Latest / Valley Hatchery Podcast / Chicken Supports Insights - Episode 48: What Nobody Warned Me About My First Flock (Special Episode ft. McKayla)

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Chicken Supports Insights - Episode 48: What Nobody Warned Me About My First Flock (Special Episode ft. McKayla) · Valley Hatchery Podcast

• 0:08
  Cortney: Hi everyone and welcome back to another special episode of the Chicken Support Insights podcast.
• 0:14
  Cortney: Once a month we sit down with a guest for a longer conversation.
• 0:18
  Cortney: I'm Cortney and today I'm here with McKayla.
• 0:21
  Cortney: Most months we bring someone with years of experience.
• 0:24
  Cortney: Today is the exact opposite.
• 0:26
  Cortney: So today I'm joined by McKayla, and if you don't already know her, she is one of our Valley Hatchery's own flock ambassadors.
• 0:33
  Cortney: And McKayla is just about a year into keeping chickens for the first time.
• 0:37
  Cortney: How exciting, right?
• 0:39
  Cortney: So if you're also in this first season right now, wondering whether what's happening in your coop is normal or not, this one's for you.
• 0:46
  Cortney: Today we're going to talk about everything no one warned her about.
• 0:50
  Cortney: How she ended up with chickens in the first place, what caught her completely off guard, the thing that finally got her birds to stop running from her.
• 0:58
  Cortney: And how many chickens she started with versus how many she has now.
• 1:02
  Cortney: And at the end, stay tuned for that rapid fire round.
• 1:05
  Cortney: The one piece of advice she'd give somebody who's just now picking up their chicks for the first time.
• 1:10
  Cortney: So stick around for that.
• 1:12
  Cortney: McKayla, thank you so much for joining us to do this.
• 1:15
  McKayla: Hey Cortney, thank you so much.
• 1:17
  McKayla: It's wonderful to be here.
• 1:18
  McKayla: Thanks for having me.
• 1:20
  Cortney: You're welcome.
• 1:20
  Cortney: I'm so glad to talk to you today and to have this segment.
• 1:24
  Cortney: I think this will be helpful for a lot of people that are in your shoes right this very second.
• 1:28
  Cortney: So take me back to before you had any chickens at all.
• 1:32
  Cortney: How did this even start?
• 1:34
  McKayla: Yeah, so my journey may have started a little differently than others, as with the fact that I was terrified of chickens.
• 1:42
  McKayla: I did not like chickens.
• 1:43
  McKayla: I have many friends and family members who either currently have chickens or have had chickens in the past, and I did not want anything to do with them.
• 1:53
  McKayla: I just did not like them.
• 1:55
  McKayla: And then I think I've mentioned it before in one of my videos, but I turned 30.
• 2:00
  McKayla: And once I got into my 30s, I call it the magical time where I started thinking, you know what?
• 2:06
  McKayla: I think it would be really, really cool to be able to have my own animals that I tend and I get eggs, and I'm able to know exactly what they're being fed, and therefore I know exactly what I'm consuming.
• 2:19
  McKayla: So I went from being totally terrified to kind of having the idea of like, hmm, maybe this would be a good idea.
• 2:26
  McKayla: And that was my starting point.
• 2:28
  Cortney: That's awesome.
• 2:29
  Cortney: Do you remember the day they actually showed up?
• 2:32
  McKayla: I did.
• 2:32
  McKayla: So my journey, I didn't essentially start with kicks right off the bat.
• 2:37
  McKayla: I was actually gifted with four pullets for one of my very good friends.
• 2:42
  McKayla: So they were almost that point of lay already.
• 2:45
  McKayla: And so kicks came later on for me, but I essentially started with mostly grown chickens and I had them given to me.
• 2:54
  McKayla: They were a gift, and I was so excited, and it was a new adventure for sure.
• 2:59
  Cortney: For sure.
• 3:00
  Cortney: That's awesome.
• 3:01
  Cortney: That's good that you had something to start with, but it's totally different ballgame when they're just one to two days old and you're totally being mama and helping them start their their way, you know.
• 3:10
  Cortney: So, what's something nobody warned you about?
• 3:13
  McKayla: You know, I think nobody warned me about one, how addicting it is, and two, how interesting, but also sometimes scary observing all the different life stages for the first time.
