit back and enjoy.
The interactions, scratching, dust bathing, sun baking, the cute clucking. Therapy pets in your own back yard. Delightful 😊
The eggs taste better than shop bought (mmm, but do they🤔) bright yellow yolks a contrast to their anaemic supermarket friends
But beware …
Free-ranging chooks and tidy garden beds don’t go together. No shouting when they dig up the nasturtiums.
Free- Rangers can ‘disappear’ then turn up three weeks later, many cute fluffy chicks in tow.
Chicks grow fast, guarantee half will be roosters
Roosters crow at 3am, the neighbours might hate you
The smaller the rooster, the nastier
A mean little rooster flying at you with harmful intent doesn’t feel nice, even if he’s only 20cm tall, you’re allowed to scream
No one wants yer roosters even the big handsome, gentle ones. No one 🤷♀️
Chickens poop a lot. Behind the scenes of that cute photo of the perfect straw nest with the perfect eggs is an ongoing poop cleaning and coop sorting show. Can you be bothered?
Advice to former self who didn’t know she’d be living on a freakin chicken farm🙄 invest in practical easy to clean chicken tractor or build well-designed chicken palace like the neighbours.
Snakes love eating yer chickens, course they do 🤷♀️ dig that coop wire deep into the ground or prepare for the sight of a curled up python in a nest box, chicken bulge in it’s middle or even worse, catch it mid murder😩
Chooks coming indoors to say hi might seem cute at first but quickly becomes a cleaning pain in the arse. No chickens in the house 🙅♀️ Off ye go! Oot!
Chickens get mites. An ongoing situation.
Mites like living on humans. Just saying, be prepared
Also chickens = Rats = Inevitable. Control of these disgusting creatures ongoing ( sorry rats)
Chickens on death’s door can look the picture of health, conversely, a sick barely able to stand chicken can be nursed back to health, especially the family favourite.
Cute fluffy breeds have health issues
Finally, if you like eating chicken, butchering and eating your own should, in theory, be doable.
In theory you could research humane quick procedure, in theory discuss with willing family members. In theory hide with headphones on while the actual deed is quickly done.
In theory, help enthusiastically with plucking and prepping and pretend to enjoy eating.
At the very least don’t buy or eat meat from tortured chickens or eggs from battery hens, just don’t do it
Love yer chooks, if you own them you must 🐣🐥