Are/were you surprised??

[The Zoo]

I've wanted chickens for about as long as I can remember. Got my first 2 last year and added 2 more this year (one was a rooster - but he was accidental).

My 93 year old grandfather asks 'how are the chickens' every time I call him. First question he has. We brought eggs down to him last time we visited and he was thrilled.

I've had one of my mother's friends from DC bring her granddaughters out to our house when she was visiting them in order to meet the chickens and feed them. They planned the whole day around seeing the chickens and took 2 eggs home that the granddaughter collected herself.

I'm known as the chicken lady (insert crazy in front of chicken) by most of my friends and coworkers, but they all have questions and while they may not get chickens themselves, they love that they know someone who has them.

Having chickens has become natural to my husband and I, as in 'of course we have chickens - why wouldn't you?'

We're redoing our backyard with a new deck and landscaping which means the chickens will now be relegated to a 'chicken run' on the side of the house - but I've put 2 chairs there so we can still go out with our glass of wine and watch them at the end of the day.

 

[Bulldoggergal]

I'm a city raised girl living in the country now...always collected chicken figurines, now I collect the real thing! I'm at home on Disability and could spend the whole day watching my chickens and guineas. They are so relaxing...quite humorous...and their social order is so fascinating! That's all we talk about, especially my 14 y/o old son...we call him the Chicken Whisperer. Plus, they look great in the garden/yard!

I don't know what I would do without them...

 

[PunkinPeep]

I just want to say that i am really enjoying everyone's responses to this post. It's funny that something like a chicken could bring so much joy!

I hope everyone keeps writing! I'm reading every one!

 

[cnj-tx50]

We moed to our home 7 years ago and it's on two acres. Our neighbors beside of have horses, goats, a cow and a donkey. Our other neighbor breed and races piegons. He had chickens under the coops to do "clean" up as he called it. He gave to our neighbor beside us because he could not stop them from eating his grass!! Well, all said and done out of the fourteen that they received the hawks got twelve. They begged us to build a coop and take the last hen and roo. A year later we had the coop and took the chickens, but my husband has cancer and the treatments nearly did him in. The one hen was laying an egg every day and no matter what was happening I scambled that egg for my husband every morning being the only thing that never lost it's taste to him!
Now we have 26 birds and still only that one egg a day!!! LOL!!

 

[mandelyn]

I knew Chickens were "cool" when my grandma had her 3, I'd hang out with them when we went to visit and it was the neatest thing to gather eggs. (long wait on two hens though!)

Then my great uncle, who had lot's of "wild" chickens, told me when I was 13, "If you can catch it, you can keep it". Spent ALL DAY chasing those dang things, and finally cornered a little black bantam hen up against the barn wall. I was so proud!

Of course all the family started laughing, asking what I was gonna do with one lil ol' hen. So my parents took me to the flea market and I picked out tw bantam chicks, one boy, one girl.

From there, every time I saw chickens at a flea market, I'd buy 2 or 3. Got in incubator, first a little space ship shaped 2-egger, then finally a Hovabator that could hold more eggs than my hens could lay.

It took about 2 years to get 53 total "keepers". Then I got a car and a boyfriend... sold them all. Then got married, moved all over the planet with a military husband... chickens and horses not ever off my mind.

Finally I've been in one place long enough to get some, so I have a flock of 6. So happy! I'm tickled pink that the first pair are now as tame as any chicken I ever hand raised. Thrilled my older hen started laying for me. Excited that I have 4 more hens who need to start (any day now on 3 of them!)

I spend A LOT of time with them, this morning one of the new game hens jumped on the back of my chair while I was sitting in it. Milestone on taming them!

Husband likes them. Prissy will jump on his lap and likes the way he pets her (like he would with a dog). They respond when he talks to him, first time any of my critters besides the dogs have taken to him as well as they do for me.

He didn't even bat an eye when he took me shopping for chicken stuff! Any other animal he would have gotten sticker shock... but $100 in one day on chicken stuff? Nothing when he can hold that little hen when we get home.

My dad invites his lady friends over to see them, they think it's so neat that I can hold them and pet them and treat them like novelty pets, yet still get eggs from them too. So far 3 want chicks! I told them I can order eggs for them.. but they want eggs from these specific birds. LOL Nothing like a Rooster spreading out a leg and wing on your lap to sleep and sun bathe while getting his waddles rubbed.

 

[crobi13]

I am very surprised by how much I care about the chicks as well as how entertaining & affectionate they are.

I just thought I'd get a couple of birds, put them in a box & collect the eggs. Boy was I wrong!

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

Quote:
she said it for me!

 

[ARB]

I had chickens when I was in high school. Not sure why. Had a lot of strange pets.

Last summer I got 1 rooster and 3 hens on a lark. (They were immediately killed by some varmit so I got 4 more.) No idea what breed. Thought my boys would like something different during their summer before college.

They are more fun now 45 years later than when I was in school. They are so goofy to watch. Not sure if they are dumb or just comical.

My 98 yr old mother sits half in the run and feed them while eating figs from my garden. She says it reminds her of S. Potito, her hometown in Italy. Really touching to see.

My rooster has decided that he is the boss of me. He charges me when I enter the run. He puffs himself up and runs at me flapping and clucking. Who knows what gives such a little creature the nerve to challenge what must seem like a monster to him.

They make me laugh every day. And when I think of them during the day, I laugh again.

 

[Country Heart]

Quote:
As I sit here with a hen in my lap I have to laugh - I requested this film from Netflix and it's sitting on the top of my dvd pile. Trying to see if I can get DH to watch it with me. He won't admit it, but he has "chicken fever" too.

They're like living landscaping - and I think they make our property so pretty. I spend so much more time outside now just to be with them.

I love your description - living landscaping is right!

 

[Uzuri]

I'm surprised that they turned out to be as entertaining as they are

I mean, I fed the chickens at my grandfather's summer after summer, and collected eggs, and everything else, but the chickens then were just... chickens. Maybe it's the difference between feeding 50 identical barred rocks and having a tiny flock of 7 with three varieties and more time to just muse over them.

Or it could be that I'm 27 now instead of 7, too