- Jun 28, 2011
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O.K. you asked for it…
1. Tell us a bit more about yourself.
I've been a BYC member since June 2011 and a moderator since February 2013. I'm a wife, a mother to the greatest kid anyone can ask for, a chicken enthusiast and a photo-explorer with a passion for old ruins and castles. I'm currently residing in South Africa after a spell in Ireland, but planning to return "home" to Ireland soon. (ETA: We moved back to Ireland in June, 2015
)
2. Why and when did you start keeping chickens?
About 8 years we were idly thinking about starting a flock when a guy pulled into our driveway with a truckload of chicks and a sob story. So, I did what most people would do under the circumstances, took it as a sign that we were meant to keep chickens and adopted 40 of them. They turned into 39 cockerels and 1 hen. We took a crash course in chicken keeping, raised, sold and swapped the boys, got a few more hens and a few years and way too many chickens later they've become a huge and great part of my life.
3. Which aspect(s) of chicken keeping do you enjoy the most?
4. Which members of your flock, past and present, stand out for you and why?
Too many of them… Most special was Joy, a little runt, a way overdue hatch that took us completely by surprise. She had growth and development issues and only lived 5 months, but during her short live she taught me how amazing chicken keeping can be. She was everyone's baby and she knew it. The other chickens spoiled her as much as we spoiled her. She knew jumping up and cheeping at us would get her picked up and carried around, usually in someone's pocket. Every morning she'd come into our bedroom, jumping and cheeping until we let into the bed with us while we had our first coffee of the day… And she was so good, she never made a mess. I still miss her like mad and guess I always will.
Heide… My first and last feather sexing attempt. I guess there was a 50% chance of getting it right? LOL We didn't. He turned out to be a handsome cockerel and the chicken love of my life. His mom rejected him as a day-old chick, so until he was old enough to join the flock, Heide stayed in the house and went everywhere with us, to the shops, to the beach… We had so much fun with him and people's reactions when they realised yes, that is a chicken! He was a great bird, he had such a sweet temperament, never attacked anyone, or anything except dogs that made the mistake of coming to close to his flock. Whenever I had a bad day, he'd gather up the hens and come find me, wherever I was, I'd look up and he'd be standing there staring at me, like he was saying "What's up, you o.k?" For 3 years, he was my best chicken buddy.
5. What was the funniest (chicken related) thing(s) that happened to you in your years as chicken owner?
Again, too many of them. And most were at the expense of my nerves, it seems... There was the day two of our chicks explored the septic tank ventilation pipe and yep, you guessed it… got themselves into a mess. The only way to rescue the ungrateful little sods was via the old toilet sitting on the edge of the tank. Looking back on the incident we can see the humour in it, but I promise you, leaning into that toilet with a handful of chick feed going "tsk, tsk, tsk come here you little *bleebs*!" while DH was laughing his head off wasn't much fun. I got them out though!
And then there was Stinky. I was in denial with that one, I'll admit it. Until he started crowing I refused to believe he was a cockerel. Unfortunately he happened to be standing on my lap when he chose to enlighten me… Beautiful crow too, I swear he'd been practising on the sly for that moment.
6. Beside chickens, what other pets do you keep?
At the moment we only have a little ham called Peppa Pig.
7. Anything you'd like to add?
One of my favourite quotes:
"Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets. So, love the people who treat you right, forgive the ones who don't and believe that everything happens for a reason. If you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life. Let it. Nobody said it'd be easy, they just promised it would be worth it."
https://www.backyardchickens.com/u/97969/sumi
See here for more about the interview feature and a complete list of member interviews: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/905602/introducing-vip-member-interviews/0_30
1. Tell us a bit more about yourself.
I've been a BYC member since June 2011 and a moderator since February 2013. I'm a wife, a mother to the greatest kid anyone can ask for, a chicken enthusiast and a photo-explorer with a passion for old ruins and castles. I'm currently residing in South Africa after a spell in Ireland, but planning to return "home" to Ireland soon. (ETA: We moved back to Ireland in June, 2015
2. Why and when did you start keeping chickens?
About 8 years we were idly thinking about starting a flock when a guy pulled into our driveway with a truckload of chicks and a sob story. So, I did what most people would do under the circumstances, took it as a sign that we were meant to keep chickens and adopted 40 of them. They turned into 39 cockerels and 1 hen. We took a crash course in chicken keeping, raised, sold and swapped the boys, got a few more hens and a few years and way too many chickens later they've become a huge and great part of my life.
3. Which aspect(s) of chicken keeping do you enjoy the most?
4. Which members of your flock, past and present, stand out for you and why?
Too many of them… Most special was Joy, a little runt, a way overdue hatch that took us completely by surprise. She had growth and development issues and only lived 5 months, but during her short live she taught me how amazing chicken keeping can be. She was everyone's baby and she knew it. The other chickens spoiled her as much as we spoiled her. She knew jumping up and cheeping at us would get her picked up and carried around, usually in someone's pocket. Every morning she'd come into our bedroom, jumping and cheeping until we let into the bed with us while we had our first coffee of the day… And she was so good, she never made a mess. I still miss her like mad and guess I always will.
Heide… My first and last feather sexing attempt. I guess there was a 50% chance of getting it right? LOL We didn't. He turned out to be a handsome cockerel and the chicken love of my life. His mom rejected him as a day-old chick, so until he was old enough to join the flock, Heide stayed in the house and went everywhere with us, to the shops, to the beach… We had so much fun with him and people's reactions when they realised yes, that is a chicken! He was a great bird, he had such a sweet temperament, never attacked anyone, or anything except dogs that made the mistake of coming to close to his flock. Whenever I had a bad day, he'd gather up the hens and come find me, wherever I was, I'd look up and he'd be standing there staring at me, like he was saying "What's up, you o.k?" For 3 years, he was my best chicken buddy.
5. What was the funniest (chicken related) thing(s) that happened to you in your years as chicken owner?
Again, too many of them. And most were at the expense of my nerves, it seems... There was the day two of our chicks explored the septic tank ventilation pipe and yep, you guessed it… got themselves into a mess. The only way to rescue the ungrateful little sods was via the old toilet sitting on the edge of the tank. Looking back on the incident we can see the humour in it, but I promise you, leaning into that toilet with a handful of chick feed going "tsk, tsk, tsk come here you little *bleebs*!" while DH was laughing his head off wasn't much fun. I got them out though!
And then there was Stinky. I was in denial with that one, I'll admit it. Until he started crowing I refused to believe he was a cockerel. Unfortunately he happened to be standing on my lap when he chose to enlighten me… Beautiful crow too, I swear he'd been practising on the sly for that moment.
6. Beside chickens, what other pets do you keep?
At the moment we only have a little ham called Peppa Pig.
7. Anything you'd like to add?
One of my favourite quotes:
"Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets. So, love the people who treat you right, forgive the ones who don't and believe that everything happens for a reason. If you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life. Let it. Nobody said it'd be easy, they just promised it would be worth it."
https://www.backyardchickens.com/u/97969/sumi
See here for more about the interview feature and a complete list of member interviews: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/905602/introducing-vip-member-interviews/0_30
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