Hello! from Hungary. Are there any other members to BYC in Hungary too?

A big hello to all nature and chicken lovers here.

My name is Elizabeth and I moved to Hungary about 5 years ago.

I live in a very small village in the South of the country, blessed with unspoiled nature and the wonderful Zselics hills, and natural parks everywhere (and of course, with its miriad of its own kind of political, and socio-economic problems, as in most unspoiled places...). A few weeks ago, one of our neighbours moved his family to the nearest bigger city, and for a 'one-for-all' price 'allowed' us to buy a few cubic meters of fire-wood logs, a rotovator, and a family of 1 male, 3 females, and 5 kittens of rabbits (including some terrible hutches which are in the process of being renovated, and some pellet feed). Then, a week later, we took next door's kitten to the vet as he had been limping in obvious pain for a few days and nothing was being done (in a deprived area where most animals are kept as food vet bills come very low down the priorities list), in exchange for this (the poor kitten's ankle was badly fractured and he was put in a cast with a funny collar around his neck), and his vaccinations, we became the recipients of a rooster and four hens. To be fair, they spend most of their time 'free-ranging' in our land , before going back home to lay the eggs! We had already planned to be as self-sustainable as possible (including own well and, in the future, solar energy), so, as the saying goes 'everything in it's own good time', it seems that time has chosen that now is right to start with the chickens and rabbits (we are of course also putting that rotovator to good use and hope for a good crop this summer to go with the free-range chickens and rabbits).

This weekend we sink the concrete supports, and build the base for what is going to become a chicken coop and run, and rabbit hutch - at the moment the hutches are in my wood-shed outside, with the chickens free-ranging around, and they seem to get on pretty neighbourly.

I look forward to learning more about various types of chickens good for laying eggs and for meat, getting tips on how to make our chickens' life as happy and as fun, as good; and communicating with other fellow chicken keepers.

Regards,

Elizabeth

Thank you for the welcome!

My Hungarian partner's family name is Farkas, and he has many family relatives living in Canada, mainly descendants from an uncle that emigrated there in the 60's!

I look forward to comparing notes on raising chickens in different continents.
 

Thank you off-grid hen!

Being in the reality of off-grid is so wonderful, my chest never ever hurts anymore when taking in lung-fulls of fresh air - stress is relegated to where the bright lights shine (we only have a mobile shop and the ice-cream man who come to the village, a soda-water man who also delivers gas as we are not connected to the mains, the postman who announces his arrival by sounding a horn-type call, and the doctor who comes once a week for one hour). Life is hard but in a very natural way, need makes that the neighbours are more tolerant and helpful than anywhere else. Life is not lived in isolation by the less well-dressed or educated as in bigger places, on the contrary, it is these people who often can dispense the more wise advice, and are amongst the first to offer help. Living in a back-to-nature way in this developing country (bureaucracy is very third-world here, and peppered with all the problems a change of socialism to democracy brings with it), in a bio-dynamic way, is still seen as an oddity, the Hungarians that live this way mainly do so out of need and that's that, if most could they would move to comfort in a city in no time - there are so many little houses and farms for sale as there just isn't much work around here; there are more and more younger couples moving to, or aiming to move to, the country, mainly to be able to offer their children a healthier life with good values and morals.

I have one grown-up son, Michael, he finished Oriental studies last year and is now supporting himself and practising his Mandarin in China; I wish raising children were as easy as raising chickens! I so miss him in the coop.

Regards.
 

Thank you 4-H chicken mom!

I must confess Ohio is one of the places we looked at when we were deciding where to go to find our fortune, and land; in the end we knew we would miss Europe too much and Hungary seemed to place a tick in most boxes.

I notice you are the keeper of two Weimaraners, I so love the grace Weimaraners exude; once our deer-fence is up we will be ready for our dogs, and those will be Weimaraners! It was a choice between the Hungarian Vizsla ( http://www.hungarotips.com/customs/vizsla.html) and the Weimaraner. I hope they get along well with the chickens, our 2 cats do; we plan to get them as puppies so they learn to grow up with the rest of the animals, and learn to protect them as well as us (sadly, there are often robberies in the villages, by organized groups, and a dog is a necessity for a peaceful absence from home, or a good night sleep - even paradise had a snake!).
 

Thank you 1muttsfan!

I'll be checking the link you kindly sent me.

I wonder if you ever found out how many is too many chickens? We plan to keep the original 1 rooster, and 4 chickens core, and add other feathered cousins that might get along with the chickens, such as 1 or 2 turkeys, guinea fowl, and quail. So much to learn! frustrating and nice at the same time.