Big question, why did all of you new chicken owners get chickens?

[MarieNC]

We got chickens b/c my husband wanted them for eggs. I really didn't want to get them b/c I knew nothing about raising chickens, but I have learned everything I know from these forums. My husband, who has known me for 28 years, didn't realize that I would make them my pets, which I did. Whenever he tells anyone this they just laugh at him like HOW long have you known her? Of COURSE she was going to make them pets. So whenever anyone asks me if I have pets I say I have one dog, one cat and six chickens. They are hilarious, they love their mother hen (me) and I love spending time with them. They all have names and they jump on my lap for pets when I go out and sit with them. The last of the six joined the egg laying group today - I am so proud!

 

[allieloveschickens]

A few years back my friend got five chickens, three ended up being roos and went back to the farm she moved with the chickens to Portland OR and got fresh eggs everyday, I loved her chickens! I always wanted to try to raise chickens myself, and after I moved in with my BF I finally had a big yard that I could build a coop in. Love my girls, and the eggs- it is wonderful to not be supporting the often cruel factory/commercial egg business!

 

[seminolewind]

I was doing some research because my neighbor got his roo a hen, only the hen crowed. So I ended up here and saw all the pet chickens, and had to have just 3......now 36. It's BYC's fault!

 

[Ohhhdear]

We decided to get chickens for several reasons.
First, I'd been buying locally grown eggs at the feed mill for a long time and my family loved them. The store bought eggs tasted flat and plastic-y in comparison, let alone any health concerns with home grown eggs. We wanted healthy, home-grown eggs for our own family.

Second, my father in law had grown chickens and other poultry for many years and was a great resource. He's had as much fun watching my girls as I have had, and is always willing to lock them up for the night if I'm not home at dusk. We can talk chickens all evening long!

Third, we're also concerned about a coming economic crisis. Hope for the best but plan for the worst. Chickens seem to fit right into this mindset, and take up so little time and space. A friend has a rooster I can borrow if I really wanted to raise chicks someday.

Fourth, it's a little bit of income. I give my family all the eggs they want, and there's a couple dozen left over each week to sell to repeat customers or friends. If I sell 9 dozen eggs a month the feed's paid for, and the rest is "egg money".

Cons to raising chickens: More pets to care for and worry about if I'm not home or on vacation. A bit of a mess in the backyard. Loss of the majority of my decorative plantings. A bit of an expense to set up the coop, get wiring out to it, get bedding and feed.

I do wish we'd gotten the chickens when the kids were younger, though teenagers are great for the lifting and hauling 50# feed sacks.

 

[AinaWGSD]

I suspect a lot of the newfound interest in backyard chickens is coming from people like me, who have always been interested in chickens but just wrote it off as something that wouldn't happen because they live within city limits and it's general knowledge that in most towns "farm animals" like chickens are not allowed. Even after settling in a town where it was well known that chickens were legal (ok, so maybe not since I still get a few surprised people when I mention that I have chickens...but most people know and I knew where several backyard flocks were just from hearing the quite chicken noises while walking the dogs) I never really thought I would get chickens. Even after buying a house in said town and joking that one of the main draws of staying in that town vs moving to the sister city was that chickens were legal in Urbana but not Champaign, I still didn't really think I would get chickens. When my husband asked me if I was planning to get chickens, I (in all seriousness) told him, "no, but I want to have that option." Then, this spring we walked past the chicks at the local (and brand-new!) Rural King store and I got the itch. My husband must have caught it too because it was a comment he made about 25 chickens being too much for our yard (and 5 being more like it) that really got the ball rolling.

I'm not really sure why exactly I want chickens myself. I will admit that after having eggs from one of my friend's backyard flock I was *very* motivated by the thought of fresh, fantastic eggs that are 100x better than store-bought. But part of it is probably just because I can.

 

[TigerLilly]

No miraculous miracle of a story here...much like everyone else, I got mine for fresh eggs & meat in order to be more self-sufficient. I also find them interesting creatures & love to watch them, especially when they are free-ranging. They are funny sometimes!

 

[shelleyd2008]

I'm not *exactly* a new chicken owner, but the reason why I first got them was to take care of the ticks. Of course I realized very quickly that they aren't the greatest for that and got some guineas, then got some more chickens, and some ducks, and 'oh let's get some quail, those are cool', and then geese, turkeys, peafowl....let's just say I have an addictive personality

 

[chooniecat]

I am not "new" ,by your standards,but am certainly pretty ignorant compared to lots on here. I started with my own girls because of the horrific treatment of food animals at commercial "farms". started with 4 pullets and have slowly gotten to 25 girls this year. will try to hatch my own in spring. am currently selling all of their eggs and we eat the occassional roo that has been dumped by horrid humans.

 

[True Grit]

I always liked the looks of chickens and not sure why. I know I had a dress that had little tiny white chickens on a blue background when I was in my 20's and I also have a print of a couple of white chickens sitting on a bedstead from back in the 80's. I used to drive by a guy turning up his garden in the spring and his chicken would follow along behind picking up bugs and worms. Then I heard about a back yard chicken course and thought I might like some eggs but really the eggs are a big bonus. It was a gradual awakening to the idea that I just really like to look at chickens.

 

[woolychicken]

i have had chickens for 15 years but not till recently have i become a chickenaholic. i just love to come home from work and feed them. it so neat to watch them run to me when they see me coming. everyone is different. i enjoy their personalities. different breeds.hatching new chicks, and watching them grow. LOVE THE EGG!, enjoy just sitting in the barn, i have one hen (pullet FEGI) that will come over hop up on my lap then to my shoulder. she will sit their for a long time talking with her little sounds, she will go thru my hair if i let her but that a no no. she will stay on my shoulder when i feed the other animals. i also have a young roo that has the sweetest personality. he has been like that since he was 3 days old ( beepers) everyone just love him he make all kinds of sounds and like to be petted. TO SUM IT ALL UP I WOULD HAVE TO SAY
I HAVE CHICKENS BECAUSE
WHY NOT!! RELAX,ENJOY THE SIMPLE THINGS
CHICKENS ARE IT!!