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It's really fun hearing about the different ways the chickens adapted to the hen house, or going from Rubbermaid to The Big House, or looking a little worried if you don't get there on time. What great personalities! Thanks for sharing your stories! I love every one of them!

Actually, you can sell your feathers to fly fishermen, the ones who make their own flies. Professional fly tiers actually buy whole bird wings, like pheasant, etc. Check it out. If it were me, I would put a batch together and put them up on eBay, selling them as a lot. Fun to try. Couldn't hurt...

Quote: You have a great question. You might try posting in a different thread with a good, catchy subject line. I don't have my flock yet, but I already know that I will be adding a livestock guardian dog to the crew. Wouldn't have livestock without one. At LEAST one. All the best to you!

Enjoy your trip. Welcome to the forum.

That's nice. Welcome to the forum.

Quote: Absolutely right. Can't imagine having a flock without electric fence, guard dogs, and a gun.

I can't imagine how mad you must be. If it's hard to shoot the dogs, then consider a livestock guardian dog that will protect your flock. Now that these neighbor dogs have killed, I bet they'll be back for more. It's such FUN! In my opinion, they have now become Bad Dogs, and there's no hope of...

pw30, your post made me laugh! and I probably AM over-thinking all this! I just know I gotta make a place for them to live, be safe from my own animals, safe from coyotes, and safe from the elements. But I can't wait, and I'm so enjoying all your stories! I had no idea people gave away chickens...

You guys are awesome! thanks so much for taking the time to write in on this question. Yes, I have seen the big box of chicks at the local feed store, but it never occurred to me that they wouldn't know what they were selling. LOL!

Thanks a lot for your great replies! It just shows to go ya that we make assumptions all the time. Until I get out there and buy my first chickens, a lot of the "real chicken world" will be a secret. But I can't wait!

OK, this is a dumb question, but how is it that people don't know what kind of chicken they have? Many people on this forum seem to have ordered chickens from suppliers like McMurray, and I thought if you ordered Breed X, you got Breed X, and that was it. Is that not true? This is important to...

I am new here, learning, and don't have chickens yet, BUT... I am a consumer. I do eat. And I eat chicken. One of the reasons I want chickens is that I want to get away from the nasty, unpredictable meat we get at the supermarket. But what if I never got my own flock? I would still want good...

Quote: In my case, I am already planning how to prevent predators from getting the flock. I live in coyote country, plus snakes and foxes and raptors. To protect against the four-leggeds, I have a couple large dogs (St Bernard and retriever-collie cross) and am planning to get a livestock...

After all your great replies, I feel much better. This week, I worked 80 hours (wow, didn't know that until just this minute), but this is unusual. (Thank goodness!) Being on my own, I won't get a flock if they can't go on automatic and tuck themselves in. I'll also make sure we're not testing...

Welcome, Carol. I'm new here too, and learning. Great place! Great people! (And you learn a lot more than just chickens!) I have family all around your location -- sister and family in Los Osos near Morro Bay, their two boys, one a software programmer for a small company in Atascadero where he...

There's a great website and forum on livestock guardian dogs that may have information you are looking for. Check them out at lgd.org. Some great information there, and very responsive forum. Hope it's helpful. LauraLeigh

Hi! Very new here, and don't have chickens yet. Before I assume something, I need to know -- will chickens go to bed by themselves, that is, if I'm not home when the sun goes down, will they gather themselves up and head for the coop all on their own? And when I get home at 10 p.m., if any are...

Greetings from the Mojave Desert, Southern California! I'm gearing up for my first chickens, so will be lurking for a while, asking the question now and then. I had no idea this chicken-keeping sub-culture was out there, full of such enjoyable, enthusiastic people! My first question is about how...

Greetings, everyone! Am gearing up to making the leap from ordinary American citizen to flock owner. This means getting some construction finished, and soon, as I would like to chicken keeping in Spring 2011. So, am reading everything possible (so fun!) on chickens and coops. It's neat to sense...