- Jun 28, 2011
- 39,162
- 27,208
- 1,302
Lisa, known to BYC members as math ace, has been a member of our community since December 2009. Another of our wonderful all rounders, she is known for her friendly advice and her beautiful flock of chickens.
1. Tell us a bit more about yourself.
I am a high school math teacher, hence the user name Math Ace. I've been married for so long that I don't even count the years anymore! We live in a small town located just outside Jacksonville, Florida. I like to fish, camp, cook, sew, garden and travel.
2. Why and when did you start keeping chickens?
Chickens are something that came into my life about 7 years ago. At first, I shared the cost of feed with a friend who took care of the chickens and we shared in the eggs. WOW, those were some of the best tasting eggs I had even eaten. After a couple of years, my friend had to move to a new home without chickens. Well, it was time to man up...Get some chickens of my own OR go back to eating store bought eggs. CHICKENS is what I decided to do.
I was pretty ignorant about chickens until that moment in my life. I quickly decided I needed to get an education. I checked out a ton of poultry books from the library AND found BYC on the internet. That is when the serious learning began. I learned a ton about general husbandry from folks like Dawg53. Plus, I was lucky enough to find some dedicated mentors ( cpartist, snowbird, and pinkchick) to educate me about the finer points of the SOP for various breeds that I was interested in. These people were so patient with me and all my questions!
3. Which members of your flock, past and present, stand out for you and why?
Birds that stand out.... TSUNAMI... That was the first rooster I bonded with. What a sweet gentle giant he was. I will find some pictures of this 9lb Black Copper Marans cock with the best mellow temperament you could ever ask for.
The next special bird is an easter egger hen with a cross beak. What makes her special is not the cross beak, but her temperament. She will stand at out feet and peck us if we don't hand feed her treats. She is so tame that she is every little child's favorite chicken because she just stands at their feet and waits to be picked up. I will post some pics of Wild Thing, the super friendly easter egger.
4. What was the funniest (chicken related) thing(s) that happened to you in your years as chicken owner?
Funny stories.... I just discovered that a couple of my hens really like beets. I was letting some of the hens free range in my garden. One day I was pulling grass out of my garden and in comes a hen. She makes a beeline straight to a beet and starts tearing into it. Then I discovered that she had already eaten several of my beets. NO MORE FREE RANGING IN MY GARDEN!
I've seen one of roosters chase a stray dog out of my yard. The rooster flew onto the dog's rump and rode it out of the yard. That was hilarious! This is one of my favorite roosters to this day. Since that stray dog attack, my entire yard has been fenced to protect the birds. I don't see any reason to test fate by leaving the birds at risk of predator attack.
5. Beside chickens, what other pets do you keep?
Total Pet Count.... 80 mature chickens, 60 baby chicks, 15 mollies (fish), 2 elderly pot belly pigs, and 1 young kitten! OBTW, when my husband built my first coop about 6 years ago, he told me I could get 10 chickens.. LOL...
6. Anything you'd like to add?
Before ending this interview, I would be remiss if I didn't mention what breeds I ended up selecting. After all the research, after visiting several chicken shows, after raising chickens from various breeds, I ended up with 4 main breeds. They are the Black Copper Marans, Buff Leghorns, Delawares, and Speckled Sussex. IMHO, the very best all around bird for egg production, egg size, meat bird, and personality is the Delaware.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/u/45875/math-ace
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.
I am a high school math teacher, hence the user name Math Ace. I've been married for so long that I don't even count the years anymore! We live in a small town located just outside Jacksonville, Florida. I like to fish, camp, cook, sew, garden and travel.
2. Why and when did you start keeping chickens?
Chickens are something that came into my life about 7 years ago. At first, I shared the cost of feed with a friend who took care of the chickens and we shared in the eggs. WOW, those were some of the best tasting eggs I had even eaten. After a couple of years, my friend had to move to a new home without chickens. Well, it was time to man up...Get some chickens of my own OR go back to eating store bought eggs. CHICKENS is what I decided to do.
I was pretty ignorant about chickens until that moment in my life. I quickly decided I needed to get an education. I checked out a ton of poultry books from the library AND found BYC on the internet. That is when the serious learning began. I learned a ton about general husbandry from folks like Dawg53. Plus, I was lucky enough to find some dedicated mentors ( cpartist, snowbird, and pinkchick) to educate me about the finer points of the SOP for various breeds that I was interested in. These people were so patient with me and all my questions!
3. Which members of your flock, past and present, stand out for you and why?
Birds that stand out.... TSUNAMI... That was the first rooster I bonded with. What a sweet gentle giant he was. I will find some pictures of this 9lb Black Copper Marans cock with the best mellow temperament you could ever ask for.
The next special bird is an easter egger hen with a cross beak. What makes her special is not the cross beak, but her temperament. She will stand at out feet and peck us if we don't hand feed her treats. She is so tame that she is every little child's favorite chicken because she just stands at their feet and waits to be picked up. I will post some pics of Wild Thing, the super friendly easter egger.
4. What was the funniest (chicken related) thing(s) that happened to you in your years as chicken owner?
Funny stories.... I just discovered that a couple of my hens really like beets. I was letting some of the hens free range in my garden. One day I was pulling grass out of my garden and in comes a hen. She makes a beeline straight to a beet and starts tearing into it. Then I discovered that she had already eaten several of my beets. NO MORE FREE RANGING IN MY GARDEN!
I've seen one of roosters chase a stray dog out of my yard. The rooster flew onto the dog's rump and rode it out of the yard. That was hilarious! This is one of my favorite roosters to this day. Since that stray dog attack, my entire yard has been fenced to protect the birds. I don't see any reason to test fate by leaving the birds at risk of predator attack.
5. Beside chickens, what other pets do you keep?
Total Pet Count.... 80 mature chickens, 60 baby chicks, 15 mollies (fish), 2 elderly pot belly pigs, and 1 young kitten! OBTW, when my husband built my first coop about 6 years ago, he told me I could get 10 chickens.. LOL...
6. Anything you'd like to add?
Before ending this interview, I would be remiss if I didn't mention what breeds I ended up selecting. After all the research, after visiting several chicken shows, after raising chickens from various breeds, I ended up with 4 main breeds. They are the Black Copper Marans, Buff Leghorns, Delawares, and Speckled Sussex. IMHO, the very best all around bird for egg production, egg size, meat bird, and personality is the Delaware.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/u/45875/math-ace
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
:
