BYC Member Interview - 007Sean

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sumi said:
Sean, known to BYC members as 007Sean, has been a member of our community since October 2015. Another of our wonderful all rounders, he is known for his friendliness and beautiful flock of birds.

1. Tell us a bit more about yourself.

I'll begin this interview with a proper Comanche introduction. It will be phonetically spelled so you can pronounce the words. And a translation.
Haa - Muh - Rah - Way -Ka
Hello Everyone
Nuh - Nah - Nee`Ya - Sah Sean. Nah - Say - Numunu
My name is Sean, I am Comanche
Nuh - Nah ' Nuh ' Muh ' Nuh - Suh - Kwahadi
My family is of the Antelope band
Tsaa - Nah - Nuh ' Su' Kat - See`Ka - Tah `Ven `Ee
Im very glad to be here today - this day!

I was born in Dallas, Texas in 1959, to an Irish mother and Comanche father. Spent the first 7 years of my life as a "City Boy".

When the `rents couldn't take city life anymore, you know, "little houses on the hillside, all made out of ticky-tacky and they all look just the same". We loaded up the truck and moved to the sticks, Beverly Hillbillies style, the dogs, the cats and the brats. (I have 4 siblings).

My father had bought a small 160 ac. patch of ground. It soon became my heaven on earth.
Was allowed to roam and explore where ever my wanderlust took me. Was taught bushcraft from an early age, so my parents didn't worry about me staying out hunting or fishing or just exploring, all day or night.

This was the beginning of a lifetime of involvement with nature and all the abundance she and the Creator could provide, if you respected and honored her gifts.

Life was good and carefree, except for chores, until I was 13. That summer was extremely hot and dry. Ponds were drying up everywhere, so my brother and I were going to siene the pond by our house to get the fish out before it dried up.

While siening the pond, a 3" catfish finned me in the arch of my foot, yes I had tennis shoes on...anyway, 15 minutes later, I was itching all over, swelled up 5 times normal, eye's completely shut, trouble breathing and water blisters the size of half dollars covered my entire body. My brother and mother got me to the hospital within 20 minutes of this occurring but as I was stumbling into the ER, the lights went out.

The docs managed to get the old car batteries to work and jump start my pump again, about 10 minutes later, my journey in crossing over ended, with what felt like a baseball bat hitting me in the chest.

The highly toxic bacteria in the fish slime coat had caused my body to go into anaphylactic shock, thus shutting down the entire life support system. Three weeks later, swelling was going down but could still blindfold me with dental floss. I have a reminder of that day on the heel of my foot, never ever go into the water again. Apperantly, it was touching the end of the gurny. The voltage left my body by that pathway to ground, leaving a tiny burn scar.

I've managed to make it through life thus far without any other life threating events...well almost, I won't go into those details but let's just say, "lighting strikes twice".

I'll make this long story short, I went on to raise my birds, cattle, horses, sheep and to show them all across the U.S., won numberous awards and trophies. Graduated high school, went on to collage, graduated from Texas A& M University, receiving a Masters in Marine Biology. There's that theme again, "never ever go into the water, again.

I've been employed in various environmental fields since 1997. Including air quality, waste management and wait for it, wait for it...water quality!

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My brother and I just playing around in the pond... a year before the fish ordeal.

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My Mom with our Weimeraners, the male was a Champion show and Field Trial dog.

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Max, our male Weimeraner and the dork next to him.

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Cutting hay for my cattle.

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Hauling brush with Greta, our female Weimeraner and Kindness...that was a misname, she was the meanest Shetland pony, ever!

2. Why and when did you start keeping chickens?

It all started, in 1968, when my dad ordered 100 straight run chicks from Murry McMurry. The postman delivered them to our doorsteps. Our driveway was 300 yards long. We built an enclosure and coop. First mistake was using graduated mesh fencing wire. We intended to have eggs and be able to eat the roo's but nature and the Creator had other plans. Coons ate chickens, dogs attacked the coons, vet made money and we had "pie in the sky!" A huge learning curve but managed to finally figure it out.

