marlaw
Songster
- Apr 24, 2019
- 55
- 199
- 106
I've been lingering around the forums for about 6 months--since I became seriously interested in getting chickens. I didn't have any of my own yet so I never posted an introduction. Now my husband and I finally have a little flock of our own so I thought an official introduction was in order!
Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens?
Yes, we're new to chickens. I started handling chicks at work in Spring 2019 and couldn't get enough of them. I started reading books and watching videos about chickens--content on just being a fancier--until my husband caught chicken fever too. Before long we were both obsessed and have worked very hard all summer long to get our home ready for them.
How many chickens do you have right now? Breed?
My husband purchased our first 3 babies at a poultry show about a week ago. 1 Cockerel and 2 Pullets--all are 7-9 months old I think. (I'll post some pics below!) Serama bantams are his favorite so that is what we decided to start with. I have a wish list of breeds that I'd like to raise someday but for now we are focusing only on Seramas. We don't have any commercial or exhibition intentions at the moment. My husband is finishing up a heavily fortified 12 ft x 21 ft coop for these little babies, so they'll have lots of room to run and play safely.
We're both crazy about birds and do a lot of bird watching on our property and at bird sanctuaries. We always liked the idea of having indoor birds but something about a bird in a cage made us sad so we never did it. When we really became interested in chickens, it finally occurred to us that chickens are the original Birds of Paradise--and would be perfectly happy in a nice coop and run. I don't know why we didn't think of it sooner.
What are your favorite aspects of raising backyard chickens?
So far, we love watching their social activities and figuring out their personalities. We're trying to learn what they are saying, what they are asking for, and trying to learn when they are distressed or happy. We could sit and watch them for hours. I love watching them shuffle their feet when they are digging in the dirt. That little wiggle is my new favorite thing. We're enjoying the milestones too. They have bonded with each other and have started bonding with us. They enjoy being held and cuddled and they trust us more and more every day. The ladies are getting to the point where they demand their cuddle time and creatively try to find ways to get on our arms or in our hands. They fully integrated into the family in less than a week and we're so happy to have them!
What are some of your other hobbies?
Right now I'm into forest farming, so most of my free time is learning about that and tinkering with test plots in the woods. I'm also interested in conservation of rare plants and animals--I'd like to make a living cultivating or breeding endangered heirlooms one day. My husband shares a lot of my interests, but he also enjoys motorcycles and playing his guitar or various other electronic music instruments.
Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share.
It's just me and my husband. We're both mostly self employed, but I still work part time at a retail store. I'm in my mid 30's and he's in his early 40's. We don't have kids and don't plan on having any. As for other pets; We have 1 dog (corgi), 3 cats, 3 beta fish, 1 puffer fish, and 1 snail. We didn't intend to have beta fish but my husband saw them suffering at the pet store so he rescued as many as he could with the tanks he had available at home. Our house is also a hot spot for friendly neighborhood dogs and/or dogs that come here when it storms (Thunder Dogs we call them), so we have some intermittent surrogate family members. We love animals and don't have the resources to foster or rescue animals on an official basis, but we do whatever we can whenever we can to help animals in need around our home.
Bonus: How did you find BYC, how long have you known about BYC, and what made you finally join our awesome community?
I joined the BYC in a panic when I was going to try to bring and injured chick at work home with me. (A regular customer ended up rescuing the chick the very next day.) I stayed on the forum to learn everything I could about raising chickens and I hope to be able to contribute more as I learn more. This has by far been the most helpful forum I've ever visited!
And here some pics of our new feathered friends. I wanted to wait until I could get some better photos, but I always forget my camera...who knows when that would happen? lol
This is Randy the Rooster. He had some feather loss on the back of his neck....his original owner said he free ranged with other roosters and got picked on quite a bit. The feathers are growing back and I am happy to report that he is a wonderful rooster and excellent caretaker of his lady friends.
This is Speckles. She has a lot of white spots and specks around her neck and head. She has laid an egg almost every day--she even laid an egg in the carrier on the way home! We weren't sure who was laying until we saw her laying one a couple of days ago. She is mischievous and I think she is the alpha hen. She will also pick on Randy in a playful way--she likes to nip at his tail feathers.
This is Winnie on the perch. She is mischievous in her own way and she is the loudest of the two girls. There are no secrets in the coop--Winnie gives us a play by play throughout the day. And of all 3 chickens, Winnie loves being held the most. (I think she feels like the third wheel sometimes so she enjoys getting to hang out with us by herself.) I think she's a little younger than Speckles and I don't think she is laying yet.
