- Jun 28, 2011
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Lisa, known to BYC members as ChickenLady2014, has been a member of our community since January 2014. Another of our wonderful all rounders, she will often be found in the Random Ramblings section, making friends.
1. Tell us a bit more about yourself.
Hi, my name is Lisa. I was born, raised and currently live in Northern Michigan with my husband of almost 34 years.
I am a avid outdoors person, be it gardening, mowing, chicken chores or just having fun I want to be outside. Four years ago I started out with a few chickens and selling a dozen eggs here and there. In a very short time chicken math struck and not only did I have a very large number of birds for myself, but I was also hatching and brooding chicks for others. Hubby and I have always had a garden and I have always canned as much of our produce that I could for use throughout the year. All of the above moved me to the idea of starting a Cottage Business where I could sell eggs, my extra produce, honey, maple syrup and my jams and jellies. My husband repurposed an old kitchen cupboard into a very nicely built Farm Stand, we've grown and have had to add on to it 2 times.
Two years ago my husband built a very nice high tunnel/greenhouse to help extend our growing season.
It has helped a lot in that area. We are still waiting for our nights to warm a bit so I can move my plant seedlings out there.
Hubby and I have 2 grown daughters that are both married and our oldest daughter has blessed us with 3 beautiful grandchildren. They are the loves of my life, they've got their Nana wrapped around their little fingers.
2. Why and when did you start keeping chickens?
Up until my granddaughter was 12, I was her full-time nanny. It was at this time my daughter remarried and they moved a hour and a half away. My world came crashing down, up to that time I was so busy taking care of 2 homes and my granddaughter that there wasn't time to think of anything else. I felt so lost, I no longer felt needed or that I had a purpose in life. What was I going to do with all the spare time I now had? I went into a deep depression and that's when raising chickens came to mind. I researched and read everything I could get my hands on and that was when I stumbled on to this great site. The rest is history lol.
It was Jan 2014 and temperatures outside were a frosty 7* with -25* wind-chill factor. Where do you think my husband and I were? Why yes, out there in that nasty weather building our first coop. We have a total of 4 coops.
3. Which aspect(s) of chicken keeping do you enjoy the most?
I think that my most favorite aspect of chicken keeping has got to be the hatching of baby chicks. No matter how many times you hatch, the miracle of that tiny little chick working so hard to break through its shell never gets old.
I will have to say it's pretty tough picking between the joy of hatching {incubator} or watching broody Momma with her babies. I've had a couple favorite broody hens over the years. These girls were excellent moms, it was such a pleasure to watch them interact with their young. From the moment they hatched, momma was talking to them, teaching them to eat and drink by pecking and chirping a special sound. My Silkie Momma's had no hesitation about exposing their new babies to the cold weather either. I've learned over the past 4 years that chicks are a lot heartier than we first believed. I've had a Silkie Momma bring her 3 day old chicks outside when there was still snow on the ground, not on purpose mind you. She snuck out the pop door when I opened it to let the other adults out. These 2 gals were my favorite hens, Fiona is the white Silkie & Lil Bit the buff Silkie.
I would also like to add that hatching comes first, but my love of creating the best colored Easter basket is right up there. These are my current egg colors & I only hope to improve upon them.
4. Which members of your flock, past and present, stand out for you and why?
Fiona & Lil Bit were 2 of my all-time favorite hens, but I also had a couple roosters that were near & dear to my heart. The first rooster was a packing peanut from the hatchery I had ordered chicks from. I knew from the beginning that he was a keeper. Kazoo was a Sicilian Buttercup, he had spunk, pizazz & an attitude that kept you laughing. We didn't have an aviary net over the chicken run at the time and that little dude made certain to thumb his nose at me at every chance he got. Didn't matter if the run door was already open to allow the chickens out to free-range, he still felt the need to fly up on the top of the fence and crow before he jumped down to be with his ladies. This is Kazoo and there is a picture of him on the fence crowing above in the coop section.
