@BDutch
Come say hello to Trea! She has been a member since May 2015 and comes to us from the Netherlands.
1. Tell us a bit more about yourself. And is there a story behind your member name?
I was raised on a farm in the Netherlands with cows, pigs and land (wheat, cattle corn, sugar beet) . We/my mother used to have dogs, cats and bantam chickens for eggs for our family when I was a child. After the bantam chickens there were song birds (canaries) and again chickens, this time just laying hybrids.
As a young child I loved animals, but having to deal with dying animals and slaughtering them for food was hard for me. Leaving my parents house I chose to become a vegetarian. I didn’t have animals myself for a long time. But when my daughter was about 6 she wanted an keep an animal, preferably a dog or a cat. As a working mom this was not convenient and we bought an aquarium with tiny tropical fishes. After a couple of years they all died when we were away for a vacation, because a neighbour gave too much feed. End of fish. Next pets where dwarf rabbits.
You probably guessed that the Dutch in Bdutch comes from my original flock. For 3+ years I had only Dutch bantams. The B is from Shakespeare’s ‘To be or not to be!
2. Why and when did you start keeping chickens?
When our daughter left home we still had her rabbits. And I thought “If these rabbits die of old age I want bantam chickens.” because I always loved the eggs from my mothers chickens. So when the rabbits needed a new cage, I bought a prefab hen house for the rabbits.
When the last rabbit died in the spring of 2014, I realised the hen house was too small for regular sized bantams. That and because they are known to be hardy and friendly, were the main reasons why I bought Dutch bantams chicks.
Dutch in the Netherlands are quit common and not hard to get.
3. Which aspects of poultry keeping do you enjoy the most?
I love to see the chickens free range in our garden. They seem to be so happy to be free, eat from the herbs, grasses and scratch the ground in search for insects. And I like to collect and eat the tasteful eggs of course.
Most of my bantam flock mombers free ranging, 1 ½ years ago.
4. Which members of your flock, past and present, stand out for you and why?
Maybe Ini mini, my oldest flock member, twice a mother and now the boss of the flock. She's very sweet. And Janice who is a dear hen, caring for the others but bullied if she wants to roost with the flock. Black because she often comes to get a scratch on the back. Pearl for the brown necklace so I can see she is Black's sister. Cookie for her beauty and her wonderful eggs (good layer). Kwik because he is funny trying to be a rooster. And I love all the two young bantam RIR too who stick together as twin sisters all the time.
Ini mini , Dutch and my oldest hen. On the background Janice and the young ones.
Black and Pearl, who hatched fertilised eggs. They made a fuss breeding on their eggs, had a bad outcome. But did a great job as 2 mothers. The baby’s are bantam Rhode Island Red.
Cookie and Tammie free ranging last spring. Tammie was killed by a fox who broke into the run early in the morning, about 6 weeks ago.
5. What was the funniest poultry related thing that has happened to you in your years as an owner?
One day a neighbour dog came into the garden and the chickens all panicked. And flew over the hedge to the other neighbors garden.
The chickens returned before dark. Except Ini mini. She managed to fly over high hedges, got lost and couldn’t return on her own. Through the Watsapp group of the neighbourhood I could pick her up the next day.
When she returned to the flock she was ‘telling her flock members about her adventure. And they gathered around her, listened and responded all in exact the same way.
(Post in thread 'Welcome Ye Who Dare To Cluck.....'
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/welcome-ye-who-dare-to-cluck.1440391/post-23886448 )
6. Beside poultry, what other pets do you keep?
None.
7. Anything you'd like to add?
Not really, just a thank you all!
@BDutch
For more information about the interview feature and a complete list of member interviews:
introducing-vip-member-interviews.905602
For more information about the interview feature and a complete list of member interviews:
introducing-vip-member-interviews.905602
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Your little chickens are adorable. Sorry about the loss of Tammie. 