Back then there wasn't a BYC, or internet, or other people around to learn from, and very few books, so it was "hit and miss" for awhile, you know, trial and error, mostly error! It started a 51 year interest in having and raising every kind of bird. Chickens, quail, pheasants, geese, ducks, turkeys, guenias, peafowl, emus, grouse, partridge, parrots, parakeets, doves, crows, hawks, owls, and songbirds...not all at the same time! :lau

Around 1972, a neighbor introduced me to Blacktailed White Japanese bantams. He showed his chickens all over the U.S. and got me started on the show curicut. I did this until I figured I had reached the pinnicle of raising, breeding and showing chickens, when i got an invitation to show at Madison Square Garden. I won Grand Champion, Reserve Grand Champion and Best Opposite. I decided to retire from showing and go back to raising/breeding my first love, pheasants.

3. Which aspect(s) of chicken keeping do you enjoy the most?

Genetics, it has always fascinated me. Love figuring out what genes are responsible for expressing certain traits and the possibilities. Back in my fool hearty days, I chose to cross breed every pheasant I had, just to see if I'd get some really pretty birds and to understand genetics better. I soon found out, it's like oil painting, if you mix a bunch of pigments together you get mud! Didn't take long to figure out I couldn't improve on the creators mastery, so I decide I would only raise pure blood/bred birds from that point onward. I also, like just sitting back with an adult beverage and enjoy watching the creators wonderful, colorful, amazing, frustrating, indespensible source of pure joy, that makes it all worth it.

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Yellow Golden pheasants, I bred these to have the dark, rich, deep color plumage. Most Yellows are a washed out yellow.

4. Which members of your flock, past and present, stand out for you and why?

A light brahama pullet, I named "featherfoot". She was from the original order from Murry McMurry. She had the sweetest personality and the "freeze gene", if you moved your hand above her, she'd just freeze and tremble. She would roost on the steps to the house. The freeze gene and her roosting behavior, eventually did her in. A coyote grabbed her off the steps one night when our big dogs were off duty.

Other standouts were my wild caught Rio Grande turkeys. They would always want to know what I was doing, working on my car, tilling the garden or just sitting out in the yard. Extremely tame for wild birds.
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One of the Jakes, helping me work on restoring my MG-B.

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One of the Jake's and one of our many cats, just lounging around, enjoying the day.

5. What was the funniest (chicken related) thing(s) that happened to you in your years as chicken owner?

To many to list but the one I remember the most was a White Leghorn roo. It would go after my mom or sisters but not any male figure. One day, it ran my sister up on top of the baler. She was crying for mom to come get the roo away, my mom just laughed and stuck her head out the door and yelled, "Your on your own!" She was up there close to an hour...too funny.

6. Beside chickens, what other pets do you keep?

I don't keep chickens anymore. I have 232 pheasants, (22 enclosures). Roughly, 100 quail, Bobs, Blues, Gambles, Valley, Mountain, Mexican speckeled and Button.

Also, have or should I say he has a human, a "dropped out" Jack Russell terrier, named George. And wait for it...wait for it, saltwater reef aquariums.

The following pictures are of some of my pheasants, partridges, aquarium and George.

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3 day old Reeves, Red Golden, Bianchi, and Chinese ring necked pheasants

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One of many of my reef tanks

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George, the day he found me

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George

7. Anything you'd like to add?

I also raised cattle, goats and sheep. Registered Horn Herefords, Spanish goats, and Barbado sheep. I could write a novel about all the different animals I've had in the past and adventures in keeping.

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Milly, one of my show calves. Taught her how to rein like a horse. If I didn't place well at a show I would ride her out of the arena. Once a judge saw me doing it and said over the loud speaker, "Now that's showmanship"

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Billy, my goat that moved with me to South Texas, to get away from the snow…:gig

Had to sell my cattle off when I went to collage. My dad said, "I'm not taking care of your animals, while your at school goofing off" so, hard choices came into play.