And this is all three of them. I liked Randy's side eye in the photo! lol
Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens?
Yes, we're new to chickens. I started handling chicks at work in Spring 2019 and couldn't get enough of them. I started reading books and watching videos about chickens--content on just being a fancier--until my husband caught chicken fever too. Before long we were both obsessed and have worked very hard all summer long to get our home ready for them.
How many chickens do you have right now? Breed?
My husband purchased our first 3 babies at a poultry show about a week ago. 1 Cockerel and 2 Pullets--all are 7-9 months old I think. (I'll post some pics below!) Serama bantams are his favorite so that is what we decided to start with. I have a wish list of breeds that I'd like to raise someday but for now we are focusing only on Seramas. We don't have any commercial or exhibition intentions at the moment. My husband is finishing up a heavily fortified 12 ft x 21 ft coop for these little babies, so they'll have lots of room to run and play safely.
We're both crazy about birds and do a lot of bird watching on our property and at bird sanctuaries. We always liked the idea of having indoor birds but something about a bird in a cage made us sad so we never did it. When we really became interested in chickens, it finally occurred to us that chickens are the original Birds of Paradise--and would be perfectly happy in a nice coop and run. I don't know why we didn't think of it sooner.
What are your favorite aspects of raising backyard chickens?
So far, we love watching their social activities and figuring out their personalities. We're trying to learn what they are saying, what they are asking for, and trying to learn when they are distressed or happy. We could sit and watch them for hours. I love watching them shuffle their feet when they are digging in the dirt. That little wiggle is my new favorite thing. We're enjoying the milestones too. They have bonded with each other and have started bonding with us. They enjoy being held and cuddled and they trust us more and more every day. The ladies are getting to the point where they demand their cuddle time and creatively try to find ways to get on our arms or in our hands. They fully integrated into the family in less than a week and we're so happy to have them!
What are some of your other hobbies?
Right now I'm into forest farming, so most of my free time is learning about that and tinkering with test plots in the woods. I'm also interested in conservation of rare plants and animals--I'd like to make a living cultivating or breeding endangered heirlooms one day. My husband shares a lot of my interests, but he also enjoys motorcycles and playing his guitar or various other electronic music instruments.
Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share.
It's just me and my husband. We're both mostly self employed, but I still work part time at a retail store. I'm in my mid 30's and he's in his early 40's. We don't have kids and don't plan on having any. As for other pets; We have 1 dog (corgi), 3 cats, 3 beta fish, 1 puffer fish, and 1 snail. We didn't intend to have beta fish but my husband saw them suffering at the pet store so he rescued as many as he could with the tanks he had available at home. Our house is also a hot spot for friendly neighborhood dogs and/or dogs that come here when it storms (Thunder Dogs we call them), so we have some intermittent surrogate family members. We love animals and don't have the resources to foster or rescue animals on an official basis, but we do whatever we can whenever we can to help animals in need around our home.
Bonus: How did you find BYC, how long have you known about BYC, and what made you finally join our awesome community?
I joined the BYC in a panic when I was going to try to bring and injured chick at work home with me. (A regular customer ended up rescuing the chick the very next day.) I stayed on the forum to learn everything I could about raising chickens and I hope to be able to contribute more as I learn more. This has by far been the most helpful forum I've ever visited!
And here some pics of our new feathered friends. I wanted to wait until I could get some better photos, but I always forget my camera...who knows when that would happen? lol
This is Randy the Rooster. He had some feather loss on the back of his neck....his original owner said he free ranged with other roosters and got picked on quite a bit. The feathers are growing back and I am happy to report that he is a wonderful rooster and excellent caretaker of his lady friends.
This is Speckles. She has a lot of white spots and specks around her neck and head. She has laid an egg almost every day--she even laid an egg in the carrier on the way home! We weren't sure who was laying until we saw her laying one a couple of days ago. She is mischievous and I think she is the alpha hen. She will also pick on Randy in a playful way--she likes to nip at his tail feathers.
This is Winnie on the perch. She is mischievous in her own way and she is the loudest of the two girls. There are no secrets in the coop--Winnie gives us a play by play throughout the day. And of all 3 chickens, Winnie loves being held the most. (I think she feels like the third wheel sometimes so she enjoys getting to hang out with us by herself.) I think she's a little younger than Speckles and I don't think she is laying yet.
And this is all three of them. I liked Randy's side eye in the photo! lol
I love that tiny egg. So cute.
Welcome to BYC! Great intro! Forest farming? What do you grow in the forest?
