Isaac O
Come say hello to @Isaac 0! Isaac has been a member since July 2016 and comes to us from the great state of Iowa.
1. Tell us a bit more about yourself.
Hi! My name is Isaac, hence the username, and, yes, that is spelled with one S. I was born and raised in eastern Iowa, and still, continue to live hear regardless that is most likely the most boring state you will come by unless you find corn and soybean fields pretty, I'm in the part of Iowa known as the "southern Drift Plain" which basically means if you were to step onto a chair you could see for about two hundred miles (No kidding! It's flatter then a pancake). For an occupation, I am a part-time worker for the department of natural resources, I am also a self-employed landscaper which won't last too long before I end up breaking my back. If I'm not on BYC or tending to the poultry you may see me doing carpentry work, gardening, kayaking, hunting, fishing, boating, or taking a nice long walk out in the timber. As a "third job" you might say, I sell just about every vegetable you can name, propagate a various amount of trees/shrubs evergreens, willow, viburnums and etc, and sell them in the drive or at the local farmers market. I very much enjoy gardening.
2. Why and when did you start keeping poultry?
My Grandpa and Grandma actually had some Chickens and Geese when they were young, so I was already partially familiar with raising poultry, but many years after this, as with many, the idea of having fresh eggs from happy healthy hens was intriguing, so you just get a few, a few more, and maybe just a few more, and then by no time you are a crazy lunatic chicken/duck/goose keeper. I got around eleven chickens in 2015, Ducks in 2016, Geese in 2017, Currently, I believe I have around sixty-five ish birds (I think), most of which are Call Ducks who like to keep me busy constantly finding there "secret nesting spot" the rest of which are basically free-loading slacker's that only pop out a few eggs every two weeks.
3. Which aspects of poultry keeping do you enjoy the most?
Incubating, Is one of my favorites, it still and will always amaze me that you can throw some eggs into this machine and out pops some ducklings, and then watching them grow into beautiful birds, there is nothing more fun and rewarding, but I think just sitting down in a lawn chair on a warm summer day and just watching the animals wander around the yard has to be the most relaxing thing you can ask for, that is the main reason I continue to keep and expand my flock.....although I would appreciate a little bit eggs once and a while (cough, cough).
4. Which members of your flock, past and present, stand out for you, and why?
This is a tough one as most of my birds have their own little story, but If I were to choose one it'd be a chicken I named Flower. It was my earlier years of keeping chickens, I'm sure some of you can relate, so when a summer storm was approaching, I frantically rushed all the birds into the coop, mainly so I didn't have to get wet, once I got everybody in I started counting to make sure everyone was there, I had 13 chickens at the time, and I kept counting 12, counted again, counted again, and then It finally hit me one of the chickens was still outside, even though I was reluctant to go searching for a chicken at the beginning of summer storm, I did a quick walk around the property to no avail, there wasn't much I could do, so I did a further search the next morning, couldn't find her, did a little search the next day to no avail. The third day, I was out on the patio when I saw a Black Plastic Flowerpot start to move, mind you this was in the morning, the wind was as still as it could be, after staring at the moving pot for a while, I realized I wasn't hallucinating, so I went over lifted the pot up, and out popped flower. She had been stuck in that pot for 2 and 1/2 days during mid-July in Iowa where the temp was getting 85F during the day and the humidity was high enough you felt like you were swimming in mid-air. My hypotheses how she got in there was either the winds of the summer storm lifted the pot and fell onto of her, or she flew onto the edge of the pot and it flipped over(More likely). She continued to live a healthy/happy life until she passed a year ago due to laying complications.
Flower sunbathing on the left,
5. What was the funniest poultry related thing that happened to you in your years as an owner?
I don't have any funny story that sticks out from the rest, So many antics go around the yard it's hard to keep count. In the moment it was not funny at all, but looking back I think its absolutely hilarious the number of times I've crushed eggs whilst in my pocket.
6. Besides poultry, what other pets do you keep?
Kept horses and donkeys in the past, but as of now, I have my Chickens, Ducks, Geese, one Schnoodle, and a Schnauzer.
7. Anything you'd like to add?
I have really valued my time here on BYC, I have learned so much, and have been able to help a few people along the way, I want to say thank you to everybody who has made BYC a fun and informative place to be.
@Isaac 0
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
Always enjoy reading other's adventures in poultry.