Another all-time favorite of mine was my White Chantacler rooster named Ollie. He was my gentle giant and the best darn rooster to his girls, an excellent forager & protector. I cried so hard when I lost him to an advanced case of bumblefoot. I never even realized he had it on his foot until it was too late. After reading up on bumblefoot I realized that because he was so heavy that him jumping down from the top roost bar to the lower bar probably cause the bumble. Unfortunately the infection had already spread too far. R.I.P. Ollie Boy.
5. What was the funniest (chicken related) thing(s) that happened to you in your years as chicken owner?
What are some of my funniest chicken related antics. Hmm........... lets see here. When I first started into chicken keeping I had ordered a couple BR hens from a hatchery. One acted just like a normal chicken, but the other one was a pistol. I named her Nosie Rosie because no matter what I was doing, she had to be right in the middle of it. Didn't matter if I was just cleaning the poop boards, if I didn't stop to give her attention and pet her she would peck me. She had no qualms about pecking my glasses either. One day hubs and I were outside working on our 4th coop. I went in and made us some sandwiches for lunch. We were all nasty from working so we decided to eat outside in one of our favorite spots (Chicken TvLand or Smellavision) All the birds were out free-ranging except Nosie Rosie who was at my feet wanting to jump into my lap. I had repeatedly edged her back with my boot, but I wasn't paying close enough attention to her. So what did Miss Nosie do you ask? Well, peeved from the lack of my attention she decided just as I lifted my sandwich to my mouth that she was having some too, invited or not. It surprised the daylights out of us, she flew up in the air and swiped a chunk of my sandwich for herself. Hubs and I laughed so hard and before I could get that part of the sandwich broke off and given to her, she launched another attack. Managing to not only get another bite, but the whole sandwich as my lunch lay in the dirt at my feet.
Score 1 for Nosie Rosie, LOL.
6. Beside chickens, what other pets do you keep?
Besides chickens what other pets do I have you ask? Well due to a lot of allergies, I have virtual yaks with @twisted-acres-farm, Goats with @Sally Sunshine, Bunnies with@CapricornFarm Cats & dogs with @granny hatchet,@campingshaws, and @h2oratt. My newest virtual goats thru @AlleysChicks and @jane s chickens. I do have one shared dog with my daughter & son-in-law that I care for outside until they get home from work. His name is Bo and he is my chicken wrangler. I have to laugh at that because he is as blind as a bat, but he is a good boy.
7. Anything you'd like to add?
I have so much to add, my journey here and my home life have been very blessed. My daughters, granddaughter, my Mom & myself have participated in 3 Relay For Life events & probably would still be doing it, but due to lack of community commitment in our area, they no longer do it.
We live in a very small community, fundraising can be so difficult (@campingshaws don't you know it) but our Team ~ Soul Sisters raised over $10,000.00 in donations that year for the American Cancer Society. We were honored with a trophy, but the most memorable thing about RFL for me was being on the track walking for 24 hours straight, seeing all the luminary bags for our loved ones that were lost to cancer or were survivors that had already beat it or were undergoing treatment for it. I walked 40 miles in that 24 hour period and I can honestly say that like those cancer patients that come up to that wall of darkness and don't think they can make it over it. We were there, I met that same wall that day, I didn't think I could walk another step because of my severely blistered & bloody feet, but I did. Like many survivors, just knowing that there is light at the end of the tunnel helps keep them going strong. It was many months of healing for my feet, but it was nothing compared to what so many people dear to me have endured.
It seems my life hobbies and such revolve around family, friends & food, LOL. In my younger years I was Owner, Operator & Baker for a From Scratch Bakery Distributing Company. I was working 18 hours a day, trying to be a mom to 2 teenagers, a wife, a homemaker & sleep in the other 6 hrs. As you can imagine it was not a good combination. I became very ill and was forced to shut down my business in order to try to get my heath going in the right direction. I still love to bake, but I just don't do it often anymore because I love to eat it too much. Unlike my dear friend @granny hatchet I find cooking & baking enjoyable for the most part. Sometimes it feels like the torture chamber that granny so lovingly refers to, but that is usually because my kitchen is so small & not user friendly.
And for those of you that live in TX @pertnear09 where there isn't any beans in your chili. I wouldn't recommend you come visit because here in the North we need those musical fruit to help keep us warm, LOL.
In June of 2016 hubby & I were invited to go on vacation in Tennessee with our oldest daughter & son-in-law. Wow, generous of them wasn't it. Just so happens that my daughters birthday fell right in the middle of our vacation. Her husband surprised her with a 4 person white water rafting adventure. My daughter, granddaughter & son-in-law would use 3 of the tickets but would leave one ticket remaining. I tried to convince hubby to go, but he really wasn't comfortable about the idea, so he volunteered me. Not certain what he was thinking lol, as I don't have that great of a life insurance policy on me. But we went with it none the less. It turned out to be a very exciting adventure that I know I would never have gotten if it hadn't been for my kids.I hope to do another some day.
Now I'm going to be wrapping this up soon, as I know some or most of you are probably bored silly. So in closing, I've saved the best for last. I can't thank Nifty & BYC enough for giving me the opportunity to meet and make some of the best friends of my life. Not only is BYC a wealth of knowledge & learning, but depending on your own comfort level it gives you a place to hangout & chat with other chicken keepers.
For me, BYC opened up an avenue of discovery and the joy of meeting some of my dear friends I've made at Grannys House (Granny's gone & done it again) in Random Ramblings. In June 2016 hubs & I were headed for Tennessee to meet up with our family for a much needed vacation. We drove seperate as we wanted to make a few unexpected visits. Our first stop was at Granny's, she had no idea we were even coming.
I knocked on her door & when CB answered the door I asked him if there was a granny hatchet & a chicken boy that lived there? He looked at me kinda funny, then Granny figured out who I was and started hugging me. She was so surprised, she was speachless and I've gotta tell you, it ain't often that @granny hatchet is speachless, lol. We had a wonderful visit with her & her family. They felt like family the minute we met, but it was late & we needed to keep moving on down the road. In tears we said our goodbyes with promises of coming back again some time when we could stay longer. That night we stayed in Madison, Indiana which was only 15 minutes from the Kentucky border. We were to be meeting up with our kids in Kentucky to stay one night until we could get into our cabin the next day in Tennessee. Once we hit Kentucky I got to looking at where we were staying the night & how close we were going to be to @Dannachic So I gave her a call & asked if she was up for some company. She said sure, so off we went.
Danna & her husband John were like family the minute we met. She came running out to the driveway and gave me the biggest hug. She holds a warm spot in my heart & I'm very sad that she doesn't get on BYC much anymore & I miss her dearly.
Hubby & I had a wonderful vacation with our family. Lots of special times with our grandkids making new memories. The day before we were supposed to leave the cabin hubby & I headed out for our next meet & greet. This one wasn't a surprise visit. I had been in kahoots with Red @rIrs roost about our vacation plans & the possibility of stopping to see Granny & Danna along the way. Hubby hadn't ever been over the Great Smoky Mountains so that's the direction we headed. I was in contact with Red all day giving him updates to our arrival time in NC. He made us a special steak dinner, it was waiting on the table when we arrived. Like Granny & Danna, Red felt like family the second we met. His better half Audrea@pearlharbor was still at work, but her 2 kids were there. About a half an hour later Audrea showed up. She ate, then we all headed off with them to do a bit of site seeing. They are such wonderful warm people. I miss my buddy Red, he doesn't get on BYC much anymore due to trouble with his hands. I still talk with him, but he was a hoot at grannys house.
I hope others on BYC have had the honor of meeting some of their friends they've made here. For the ones I have met, I love you dearly. For others that have become my friends over the years. It is my hope that I can meet a few more of you.