• 3:27
  McKayla: So, as I mentioned before, I started with some already grown chickens.
• 3:31
  McKayla: I ended up adding some mature hens even before I approached the chick stage.
• 3:36
  McKayla: That was a whole different chapter.
• 3:38
  McKayla: But just starting to see all the different things.
• 3:41
  McKayla: For example, one time I thought one of my chickens was sick, but it ended up she was just getting ready to be laying eggs for the first time.
• 3:49
  McKayla: And then when one of my mature hens started molting, I Googled and I thought she had mites and I thought it was the end of the world when in actual actuality, she was just molting for her first season, and I had never experienced that.
• 4:05
  McKayla: And just kind of having that, well, for lack of better terms, the nervous mom feelings.
• 4:10
  McKayla: My babies, I whether they're one to two day old chicks to all the way full grown, they're always learning, changing, you know, going through the different things.
• 4:19
  McKayla: And therefore, I feel like I'm always learning and adapting and trying to grow my knowledge to know how to best care and keep them by full of lock happy and healthy.
• 4:30
  Cortney: Yes, I I understand.
• 4:31
  Cortney: And that that's it is like being new mama and everything's like, am I doing this right?
• 4:37
  Cortney: Am I doing that right?
• 4:38
  Cortney: Is there anything that you wish somebody would have told you before your box showed up?
• 4:44
  McKayla: You know, I think if I had to tell someone who was going into this stage, is one, do your research.
• 4:51
  McKayla: I'm a huge advocate of researching and truly trying to prepare yourself, but that goes hand in hand.
• 4:58
  McKayla: I not stressing out, don't overwhelm yourself.
• 5:01
  McKayla: I'm speaking from experience.
• 5:03
  McKayla: I almost took trying to prepare to the extreme.
• 5:07
  McKayla: And honestly, there's some things that you just can't prepare for.
• 5:11
  McKayla: You just have to be able to adapt to whatever needs arise and go from there.
• 5:16
  McKayla: So I do want to advocate that obviously preparation and trying to obtain all the knowledge you can is super helpful, but also you have to just be able to go with the flow and adapt as needed.
• 5:28
  Cortney: That's right.
• 5:28
  Cortney: Being flexible is really helpful, being patient and just kind of learning on your way, like you said.
• 5:34
  Cortney: You're gonna learn more as you go.
• 5:36
  Cortney: And like I I've been doing this for a while, but as I go, I'm still learning things 10 years later.
• 5:42
  Cortney: So I think we all can learn from each other.
• 5:44
  Cortney: So yeah, I'm still existing so many things out in the poultry world, and just there's so much I would love to share with everyone.
• 5:50
  Cortney: So that could be another episode.
• 5:53
  McKayla: Oh, I would love that.
• 5:54
  Cortney: You remember in the beginning when they kind of like run from you, the things is there anything that you remember that changed how they act around you, like stopped them from running away?
• 6:05
  McKayla: Yeah, so one thing about me is that I love all of my animals to be my friends.
• 6:11
  McKayla: They are truly my joy, they are my fun time, my my built-in adventure buddies, I call them.
• 6:18
  McKayla: And so when I first got my chicks, that was a super awesome experience because I was really able to spend a lot of bonding time with them.
• 6:27
  McKayla: And I never really had that issue with those.
• 6:30
  McKayla: But when I did experience it is those very first pullets that I received from my friend, they were pretty much, I say this very lovingly, but they were pretty much feral free range flock.
• 6:43
  McKayla: And so they did not throw anything, like she caught them out of roosting from her trees and brought them to me.
• 6:50
  McKayla: And so they they did not like me, they did not want anything to do with me.
• 6:56
  McKayla: They did not want to be a crazy lady.
• 6:58
  McKayla: Right, exactly.
• 7:00
  McKayla: And so I spent a lot of time with them, and you know, one thing that I had read, and it does just make logical sense with chickens being prey animals.
• 7:10
  McKayla: Anytime, and I I have to share, I'm a little bit tall in stature.
• 7:15
  McKayla: So anytime I would go to try to love on them and be like looming over the top of them, they did not like that.
