Well it only took me almost 44 years.......almost because I will 44 in 2 days......but I am now a chicken mommy. My boyfriend of 4 years has been trying to get me to see the joys of raising chickens but other than to sit with him on the glider and laugh at their antics I just wasn't into them much. Then..............we moved in together and got some Duckwings and BB Reds. I still wasn't all that interested in them at first til I realized how smart they are.
I take a lot of leftovers out to them, pretty much daily. Things like breads and fruits. I guess I did it about 3 times before I realized that when I was coming outside they were actually excited to see me. I thought I was imagining things but as I kept on, it became clear that they recognized me when I'd come outside and they were definitely hoping I'd brought treats with me. It never dawned on me how intelligent they actually are and how they can be more of a pet than I'd realized. I pretty much thought they preferred to be left alone and never ever touched lol.
Now, we have a little game we play. Every morning, I make my rounds. I check on the older chicks, then I check on the chicks in the brooder box. As I make my way closer to the coop, you can hear crickets lol. Not a sound from the coop at all. So I will get about 30 feet away and say in a pretty normal tone of voice, "are we awake?" and the coop comes alive in the strangest choir ever heard. It makes my whole morning though.
In the last 2 months, I've watched 2 of my Duckwing Hens successfully hatch 3 chicks each and it's a joy to watch them mothering. My Duckwings are so tame that they not only come running when they see me but at least one follows me pretty much everywhere in the yard and even tries to make my chihuahua go away from me as if she's jealous. My Duckwing Rooster, Vince Neil, hates pretty much everyone but me. He'll stand at my feet like a little gentleman but tries to flog anyone else if he can get close enough. My BB Red rooster, George Clooney, see's me coming and stands on his roost and stretches as tall as he can to see what kind of treats I've brought out. They really do have their own little personalities and it took my little Duckwings to help me see that chickens are so much more than egg providers. if someone had told me this before I would have laughed at them. Had to see it for myself!
I know I'm rambling lol, sorry, but i'm still just amazed that it took me this long to see how awesome they can be. In the coop, Right now we have 10 BB Reds ( 2 Roosters and 8 hens), 15 Silver Duckwings ( 1 Rooster, 8 hens, and 6 chicks hatched this week)
We also have chicks we have hatched in the incubator. About 10 duckwings and 12 BB Reds. All the chicks are under 3 months and the oldest chicks are so tame they'll eat from your hand and even perch on your hand, if invited, to be held.
I just ordered 25 Quail Belgian D'anver Chicks and 25 Silver Sebrights which will be shipped July 8th and I am literally just busting with excitement over waiting for them to get here.
Soooooooo, that's my chicky story and I want to take a sec to thank everyone for all the helpful tips they post on the forums. I have learned so much about how to protect my little ones and make sure they grow up healthy. This site is an amazing tool for people like me who have noooooooooo idea how to deal with chicken drama and other issues. Heck I even learned yesterday how what "pasting" is and that it's dangerous. so today, I went out and checked chicky butts and cleaned 'em up lol. Thankfully I only had 5 out of all the babies that needed any help. They sure weren't happy with me!
Anyway, sorry for the book, just thought I'd share my excitement at becoming a Chicken lover and I can't wait to meet others and learn more! I added pics of my flock to my profile if anyone would like to see them.
I take a lot of leftovers out to them, pretty much daily. Things like breads and fruits. I guess I did it about 3 times before I realized that when I was coming outside they were actually excited to see me. I thought I was imagining things but as I kept on, it became clear that they recognized me when I'd come outside and they were definitely hoping I'd brought treats with me. It never dawned on me how intelligent they actually are and how they can be more of a pet than I'd realized. I pretty much thought they preferred to be left alone and never ever touched lol.
Now, we have a little game we play. Every morning, I make my rounds. I check on the older chicks, then I check on the chicks in the brooder box. As I make my way closer to the coop, you can hear crickets lol. Not a sound from the coop at all. So I will get about 30 feet away and say in a pretty normal tone of voice, "are we awake?" and the coop comes alive in the strangest choir ever heard. It makes my whole morning though.
In the last 2 months, I've watched 2 of my Duckwing Hens successfully hatch 3 chicks each and it's a joy to watch them mothering. My Duckwings are so tame that they not only come running when they see me but at least one follows me pretty much everywhere in the yard and even tries to make my chihuahua go away from me as if she's jealous. My Duckwing Rooster, Vince Neil, hates pretty much everyone but me. He'll stand at my feet like a little gentleman but tries to flog anyone else if he can get close enough. My BB Red rooster, George Clooney, see's me coming and stands on his roost and stretches as tall as he can to see what kind of treats I've brought out. They really do have their own little personalities and it took my little Duckwings to help me see that chickens are so much more than egg providers. if someone had told me this before I would have laughed at them. Had to see it for myself!
I know I'm rambling lol, sorry, but i'm still just amazed that it took me this long to see how awesome they can be. In the coop, Right now we have 10 BB Reds ( 2 Roosters and 8 hens), 15 Silver Duckwings ( 1 Rooster, 8 hens, and 6 chicks hatched this week)
We also have chicks we have hatched in the incubator. About 10 duckwings and 12 BB Reds. All the chicks are under 3 months and the oldest chicks are so tame they'll eat from your hand and even perch on your hand, if invited, to be held.
I just ordered 25 Quail Belgian D'anver Chicks and 25 Silver Sebrights which will be shipped July 8th and I am literally just busting with excitement over waiting for them to get here.
Soooooooo, that's my chicky story and I want to take a sec to thank everyone for all the helpful tips they post on the forums. I have learned so much about how to protect my little ones and make sure they grow up healthy. This site is an amazing tool for people like me who have noooooooooo idea how to deal with chicken drama and other issues. Heck I even learned yesterday how what "pasting" is and that it's dangerous. so today, I went out and checked chicky butts and cleaned 'em up lol. Thankfully I only had 5 out of all the babies that needed any help. They sure weren't happy with me!
Anyway, sorry for the book, just thought I'd share my excitement at becoming a Chicken lover and I can't wait to meet others and learn more! I added pics of my flock to my profile if anyone would like to see them.
Those babies grab your heart. Im waiting everyday to see whats next.