Thanks BYC for giving me the opportunity to share a little bit of myself with you all, ok ~ maybe a bit more than a little bit, Lol. My Motto ~ You only live once, grab on & make the most of what you've got.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/members/chickenlady2014.253849/
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
1. Tell us a bit more about yourself.
Hi, my name is Lisa. I was born, raised and currently live in Northern Michigan with my husband of almost 34 years.
I am a avid outdoors person, be it gardening, mowing, chicken chores or just having fun I want to be outside. Four years ago I started out with a few chickens and selling a dozen eggs here and there. In a very short time chicken math struck and not only did I have a very large number of birds for myself, but I was also hatching and brooding chicks for others. Hubby and I have always had a garden and I have always canned as much of our produce that I could for use throughout the year. All of the above moved me to the idea of starting a Cottage Business where I could sell eggs, my extra produce, honey, maple syrup and my jams and jellies. My husband repurposed an old kitchen cupboard into a very nicely built Farm Stand, we've grown and have had to add on to it 2 times.
Two years ago my husband built a very nice high tunnel/greenhouse to help extend our growing season.
It has helped a lot in that area. We are still waiting for our nights to warm a bit so I can move my plant seedlings out there.
Hubby and I have 2 grown daughters that are both married and our oldest daughter has blessed us with 3 beautiful grandchildren. They are the loves of my life, they've got their Nana wrapped around their little fingers.
2. Why and when did you start keeping chickens?
Up until my granddaughter was 12, I was her full-time nanny. It was at this time my daughter remarried and they moved a hour and a half away. My world came crashing down, up to that time I was so busy taking care of 2 homes and my granddaughter that there wasn't time to think of anything else. I felt so lost, I no longer felt needed or that I had a purpose in life. What was I going to do with all the spare time I now had? I went into a deep depression and that's when raising chickens came to mind. I researched and read everything I could get my hands on and that was when I stumbled on to this great site. The rest is history lol.
It was Jan 2014 and temperatures outside were a frosty 7* with -25* wind-chill factor. Where do you think my husband and I were? Why yes, out there in that nasty weather building our first coop. We have a total of 4 coops.
3. Which aspect(s) of chicken keeping do you enjoy the most?
I think that my most favorite aspect of chicken keeping has got to be the hatching of baby chicks. No matter how many times you hatch, the miracle of that tiny little chick working so hard to break through its shell never gets old.
I will have to say it's pretty tough picking between the joy of hatching {incubator} or watching broody Momma with her babies. I've had a couple favorite broody hens over the years. These girls were excellent moms, it was such a pleasure to watch them interact with their young. From the moment they hatched, momma was talking to them, teaching them to eat and drink by pecking and chirping a special sound. My Silkie Momma's had no hesitation about exposing their new babies to the cold weather either. I've learned over the past 4 years that chicks are a lot heartier than we first believed. I've had a Silkie Momma bring her 3 day old chicks outside when there was still snow on the ground, not on purpose mind you. She snuck out the pop door when I opened it to let the other adults out. These 2 gals were my favorite hens, Fiona is the white Silkie & Lil Bit the buff Silkie.
I would also like to add that hatching comes first, but my love of creating the best colored Easter basket is right up there. These are my current egg colors & I only hope to improve upon them.
4. Which members of your flock, past and present, stand out for you and why?
Fiona & Lil Bit were 2 of my all-time favorite hens, but I also had a couple roosters that were near & dear to my heart. The first rooster was a packing peanut from the hatchery I had ordered chicks from. I knew from the beginning that he was a keeper. Kazoo was a Sicilian Buttercup, he had spunk, pizazz & an attitude that kept you laughing. We didn't have an aviary net over the chicken run at the time and that little dude made certain to thumb his nose at me at every chance he got. Didn't matter if the run door was already open to allow the chickens out to free-range, he still felt the need to fly up on the top of the fence and crow before he jumped down to be with his ladies. This is Kazoo and there is a picture of him on the fence crowing above in the coop section.
