Am I a chicken hoarder? :)

[crackersam2000]

There is a T-shirt that sells in a magzine that says "I am one horse away from being the CRAZY horse woman" Get one made for your self that says one chicken away from being the "crazy" Chicken lady! lol

Don't feel so bad, I have six horses, three goats, three english lop rabbits, one dog and started with six hens and one rooster at christmas, now have five hens, one rooster and 36 chicks! I built what I call the "Coope de Ville" last month. Can't post pictures yet, I am to new. The coop is 8' x 36' with a room on the end that is 8' x9', making the roof line 8 x 45'. each coop is 8 x 6'. And have already sold four young stags and have another one isolated in a smaller coop. These are Henny Bantams and boy are they mean early! Atleast the roosters are! lol So, let us be kindered spirits! We are all nuts! lol

 

[schellie69]

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Thanks for the chuckle.
Yep I agree that you can not take the country out of someone. I miss the open spaces and the air. City just feels like I am to closed in.

 

[mommyofthreewithchicks]

My problem is that the barn is just too big. When I go out there I see how much space the birds have and how much space I could use with... more birds. I set out to get 12 birds- tops! Wanted chicks for the kids to know the life cycle- bought 12 chickens but they weren't chicks or the breeds that I wanted and as such I then ordered chicks. Kids wanted silkies so I drove a few hours away to get them. Kids went to the fair with silkies and LOVED the experience so we are planning on doing it again this year.

Dog ate- yes darn dog- silkies and some of my other birds but silkies were the kids pets so I promised them silkies this year (we are driving a few hours for them hopefully soon). I declared to my hubby that we wouldn't get ducks- I did not want ducks. Ducks are messy, ducks are messy- did I mention that they are messy. I caved, I didn't have a good plan for his birthday so I bought 30 of them. Did I mention that they are messy and that 30 is not a good number to have with ducks

My learning curve is though the school of hard knocks.

Ducks have now become mine- I have watered and fed them and bathed them and pampered them along with the chickens all winter long. I also added to the flock via Craigslist. A kid said he had some mallard hens- great I only have 2 so 3 more would be welcome, turns out he had Rouen ducks (not a breed I was interested in nor did I have) I took them. Sigh.

I now have 30 ducks, 6 ducklings, 45 chickens, 17 chicks and 2 turkey poults....


I may have joined the nut house with my birds. I can't even begin to eat all the eggs we are getting daily

But I am loving my flock!

Thankfully we have not gone into a bigger animal. I am sure that is coming but.... For now we just have the birds!

 

[ben is a terror]

When I was a kid my all time favorite sound was someone yelling " Get the cow out of the garden" or " stop the dog from rolling in manure" The dog spent a LOT of time in the tub.

That memory keeps me going and GOD willing the country girl will return home.

I'm so glad there are so many people out there who feel the pull of the country life

Thanks

 

[Tvanbui]

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We need them because something killed our chickens and we didn't hear anything.
This is as good a reason as any. Now I have a good argument to convince my family

it's true what they say about a silver lining in everything; we get to replace our dead chicks and gain a few guineas

I can't imagine losing that many hens. It must have been absolutely devastating. It sounds like the guineas might at least be able to sound the alert for you. You have a wonderful attitude, by the way. I'm impressed by the way you're looking for a silver lining. I suppose we can always find one if we're only willing to look!

Hi,
Thank you for your kind words. It is devastating and I hope no one else has to go through that. Not only do we have to deal with the loss, now we have to worry about the predator(s). If it turns out it's the neighbor's dog then you'd have to deal with how to handle that...etc... at the same time how do you keep it from happening again...
There are so many things you have to worry about when you raise chickens, but they are such a joy to have and that makes it all worth it.

 

[Tvanbui]

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Hi,
We have a 2.5 acre farm which has been a dream come true for my family. My brothers, sister and myself have always wanted some land to raise animals and grow things and to retire on. It represents hope and the dreams we share...it brings us closer together when we sit around and talk about our projects, what we are going to do, what we're going to grow next season, what kind of chickens we're going to add next...It just so much fun.
We've been very blessed.

 

[Katydid2011]

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I look forward to seeing pictures of your "Coop de Ville"! I hope I catch them when you post them. As for the rest, methinks we're kindred spirits!

 

[Katydid2011]

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LOL! You jumped in with both feet!!

I hear you about the big barn. I was just commenting to my husband earlier tonight that we could quadruple the number of hens we're keeping and still have plenty of room in our barn coop! That may be true but I have no desire to get that many hens. A few more, sure, but not an entire 24'x36' barn full!

What I notice about the people at BYC is the joy they get from tending their flocks and I love that. There's something about it that's good for the soul.

 

[corvidae]

We have four cats, 15 leopard geckos, 8 Welsummers, one EE, and one Giant Buff Cochin (okay, they weren't kidding about the "giant" part. Who knew?). We're eyeballing 3 more geckos, thinking about adding a couple of rabbits, and planning to go catch some North American Bullfrogs at a local pond.

I do NOT want to admit to the number of chicken eggs I currently have incubating. I find it best not to actually count them...

But hey, we homeschool, so it's all educational, right? Right??

 

[Katydid2011]

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You made me smile.

I love those kinds of memories too. I spent much of my childhood riding bareback and barefoot through the mountains on my horse with our German Shepherd at my side. I remember how hot the summers were so that the air hummed with heat and the covering of trees felt like a blessing. I loved mucking out horse stalls and tending the garden. Watching the deer bound across our back pasture. The country is in my blood. Sounds like it's in your blood too. I hope you find your way back country living soon!