Crazy Chicken Lady? SURE, I'll take it, and well, THANK YOU!

Yes, I have been referred to as the Crazy Chicken Lady, and guess what! I love it! Being crazy about my chickens is a compliment, besides, what's the old saying, "Don't knock it, til' you try it"! So, yes, I absolutely love and adore chickens! I never would have known, but will never be without chickens in my life again!
First experience, and nearly 50 yrs old, nearly. We had so much to learn, hens to heal, integrating to manage, coop/run problems to solve, and dogs to train, but feeling empowered by it all. Well functioning now though, garden not so much, but we'll problem solve that in the Spring!

Could not have done it without the help of BackYard Chickens.com either! Many thanks to all the advise, support and wealth of information.

The different personalities are amazing, watching them range in the yard, follow the dogs, peck at the dogs, jump for treats, and run to me (especially when I am calling the dogs in!), and most importantly how FUN it is to care for them!

Next, can't believe the delicious eggs! I'm new to this, and vaguely remember my grandmas neighbor bringing eggs, but heck, I was like 8, so don't remember being all OOOOH and AAHHH over the incredible taste, like I am today. I had to research yolk color, because we did a side by side cook off, with a store brand, and our yolks were orange. I know I don't need to tell you which egg won the cook off!

Happy Holidays to all our fellow chicken lovers, may your flocks be as spoiled as ours!

Just sharing photos like a typical, proud "CRAZY CHICKEN LADY"!
Our girls - Crystal Rose (Rhode Island white), Copper (Blue Copper Maran), Margaret (Golden Laced Wyandotte), Bullet (Silver Laced Wyandotte), Junior and Butterscotch aka Butterball (Buff Orpingtons).

What gorgeous happy chickens in a beautiful setting! I can see why they are so happy and their yolks reflect that! I love my chicken eggs, I thought they were pretty good, but I figured I was biased. One time recently I ran out of my eggs (laying has slowed for winter) and bought a carton of regular eggs (fertile, free range, organic) but - ugh! Didn't stand a chance against mine, if I do say so myself, lol. I am crazy about my chickens, too! It's like having sweet pets outside - who are quite happy to STAY outside...so cool, right?

P.S. HOW do you keep your yard so pretty with chickens on it?!

Lilpeepers, how fun to hear your story about the eggs! By far better! Share some of your photos when you can! As for the yard, this is all new to us, and the pictures were from this summer, late fall, so the yard still looks amazing. I am learning this winter though, that they can really tear things up with the grassy areas moist from the snow, so limiting their time out for now. They have a large run next to the coop so they have access to both, but it's not the same as just letting them go all day. They'll let me know how displeased they are not being out, but we need to do a little damage control. Our Copper Maran is loudest, think she's the flocks leader!
Definitely going to fence the garden differently next spring........may need to cut them off of areas we need to seed with grass/ sod? I have a vermicomposter I give them fresh worms from over the winter too, so they get good bug protein still.
We'll see, I do like our yard kept. We have 2 large dogs and I'd rather not have all mud, but I like to see the chickens being free too...

Oh my gosh, I'm in the exact same boat! We have loved our chickens running free and wild, but we have seriously been thinking about creating a new area for them. Our yard has never been in good shape (we bought the place 3.5 years ago and it had never been tended to), but now that I'm out with the chickens all the time, I have gotten into gardening, and want to have actual grass this summer. I fear it will be futile with the bare patches the chickens make, and they destroyed all my flowers in pots, my zucchini, and my hydrangeas!

This summer we got this cool stuff from Amazon. It is wild bird netting - 7' tall and probably 100' long. We live in the woods and tacked it up around trees (we live in the woods) and it was perfect to keep our roosters separate from our hens. It was really inexpensive, also, and nearly invisible. So this spring, I think we will create another chicken area outside our fence, that will be big enough to let them have lots of fun, and keep them out of our fenced yard (which we got fenced for the chickens, LOL!)

I have 3 silkie hens, 3 silkie roosters, and 3 EE (Araucana mixes). They are all so darn sweet - and my silkie hen, Stormy, just had two silkie babies 3 days ago! Chickens are awesome, aren't they?

I LOVE the picture of the snowy white fluffy butt of your hen! And your pretty white fence! And your lovely porch! How do you keep THAT clean? They make such a mess of ours, but I love having them hanging out at our back door waiting for treats - even if there is nowhere for me to step safely!


Here is a pic of our sweet babies, and our terribly sad yard! There is gravel under our shed, and they managed to get underneath it and kick tons of it out, making our yard even lovelier

P.S. Are you a photographer? Your pics are beautiful, all around!

Isn't wonderful to be crazy for chickens? You have a beautiful flock.

You have a beautiful flock! They do look very happy.

Thanks for the compliments on my flock! Its fun to hear.....I know some who gather their flock for the breeds, hardiness, colored eggs, and such. For me, as I learned more about them, I wanted the various breeds for looks. Diversify the flocks and feathers, and I love the different breeds, and looks. All brown eggs, all different shades!!
It is so much fun to be crazy for chickens, guess I'm thrilled about the whole experience, so wanted to share. Funny, it's just friends "teasing" me about being the crazy chicken lady. I do talk about them a lot! I work from home, so clean up the back patio often, like the coop and run...but I'm here. My son schools from home, so we really are accessible in a good way to the house and animals! I love taking pictures of them. lilpeepers, I'm not really a photographer, but a good camera, and zooming in helps! I was a scrapbooker for years, so taking photos was a passion that went hand in hand over the years. I love the fuzzy bum pictures! Last time I had a container (LIke patio/deck garden planter), about 3 ft. long and 6 inches wide, with the grass I was trying to keep alive this winter. Anyhow, it still had some good green grass to graze, so I put it out in the yard and all of them were lined up, butts in the air, beaks in the grass. By the time I ran for my camera, one was in it, one went to lay, and I missed the opportunity to get all the fuzzy butts in one shot! I'll try again!
I'd love to see photos of the flocks you all have too!
Also, lilpeepers, I would forgo lawn to be out of the town, and in more of country setting any day! We live in a beautiful neighborhood, backed up in the foothills in Colorado, but still, I wish I could have more property and privacy.

I like the idea to keep the chickens in their own space...............we definitely have some backyard planning to do!