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I live in a small rural town near Richlands - which in itself is a "small rural town", just a little larger than the tiny speck-of-a-town I live in - in southwestern Virginia. I moved to Virginia in late 2003, from Wyoming, to be closer to family. I love it here, moving to Virginia was one of the best decisions i've ever made! I finally have a little home in the country, as i've always wanted. It may not be much, but i'm happy! =)
(***BIG EDIT: Due to Coccidiosis and a dog attack, I lost most of my babies last Summer, including all my chicks exept for a little blue chick, he turned out to be an Easter Egger rooster, pretty boy.
Right now I have 6 hens.. 3 Rhode Island Reds, 1 Buff Orpington, 1 Minorca and 1 big black hen, not sure of breed. Then, I have a Rhode Island Red roo, my Easter Egger roo and 3 Buff Orpington mix roos.. One Black Copper Maran pullet that I took in, trying to mend her leg.. A pair of Pekin ducks, and Muscovies. Planning to try again with chicks this Spring.)
(Ok, so the pic is a little old, a couple years. It looks a little diff now, will post a more current one sometime soon.)
Soooo.. I'm new to BackyardChickens.com. I'm new to "chickens", actually! lol Though I have done a lot of reading about chickens and their care, I have a lot to learn, and welcome the advice and tips from the more experienced chicken people. lol =P
It all started in March. I heard about the ducks at Tractor Supply, and as I went in, someone had just boxed up the last dozen! Disappointed, I was about to leave when I heard "peeping", and seen the little day old chicks! I stuck my hand in the brooder, and a sweet little ball yellow fur of came up and nuzzled my hand, and I was in love! lol I named him Spunky, thinking he'd be a roo, "Spunky Rooster". lol Anyway, I had to bring a companion home for him, so along came Henny. Not as friendly, but she has since warmed up to me. They are my babies!! =)
They are growing so fast! They were in the assorted brooder... I was told most were White Leghorns. Not sure, am thinking they are maybe crossed with something else? Henny has little tan freckles on her wings. Spunky is bright white! Oh, and i'm thinking Spunky maybe a "she". I was so sure he/she was a rooster, till I seen a Leghorn hen! Now, i'm simply not sure!!
Henny ont he left, Spunky on the right and Bucky duck! lol
I eventually went back for a duck. lol He's a white Pekin, named him Bucky duck. lol I recently adopted a fullgrown male Pekin to keep him company, named "Izzy". They had named him "Lizzy", at first thinking he was a "she". lol
After Henny and Spunky were big enough to move outside to their temp cage (working on their coop and pen now!), and I decided to adopt a couple more babies to raise. (It is addicting, isn't it? lol) Of the breeds i'm familiar with, I had to have a Slikie and a Polish. They are too precious! =) But, I ended up with a little white Silkie, 3 black/silver speckled Polish, 2 Easter Eggers, 2 Barred Rocks, 2 Rhode Island Reds, what I believe to be either a Blue or a Splash Cochin and a bigger Red Star hen (3 weeks or so old, the others were just 1-3 days old when I bought them), oh and a little Indian Runner duck! They are all doing amazingly well, getting big, their feathers are starting to come in, and just like Henny and Spunky, they are real "people birds". =)
Then, someone gave me a large part of their flock. They are moving, and can't take them all, so I ended up with 16 hens, 3 roosters. The hens range from 2 months to 2 years old, so many are already laying. Not laying a bunch, since they are not yet comfy with their new home, and are being kept indoors until the coop is complete. But, they have given me some eggs, about 4-6 a day, since the day after we brought them home. They had a long trip from Kentucky, so it surprises me that they lay at all so soon!
One of the roosters, a Golden Laced Wyandotte. This less aggressive of the two, but both (and all the new hens) will need to be worked with a bit. Not a problem! =)
In the mix, I have a couple silver laced Wyandottes, Barred Rocks, Golden Comets, Black Sexlinks, Delawares, Rhode Island Reds, and a white Leghorn. Then, for my roos, I have a white leghorn/RIR cross, a Golden laced Wyandotte, and a Golden Laced Wyandotte/RIR cross.
I'm making a separate bachelor pad for the roos, till it comes time to hatch some lil ones. At least one of the roos is far too aggressive with the girls. Several of them have feather pulled out (a couple younger ones have had ALL tail feathers plucked), and especially his "favorite" two hens, they are bald on the back! Soooo.... The hens get a break! =) ....Many more photos to come! I have a photo blog: http://sunshynespix.blogspot.com/
But yeah.... A whole lotta chickens for just starting out, but I have honestly not found their care very challenging. I've enjoyed every minute of it. =)
Other pets that share a space in my heart are my too many dogs, waaaay too many spoiled cats, a Nanday Conure named Kiwi, a Sugar Glider, a ferret, a Rosehair tarantula, an Eastern Gray tree frog, a rat, and two rabbits (a Lionhead and a flemish giant). And, can't forget to mention my big Goldfish, out in the pond. lol Hey, he's just as much a "pet" as the rest!
About me.. I turned 30 this past March. Not married just yet, no kids. Someday, just haven't gotten to the point in my life where I truly feel I am ready to provide the kind of life I want my kids to have. Maybe within the next couple years or so. =) I was the youngest child in my family, had two older brothers. We were quite a distance in age, Gary was 18 when I was born, and Neil was 14 by the time I came along! lol Sadly, we lost Gary suddenly this January. He had a heart attack/stroke simultaneously, from a dissected aortal aneurysm. It's been 6 months, and it still feels unreal to me. I am thankful to have my Mom and Neil in my life still, though I worry about losing them. Neither of them take care of their health as i'd like them to, and my Mom's health has been poor for several years. It worries me. I lost my Dad just before I turned 16, to lung cancer.
I work part time, as a Customer Serive Rep at a call center. I'm hoping to get back into college in the next year or two. I'm a Psychology and Human Services major. As for hobbies. I like gardening (rather obsessive over my roses! lol), writing, cooking, baking, decorating, crafts, jewelry making, scrapbooking, photography, yard sales/thrift stores (love a good bargain!). I also like camping, swimming (could live in the water! lol), hiking.. Anything outdoors! I also like going to the beach, shopping, dining out, karaoke, going out to clubs, enjoying some nightlife once in a while. I like going for walks, aerobics, and the gym too - trying to lose a LOT of weight. I'm a size 24 right now, trying to get back down to a 12/14. Oh, and OF COURSE, I enjoy spending quality time with family, friends and the pets (really, I think pets are covered under "family", but still.. lol).
I guess I have rambled on enough for now, haven't I? If you are still reading this far, i'm astonished - I think I drowsed off once or twice while writing all this. lol =P
...A few miscellaneous photos...
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