Another all-time favorite of mine was my White Chantacler rooster named Ollie. He was my gentle giant and the best darn rooster to his girls, an excellent forager & protector. I cried so hard when I lost him to an advanced case of bumblefoot. I never even realized he had it on his foot until it was too late. After reading up on bumblefoot I realized that because he was so heavy that him jumping down from the top roost bar to the lower bar probably cause the bumble. Unfortunately the infection had already spread too far. R.I.P. Ollie Boy.
5. What was the funniest (chicken related) thing(s) that happened to you in your years as chicken owner?
What are some of my funniest chicken related antics. Hmm........... lets see here. When I first started into chicken keeping I had ordered a couple BR hens from a hatchery. One acted just like a normal chicken, but the other one was a pistol. I named her Nosie Rosie because no matter what I was doing, she had to be right in the middle of it. Didn't matter if I was just cleaning the poop boards, if I didn't stop to give her attention and pet her she would peck me. She had no qualms about pecking my glasses either. One day hubs and I were outside working on our 4th coop. I went in and made us some sandwiches for lunch. We were all nasty from working so we decided to eat outside in one of our favorite spots (Chicken TvLand or Smellavision) All the birds were out free-ranging except Nosie Rosie who was at my feet wanting to jump into my lap. I had repeatedly edged her back with my boot, but I wasn't paying close enough attention to her. So what did Miss Nosie do you ask? Well, peeved from the lack of my attention she decided just as I lifted my sandwich to my mouth that she was having some too, invited or not. It surprised the daylights out of us, she flew up in the air and swiped a chunk of my sandwich for herself. Hubs and I laughed so hard and before I could get that part of the sandwich broke off and given to her, she launched another attack. Managing to not only get another bite, but the whole sandwich as my lunch lay in the dirt at my feet.
Score 1 for Nosie Rosie, LOL.
6. Beside chickens, what other pets do you keep?
Besides chickens what other pets do I have you ask? Well due to a lot of allergies, I have virtual yaks with @twisted-acres-farm, Goats with @Sally Sunshine, Bunnies with@CapricornFarm Cats & dogs with @granny hatchet,@campingshaws, and @h2oratt. My newest virtual goats thru @AlleysChicks and @jane s chickens. I do have one shared dog with my daughter & son-in-law that I care for outside until they get home from work. His name is Bo and he is my chicken wrangler. I have to laugh at that because he is as blind as a bat, but he is a good boy.
7. Anything you'd like to add?
I have so much to add, my journey here and my home life have been very blessed. My daughters, granddaughter, my Mom & myself have participated in 3 Relay For Life events & probably would still be doing it, but due to lack of community commitment in our area, they no longer do it.
We live in a very small community, fundraising can be so difficult (@campingshaws don't you know it) but our Team ~ Soul Sisters raised over $10,000.00 in donations that year for the American Cancer Society. We were honored with a trophy, but the most memorable thing about RFL for me was being on the track walking for 24 hours straight, seeing all the luminary bags for our loved ones that were lost to cancer or were survivors that had already beat it or were undergoing treatment for it. I walked 40 miles in that 24 hour period and I can honestly say that like those cancer patients that come up to that wall of darkness and don't think they can make it over it. We were there, I met that same wall that day, I didn't think I could walk another step because of my severely blistered & bloody feet, but I did. Like many survivors, just knowing that there is light at the end of the tunnel helps keep them going strong. It was many months of healing for my feet, but it was nothing compared to what so many people dear to me have endured.
It seems my life hobbies and such revolve around family, friends & food, LOL. In my younger years I was Owner, Operator & Baker for a From Scratch Bakery Distributing Company. I was working 18 hours a day, trying to be a mom to 2 teenagers, a wife, a homemaker & sleep in the other 6 hrs. As you can imagine it was not a good combination. I became very ill and was forced to shut down my business in order to try to get my heath going in the right direction. I still love to bake, but I just don't do it often anymore because I love to eat it too much. Unlike my dear friend @granny hatchet I find cooking & baking enjoyable for the most part. Sometimes it feels like the torture chamber that granny so lovingly refers to, but that is usually because my kitchen is so small & not user friendly.
