Hello, my name is Kelly and I'm addicted to chickens.
Actually I have a weakness for animals of all sorts, except pigs. I can't stand the squealing, even so I did break down and bring home a potbellied piglet a while back. She's not so bad. Her name is Sarah.
We live on a ranch (well around here we just call it a farm) in western Minnesota. You can read more about our operation on our website, we call it the Oak Creek Ranch because of the creek that meanders through our pastures- it's lined with oak trees (clever, huh?).
I keep a blog about life on the farm where I try to keep a record of some of my experiences and help others to learn from my mistakes. I call it Scratches from the Henhouse.
Besides my two (human) kids, my Boer goats are my pride and joy. Feel free to email me with questions about them but since this is a chicken forum I'll just focus on my feathered animals here.
I raise a number of different types of birds. My current favorite varieties are Blue Orpingtons, American Buff geese and Silver Appleyard ducks.
I've had these varieties for a couple of years now but it seems that there's always something new I want to try. I'm currently experimenting with Welsummers, Pendescecas, Blue-Laced Red Wyandottes, bantam ducks and Sebastopol geese. I really like Salmon Faverolles too but one has to draw the line somewhere!
Other birds I've raised (or tried to raise) include: Bourbon Red turkeys, guineas, Polish chickens, Runner ducks, Silkies, quail, Cochins, Aracaunas...the list goes on. I'd keep them all but I'm only one person and I've decided that it is best to focus on a few of my favorite varieties than to try to raise every new thing that comes along.