• 7:22
  McKayla: That was not a good response.
• 7:25
  Cortney: And so get low, get on their level, move slowly.
• 7:29
  McKayla: Exactly.
• 7:30
  McKayla: And in my head, I don't know why I just thought that I would just be able to like walk up and pick them up like you would a dog or a cat.
• 7:37
  McKayla: That was definitely not the case with them.
• 7:39
  McKayla: And so I really achieved much more desirable results when I slowed down, just like you said, got on their level.
• 7:47
  McKayla: So I actually took a lot of time and just spent sitting with them.
• 7:52
  McKayla: I I got me a little cushion pad that I could put on the ground that was comfy, and I just sat with them.
• 7:58
  McKayla: I would read a book, I utilized treats that they liked, and I would kind of start like that.
• 8:03
  McKayla: I kind of just started by sprinkling it around me and they would come closer.
• 8:08
  McKayla: And then I just spent more and more time until I eventually got it where like my entire flock will eat out of my hand now.
• 8:15
  McKayla: So it just taking that, it was very rewarding.
• 8:19
  McKayla: I was very proud of my accomplishment.
• 8:22
  McKayla: But guess, like you said, being lower at their level, taking it slow, giving them some little food motivation.
• 8:30
  McKayla: I found that like myself, I definitely use that for any time that I need that little extra boost of help.
• 8:37
  Cortney: Yes, I'm not a predator.
• 8:38
  Cortney: I'm here for you.
• 8:39
  Cortney: I'm not benefiting you.
• 8:41
  Cortney: Is there any of them that still want nothing to do with you, or do they all eat out of your hand now?
• 8:47
  McKayla: You know, at this point, I have all of them.
• 8:49
  McKayla: They won't eat, eat out of my hand.
• 8:52
  McKayla: They will all come to a whistle.
• 8:54
  McKayla: So anytime I'm I'm able to free range my flock now, and then they go into their coop at night to roost.
• 9:01
  McKayla: But when I turn them out and they're free ranging, it doesn't matter where they are on the 20 acres.
• 9:05
  McKayla: If they hear me whistle, they come.
• 9:07
  McKayla: I call it chicken zoomings where they like run so fast and then try to fly at the same time.
• 9:12
  McKayla: It's one of my favorite things.
• 9:14
  McKayla: I love that.
• 9:15
  Cortney: So funny to watch.
• 9:16
  McKayla: Yes, and it's almost like my party trick.
• 9:18
  McKayla: If we have company or anything over, I'll be like, Do you want to see my chickens?
• 9:22
  McKayla: Watch this.
• 9:23
  McKayla: And I whistle and they all just come in, they zoom in from wherever they are about the property.
• 9:28
  McKayla: And so that that is one of the many things about them that brings me such joy.
• 9:33
  Cortney: How crazy is it?
• 9:34
  Cortney: You went from being scared and running from them to blowing a whistle to them running to you.
• 9:40
  McKayla: Yes.
• 9:42
  Cortney: I feel like it's been a full circle.
• 9:44
  Cortney: It has.
• 9:44
  Cortney: That's so awesome.
• 9:45
  Cortney: I love to hear your story.
• 9:47
  Cortney: All right, and we're gonna get to a quick message from Valley Hatchery.
• 9:52
  Cortney: Just one moment.
• 9:55
  Cortney: Hey, this is Cortney, customer support manager here at Valley Hatchery.
• 10:00
  Cortney: Before we get back to the episode, I have a quick update for anyone already planning their 2027 flock.
• 10:06
  Cortney: Early reservations are still open and going strong.
• 10:09
  Cortney: If you don't have your birds secured yet, head over to Valley Hatchery right now.
• 10:14
  Cortney: Getting in early comes with some major perks.
• 10:17
  Cortney: You get to lock in this year's pricing, grab first pick of all available breeds, and choose your exact preferred shipping dates before the rush fills up the schedule.
• 10:27
  Cortney: Everything you need to get started is at Valleyhatchery.com slash early-reservations.
• 10:33
  Cortney: And you'll find the link right in the description.
• 10:35
  Cortney: Don't wait until the winter rush.
• 10:37
  Cortney: Lock in your perks and get your 2027 reservation in early with Valley Hatchery.
