How did chickens come into your life?

[Lobzi]

I found Chickie when he was (Im guessing) about 2 days old. He was running down the sidewalk in front of me as i walked home from work, May 1st, 2008. I thought he was a baby bird who had fallen from the nest. My plan was to take care of him until he was strong enough to fly away.

I scooped him up, carried him home (an hour trip), then fed him cooked carrots and raw hamburger. He drank a lot of water as it was very hot that day. That night, I made him sleep in a box in the garage so I could get some sleep. This darn bird was screaming his poor little head off; he was scared and alone and being taken care of by a totally chicken-ignorant mama. I put a heating pad for him to lie on but only turned it on low. He survived in spite of me.
I took him into work with me the next morning and the kids (Im a teacher) noticed his feet and told me I had a chicken not a baby bird. Well I knew there was not going to be my "nursing him to health and letting him fly away" now.
So began our love story.

Now today I have Roo who I got as a companion to Chickie when I thought Chickie was a "she."

Soon Chickie started fighting with Roo so I had to separate them. Chickie still had me which is what he really always wanted but Roo was so lonely without chicken companionship so I got two supposed hens, Mama Cass who remained a hen,

and Henny Penny, who soon showed himself to be a roo.

Luckily Roo and HP get alone well enough.

The three, Roo, Mama Cass, and HP hang together

and Chickie stays with me.

 

[summerb76]

2 words......McMurrary catalog!!!!!I can't stop now lol.

 

[Schultz]

Chicken Beginnings

We saw an ad on Craigslist back in May for "free" chickens. We had always wanted chickens so we thought what the heck, since I had raised them a long time ago. EHHH! There were 6 of the poor things, cramped up in a 4x4 crate where they had spent their entire lives. They were a year old when we got them. Needless to say, they were covered in filth, bloody from all the pecking at each other; one of the chickens' feet had been pecked so badly, it was down to the bone and she could not walk! I treated her first, with bandages and neosporin. Her feet got better but stayed enlarged and 1 toe has no use anymore but she is now the fattest chicken we have and the "boss"; her name is Hurt E. Foot. Just having space made the others quit picking on each other. But poor Bald E. Chicken never got the feathers to grow back on her head completely and that's how she got her name. A few weeks went by and one morning, I went out to check on the chickens and I found a chicken carcas pulled almost completely through the fence. I had no idea what killed it but then a few days later, another dead chicken. We didn't know what to do! A couple of nights later, Bald E. Chicken was attacked and that's when I saw the raccoon. Poor Bald E. We didn't think she would make it through the night but we brought her in, dressed her wounds and hand fed her for about a week and within a week or so after that, was ready to be back with the flock. She is blind in one eye and now is a Daddy's girl, she follows him around like a puppy.

New Additions

Well, some time went by, raccoon problem taken care of. My husband built them an area inside part of our garage for bedtime. We were at a jobsite one day and heard a rooster crowing. I thought it was odd to hear that in the middle of the city but didn't think anymore about it until I saw the owner of the house come home. I asked him if he had chickens and he invited me back to see some of the most beautiful roos I had ever seen! I asked him if he had any for sale and long story short we bought 7. We didn't find out until later that 3 of them were male and ended up having to give them away, these chickens fight to the death. In hindsight, I think he was breeding them for fighting. Next, we saw another ad on Craigslist, only this time it was a legit breeder. Andy has been a wealth of knowledge and insight for us. We bought 4 Buff pullets and 4 Jersey pullets and 1 Jersey roo. They are still a little shy but getting much better as time goes by. Everyone gets along great and we love them!