I have owned chickens for years now and enjoy everyday of it! I show, breed, and of course keep chickens as pets.

Showing

I go to at least 3 shows a year. One in the spring, summer, and fall, plus any I can attend between.

-perks of showing-

  • You get someone elses opinion about your chicken
  • Sometimes you meet really nice chicken people
  • Not that this one is that important, but you can win awards
  • Once you get some good show chickens, you can win money. Which can buy food for your chickens and provide money to go to more shows and buy more chickens
  • At some shows you can purchase chickens
  • At some shows you can sell chickens

Breeding

Breeding isnt for everyone. It take lots of thought and careful planning.Make charts, list, and notes.

-culling-

IMO culling is a very important part of breeding. Once you first start out you might think that is cruel, but it is important. Things you need to look at when culling.
  • weak chicks
  • chickens that do not meet the standard
  • chickens that have traits that are considered not diserable in the breed
  • chicks that have various illness and defects- cross beaks, mareks disease, etc.

-selective breeding-

*not all breeders do this, just something to keep in mind. There are other methods of selective breeding.

  • picking good breeding pairs- if you have a male that lacks certain traits, pick a female that makes up for it (or vice versa)

Pets

Chickens make great pets! And mine are always making me laugh. I would post pics of some of mine, but then there would be a million pictures!



All of this is my opinion, so please dont be offended by any of it.