And for those of you that live in TX @pertnear09 where there isn't any beans in your chili. I wouldn't recommend you come visit because here in the North we need those musical fruit to help keep us warm, LOL.
In June of 2016 hubby & I were invited to go on vacation in Tennessee with our oldest daughter & son-in-law. Wow, generous of them wasn't it. Just so happens that my daughters birthday fell right in the middle of our vacation. Her husband surprised her with a 4 person white water rafting adventure. My daughter, granddaughter & son-in-law would use 3 of the tickets but would leave one ticket remaining. I tried to convince hubby to go, but he really wasn't comfortable about the idea, so he volunteered me. Not certain what he was thinking lol, as I don't have that great of a life insurance policy on me. But we went with it none the less. It turned out to be a very exciting adventure that I know I would never have gotten if it hadn't been for my kids.I hope to do another some day.
Now I'm going to be wrapping this up soon, as I know some or most of you are probably bored silly. So in closing, I've saved the best for last. I can't thank Nifty & BYC enough for giving me the opportunity to meet and make some of the best friends of my life. Not only is BYC a wealth of knowledge & learning, but depending on your own comfort level it gives you a place to hangout & chat with other chicken keepers.
For me, BYC opened up an avenue of discovery and the joy of meeting some of my dear friends I've made at Grannys House (Granny's gone & done it again) in Random Ramblings. In June 2016 hubs & I were headed for Tennessee to meet up with our family for a much needed vacation. We drove seperate as we wanted to make a few unexpected visits. Our first stop was at Granny's, she had no idea we were even coming.
I knocked on her door & when CB answered the door I asked him if there was a granny hatchet & a chicken boy that lived there? He looked at me kinda funny, then Granny figured out who I was and started hugging me. She was so surprised, she was speachless and I've gotta tell you, it ain't often that @granny hatchet is speachless, lol. We had a wonderful visit with her & her family. They felt like family the minute we met, but it was late & we needed to keep moving on down the road. In tears we said our goodbyes with promises of coming back again some time when we could stay longer. That night we stayed in Madison, Indiana which was only 15 minutes from the Kentucky border. We were to be meeting up with our kids in Kentucky to stay one night until we could get into our cabin the next day in Tennessee. Once we hit Kentucky I got to looking at where we were staying the night & how close we were going to be to @Dannachic So I gave her a call & asked if she was up for some company. She said sure, so off we went.
Danna & her husband John were like family the minute we met. She came running out to the driveway and gave me the biggest hug. She holds a warm spot in my heart & I'm very sad that she doesn't get on BYC much anymore & I miss her dearly.
Hubby & I had a wonderful vacation with our family. Lots of special times with our grandkids making new memories. The day before we were supposed to leave the cabin hubby & I headed out for our next meet & greet. This one wasn't a surprise visit. I had been in kahoots with Red @rIrs roost about our vacation plans & the possibility of stopping to see Granny & Danna along the way. Hubby hadn't ever been over the Great Smoky Mountains so that's the direction we headed. I was in contact with Red all day giving him updates to our arrival time in NC. He made us a special steak dinner, it was waiting on the table when we arrived. Like Granny & Danna, Red felt like family the second we met. His better half Audrea@pearlharbor was still at work, but her 2 kids were there. About a half an hour later Audrea showed up. She ate, then we all headed off with them to do a bit of site seeing. They are such wonderful warm people. I miss my buddy Red, he doesn't get on BYC much anymore due to trouble with his hands. I still talk with him, but he was a hoot at grannys house.
I hope others on BYC have had the honor of meeting some of their friends they've made here. For the ones I have met, I love you dearly. For others that have become my friends over the years. It is my hope that I can meet a few more of you.
Thanks BYC for giving me the opportunity to share a little bit of myself with you all, ok ~ maybe a bit more than a little bit, Lol. My Motto ~ You only live once, grab on & make the most of what you've got.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/members/chickenlady2014.253849/
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
, for letting us into your world!