• 10:47
  Cortney: Alright, we're back with McKayla talking about her first year into her first flock.
• 10:52
  Cortney: Let's get back into it.
• 10:53
  Cortney: So, McKayla, I'm sure no one warned you about this.
• 10:56
  Cortney: How many did you start with, and how many do you have now?
• 11:01
  McKayla: I don't love stating numbers because I like to maintain plausible deniability.
• 11:06
  McKayla: I started with four, my four pullets that were gifted to me.
• 11:11
  McKayla: And currently I would say my flock is at, I just did a headcount last night and I'm at 37.
• 11:18
  McKayla: How did that happen?
• 11:21
  McKayla: It really is a fun journey.
• 11:26
  McKayla: I started, like I mentioned earlier, I started with just wanting eggs.
• 11:30
  McKayla: I just wanted eggs that was wonderful.
• 11:33
  McKayla: And then I started seeing that there was such things as pretty eggs.
• 11:37
  McKayla: And then I thought, ooh, I need one of every color.
• 11:40
  McKayla: And so I began my journey chasing the rainbow dozen.
• 11:44
  McKayla: So a lot of my different breeds tie into what color of egg they produce.
• 11:49
  McKayla: But then there's also some chicken breeds that I just love how they look.
• 11:52
  McKayla: And so I just have a plethora of everything that makes my heart happy.
• 11:58
  Cortney: Exactly.
• 11:58
  Cortney: Yes.
• 11:59
  Cortney: So is there a number where you stop?
• 12:02
  McKayla: No, I would like to think so.
• 12:04
  McKayla: I don't think so.
• 12:05
  McKayla: No, as long as I'm able to continue providing quality care for them.
• 12:10
  McKayla: I will say, thanks to my chicks from Valley Hatchery, I am finally getting my dream egg carton colors.
• 12:18
  McKayla: So that feels like a huge goal.
• 12:21
  McKayla: That's like a green check touching.
• 12:23
  McKayla: Um accomplished.
• 12:24
  McKayla: Yes.
• 12:26
  McKayla: And so I am not super in a hurry to add anything more right now, but I do find that the more I see and the more I browse the website, I see myself thinking like the more you would.
• 12:38
  McKayla: Yeah, I think this would be cool.
• 12:41
  McKayla: And so I may or may not, if any of my family friends are listening to this, I'm not saying anything positive, but I do definitely have a wish list for next spring.
• 12:51
  Cortney: Oh, that's great.
• 12:52
  Cortney: Oh my goodness.
• 12:53
  Cortney: I love them too.
• 12:54
  Cortney: And they all bring so much to the flock.
• 12:57
  Cortney: It's everyone's different.
• 12:58
  Cortney: So I just love that.
• 12:59
  Cortney: I love how chickens have their own personality and it's you get so attached to them.
• 13:04
  Cortney: And now we're gonna do the rapid fire.
• 13:06
  Cortney: So this is gonna be short answer.
• 13:08
  Cortney: So just one word or one sentence, no explaining, or I'll have to cut you off.
• 13:12
  Cortney: Are you ready?
• 13:13
  Cortney: Okay, I'm ready.
• 13:15
  Cortney: All right, here we go.
• 13:16
  Cortney: The first breed you ever got Barnyard neck.
• 13:18
  Cortney: And the favorite color egg.
• 13:20
  Cortney: Ooh, I'm gonna say green.
• 13:23
  Cortney: Favorite chicken that doesn't have a name.
• 13:26
  McKayla: Yes.
• 13:26
  McKayla: My two.
• 13:27
  McKayla: Oh, I'm not supposed to have favorites.
• 13:28
  McKayla: I love okay.
• 13:29
  McKayla: Yes, I'm gonna say a black copper marin's hen named Bianca.
• 13:35
  Cortney: Bianca, I love that.
• 13:36
  Cortney: Treat they go crazy over.
• 13:37
  Cortney: Ooh, dried meal worms.
• 13:39
  Cortney: Mealworms, mine too.
• 13:41
  Cortney: One thing you bought that you don't need.
• 13:43
  Cortney: I'm gonna say nothing because I needed everything everything.
• 13:46
  Cortney: Yeah.
