BYC Member Interview - fowltemptress

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N F C said:
@fowltemptress


Come say hello to @fowltemptress who comes to us by way of Texas, and has been a member since January 2008.​



1. Tell us a bit more about yourself. And is there a story behind your member name?
I was born in Texas and grew up with cattle, horses, and honest to goodness cowboys and cowgirls. My mother said she'd always wanted a daughter because she dreamed of riding in trail rides, barrel racing, and doing all the things with her she'd done with her own mother growing up. As luck would have it, though, her only daughter wound up having poultry and not horses in her blood, heart and head. As the rest of the family was saddling up, I could be found in the coop with the chooks, sitting on the roosting bars and pretending to be one of the chickens. I don't live in Texas any more, and I've been slowly learning how to survive in environments that actually experience cold and in houses that actually have basements. I love camping, board games, and cooking with lots of spice.

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Playing a board game about spices with poultry; it's the best of all worlds.

I've always loved puns and poultry, so fowl temptress seemed a natural fit for me.


2. Why and when did you start keeping poultry?
I've been around chickens for as long as I can remember; I was my grandmother's go-to grandkid for all the chickeny chores. As mentioned previously, one of my favorite things to do on the family ranch was to play in the coop, pretending to be a chicken. I remember getting in trouble once for dragging some blankets in there to make a "nest." I had a white balloon that I filled with water and pretended was my egg. My grandmother was horrified and disgusted that I'd set her good blankets down in the coop amongst the chicken poop, but I don't recall ever being punished for it.

When I was six my mother set me up with one of those styrofoam Little Giant incubators and some duck eggs, showed me how to turn the eggs and add water to the incubator, and then she left me to it.

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I took my job seriously, and every single one of those eggs wound up hatching. I felt immensely important, being responsible for those ducks' lives back then. I always loved birds, but I think that first batch of ducks I hatched and cared for entirely on my own cemented my fate as a poultry keeper. I still have and use that old incubator.

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My very first batch of ducks - I was so proud!


3. Which aspects of poultry keeping do you enjoy the most?
I love simply watching the birds be birds. Every time I go outside for any reason it's almost guaranteed I'll get distracted watching a chicken dust bathe, a guinea hunting grasshoppers, a goose grazing, muscovies fighting, etc. There are a million things to do on a daily basis, but I could forget them all and waste hours upon hours watching my birds and learning their habits.


4. Which members of your flock, past and present, stand out for you and why?
Tex, my buff American gander, is my favorite. He follows me about the property, inspecting everything I do and making sure I don't get myself into trouble. He often tries to rescue me from the scary white buckets I use for hauling around supplies. One time when I fell and really hurt myself, he stood over me making those soft noises ganders make to goslings until my husband found me and was able to help me. Tex was a very calming presence in that moment.

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5. What was the funniest poultry related thing that has happened to you in your years as an owner?
I had a hen once, Nefertini, who unbeknownst to me had learned to use our doggy door. I had a bowl of eggs on the kitchen table during that time, and it seemed to me there was something always off about how many eggs I thought were in the bowl, and how many there actually were. Then one day I watched in amazement as Nefertini entered the kitchen and marched across the floor like a bird on a mission, hopping up to the table and settling into the bowl to add another egg.

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6. Beside poultry, what other pets do you keep?
Currently I have a couple rabbits, two dogs, two scorpions, a flying squirrel, and a cockatiel. We had so many animals growing up that it feels a little odd to me, having so few species as pets.

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7. Anything you'd like to add?
Emus! Oh, you meant about myself? Not really. I'm very grateful to BYC and everything I've learned through this community. Also, more goofy goose photos, because they crack me up and there aren't enough geese pictures in existence.

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@fowltemptress

For more information about the interview feature and a complete list of member interviews:
introducing-vip-member-interviews​
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Your floofers looks sooooo soft. i love them. Thanks for sharing!
 

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