I did sell them but it paid for a part of my education. When loading them up to go away, the old herd cow, one which I raised from a bottlle, bawled something terrible...so did I, she didn't want to leave and I didn't want her too but hard choices. The lachrymal glands are working overtime, writing this and thinking about her, now, so many years ago.

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Geraldine and her first calf. The herd cow I mentioned. I still well up about it today.

My Father and Mother are responsible for my lifetime interest in all things feathered and all my other interests and hobbies, oil painting, opera, symphony, music, reading, taxidermy, knife making, gunsmithing, hunting & fishing, collecting antique oil lamps, building/flying RC airplanes, leather tooling, aquarium keeping, there's that theme again, water. They thought my siblings and I should be "well rounded" in our education.

I'd also like to thank all the BYC staff, Project Managers, and members that make this site the Best.
My motto: Live life so that when you die, they would want to make a movie.

Hope this interview is worthy of expectations.

Some miscellaneous pictures:

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On the farm in North Texas. This is why I moved to South Texas.

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This is the first winter for me in South Texas, 13" of snow...so much for leaving North Texas

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The 2 wild Rio Grande turkeys. They moved with me too! And a few of my other birds.

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Billy, enjoying the spring time at his new home.

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One of my oil paintings. I typically do wildlife and my native culture themed paintings.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/members/007sean.386560/

See here for more about the interview feature and a complete list of member interviews:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/905602/introducing-vip-member-interviews/0_30
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this it truly amazing you were into so many interesting things. A farm with all kinds of animals, you worked on to own car .. You lived the life of a true American boy..... I wish kids still experienced life like this. something to note about the 160acre farm. I've been reading about this, In the 1860s the government was parceling off land in 160 acre parcels . That farm may have been the original parcel lines . All the way around your story is very cool. . :thumbsup
 
Don 27 said:
this it truly amazing you were into so many interesting things. A farm with all kinds of animals, you worked on to own car .. You lived the life of a true American boy..... I wish kids still experienced life like this. something to note about the 160acre farm. I've been reading about this, In the 1860s the government was parceling off land in 160 acre parcels . That farm may have been the original parcel lines . All the way around your story is very cool. . :thumbsup
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Sorry Don, I just now saw your post. :oops:Thanks Don, I have too many hobbies, too many things interest me! :lol: but most of all is my love of pheasants. :love

No, the 160ac was in two parcels. My dad bought 120ac then a year later bought the 40ac that adjoined the 120ac. He didn't want any 'nextdoor' neighbors! :lau

Your absolutely right about kids growing up today! They have no idea what it's like to have 'free range' over thousands of acres in which to roam, hunt and fish. I had permission from almost everyone in the county to hunt and fish on their property...if I asked permission first before doing so...I could literally walk 20 miles in any direction and have permission to be on the land. I miss those days the most! ;)
 
007Sean said:
Sorry Don, I just now saw your post. :oops:Thanks Don, I have too many hobbies, too many things interest me! :lol: but most of all is my love of pheasants. :love

No, the 160ac was in two parcels. My dad bought 120ac then a year later bought the 40ac that adjoined the 120ac. He didn't want any 'nextdoor' neighbors! :lau

Your absolutely right about kids growing up today! They have no idea what it's like to have 'free range' over thousands of acres in which to roam, hunt and fish. I had permission from almost everyone in the county to hunt and fish on their property...if I asked permission first before doing so...I could literally walk 20 miles in any direction and have permission to be on the land. I miss those days the most! ;)
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That's ok, I was reading an old book on historic development when I saw your post.


Seems justifiable to me not wanting neighbors that close :gig
Those were the good o'l times . Once my dad just dropped me off in a woods with a gun, on the edge of a highway at 12years old saying " Get us a squirrel and I will be back in a few hours". If I saw someone I would just have to wave and act "normal" . Now adays I wouldn't even want to think what could happen if you did that. not saying it was safe at the time either:oops:.



A Poor farmer down the road doesn't have any help from kids like he use to, so I have been going over their and helping him a little , in return he won't parcel off the remaining farms in my area. Although he's getting up their in age, (upper 70s).
 
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