I'm turning 30 this year and have always lived in relatively medium sized towns, half suburb and half rural. My parents aren't really "animal people" though so I was allowed to have 1 pet at a time growing up. This meaning if I wanted a new pet I had to give the old one up. Over the years growing up I had several rabbits (at different times), 1 dog, 1 cat, 1 sheep, and 1 bantam. The sheep and the chicken came when I was in high school. First I brought home the bantam as a chick after we rescued it from under the coop at school where the rats were killing the chicks. We kept him for a few months but when he started crowing from 2am to 10pm, pretty much non-stop, my parents said he had to go so I gave him to a local farmer. Then I had my sheep for a few years but when I moved out with my then BF we went to an apartment and Jovite (my Dorset ram) went to another local farmer.
In 1999 I started raising rabbits in my apartment and that grew into a small show herd over the years, moving from place to place.
My DH was raised in a no pets home in a large suburb. I really introduced him to the joys of animal ownership. We met the year after I started raising the rabbits and he helped with the rabbits for a few years. Then I brought home a kitten which he instantly fell in love with, so that led to another kitten, and then an aging cat. Then added a horse, then 2 goats, and then the first chickens he had ever raised and really my first real chicken experience in 2007. All the while I have had my show bunnies but now I am selling out of rabbits to take some time off and work with the chickens. We had 10 in our original flock, 9 hens, 1 roo. Sold original roo when I got my 25 new chicks since I want only Wyandotte roos so I know that the eggs my W hens lay will be purebreds.
My family has been relatively supportive even if they really don't understand my wanting to have tons of animals. My DH's family thinks that I am totally nuts and I'm dragging their sweet boy into my craziness, lol!