• 13:47
  Cortney: Good thing.
• 13:48
  Cortney: Uh, one thing you should have bought sooner?
• 13:50
  Cortney: I'm gonna say the large feeder and waterers.
• 13:54
  McKayla: Like the big ones.
• 13:56
  Cortney: Yes, for sure.
• 13:57
  Cortney: What's your worst chick chore?
• 13:59
  Cortney: Ooh, cleaning the coop for sure.
• 14:02
  Cortney: Mine too.
• 14:03
  Cortney: And the best part of your day?
• 14:05
  McKayla: Egg collection.
• 14:07
  Cortney: Mine too.
• 14:08
  McKayla: Any scariest moments so far?
• 14:10
  McKayla: Ooh, the unfortunate time that I learned my enclosure was not predator-proof.
• 14:17
  Cortney: Oh no.
• 14:18
  Cortney: That is scary.
• 14:20
  Cortney: I had a hawk before, and that was definitely scary.
• 14:23
  Cortney: And one word for your first week with chicken.
• 14:26
  Cortney: Invigorating.
• 14:28
  Cortney: That's great.
• 14:29
  Cortney: And last one, and you can take your time with this one.
• 14:31
  Cortney: Somebody's about to get their first chicks, and they're exactly where you were a year ago.
• 14:36
  Cortney: What's one thing you'd tell them?
• 14:38
  McKayla: I think, I think I kind of touched on this previously, so I don't want to sound like a broken record, but I would say truly just enjoy the journey.
• 14:47
  McKayla: When I didn't know it because I had never had the ticks prior to my Valley Hatchery order, I had always had either, you know, almost point of laying pullets or hins, but truly getting to experience their full life journey.
• 15:02
  McKayla: Like I got my Valley Hatchery ticks in of March of this year.
• 15:06
  McKayla: And now we're at the stage where all of them are laying for me.
• 15:10
  McKayla: And there is exciting.
• 15:11
  McKayla: Yes, there's such joy and feeling of accomplishment, I guess, for lack of better terms, to be able to say that you got these little teeny floof balls that are so cute and tiny.
• 15:23
  McKayla: And then you've tended them all up to this point, and now they're giving back to you.
• 15:28
  McKayla: And you get to really get to know each and every chicken and their personality.
• 15:33
  McKayla: And I love all the different breeds.
• 15:34
  McKayla: And so just find joy in the journey.
• 15:37
  McKayla: Each moment, each stage, for me at least, was so exciting.
• 15:41
  McKayla: And I've learned something new in each part.
• 15:44
  McKayla: And so, again, to reiterate what I stated, I fully believe in doing your research and preparing, but also just enjoy the journey and being able to adapt.
• 15:55
  McKayla: That would be what I've learned in a nutshell within this first year of my chicken tending journey.
• 16:01
  Cortney: Yes.
• 16:02
  Cortney: And basically, it will pay off all your hard work and dust your hands off and say, I did it.
• 16:07
  Cortney: Here we are.
• 16:08
  Cortney: And like you said, having that rainbow carton that you worked on so hard all year, and now you can see you're paying off.
• 16:16
  Cortney: So such a rewarding journey.
• 16:18
  Cortney: Yes.
• 16:19
  Cortney: And okay, McKayla, I guess we have reached the end, and I had so much fun talking to you today.
• 16:24
  Cortney: So thank you for joining.
• 16:25
  Cortney: I think what's useful about this one is that you're still in it.
• 16:29
  Cortney: So you're still going through it, you're still learning things.
• 16:31
  Cortney: You're not looking back at one year from 10 years from now.
• 16:35
  Cortney: You're about a year in, so that's exactly where a lot of people are that are listening now.
• 16:40
  Cortney: If you've got chicken questions you'd like us to answer in a future episode, leave us a voicemail using our fan mail link in the episode description on Buzz Sprout.
• 16:49
  Cortney: We listen to everyone.
• 16:50
  Cortney: And who knows, that may turn into an episode.
• 16:53
  Cortney: For more or more on anything we talked about today, everything's at valleyhatchery.com.
• 16:59
  Cortney: And thank you for joining us.
• 17:01
  Cortney: Take care, everyone.
• 17:02
  Cortney: Bye for now.