BYC Member Interview - StinkyAcres

Pics
Date sort Score sort
N F C

N F C

Moderator
BYC Staff
Premium Feather Member
11 Years
Dec 12, 2013
138,969
738,973
2,392
KY
@StinkyAcres


Come say hello to StinkyAcres who comes to us from Vermont and has been a member since July 2017.​



1. Tell us a bit more about yourself. And is there a story behind your member name?
I am a self-employed pet portrait artist. I’ve been drawing animals, mainly dogs, since I was a toddler. I’ve always loved animals and I remember begging my parents to get a dog when I was a kid. We did finally get a dog and my love for animals grew.
Screen Shot 2024-07-12 at 5.25.27 AM.png


We live on a beautiful piece of land that attracts so much wildlife and I try to keep it that way. We’ve counted over 160 species of wild birds just in our yard. Deer, foxes, bobcats, and other wild animals safely roam our property daily.

Stinky Acres Farm is the unofficial name my family came up with for our small hobby farm. We thought it was fitting and funny as the smell from the barn and compost pile wafts across the yard.

My other hobbies include photography, birding, flower gardening, and woodworking. My hobbies are often intertwined; I enjoy building things for my poultry, gardens, and the wild birds, and photographing all of them.
Screen Shot 2024-07-12 at 7.11.45 PM.png

My workshop garden with an old-fashioned well planter and wheelbarrow I designed and built (I built the shutters on my workshop too)


2. Why and when did you start keeping poultry?
My parents started the hobby farm in 2009. We got five pet goats, three lambs for meat, and ten chickens for eggs. I think they not only wanted the animals for food and entertainment, but they also wanted their kids to learn to care for animals and be responsible. Alas, I am the only one out of all of my siblings who continues to be interested in keeping farm animals.
Screen Shot 2024-07-12 at 5.27.34 AM.png



3. Which aspects of poultry keeping do you enjoy the most?
I love watching them. It’s just so relaxing being outdoors watching my happy chickens and ducks forage and preen and enjoy themselves. I talk to them too, of course, and they quietly talk back to me and talk amongst themselves. I have found that chickens are some of the easiest living things for me to talk to. I have the evening shift and I enjoy saying goodnight to all of them after checking them over on the roosts and stroking their soft feathers.


4. Which members of your flock, past and present, stand out for you and why?
I once helped a guinea keet hatch. Knowing that guineas are not great parents, I decided to take an egg that had pipped from the nest. I had no incubator so I wrapped it in damp paper towels and placed it under a heat lamp. I sat beside it for what seemed like hours. I talked to the keet inside and it would respond and let me know it was still alive. It hatched successfully and I took a keet that had already hatched out of the nest to give it company. I named them Charlie and Jamie.
Screen Shot 2024-07-12 at 5.29.31 AM.png

Jamie and Charlie

In the early days we had a Black Star hen we named Meanie #1 who began growing spurs and crowing at 3 years old. We nicknamed her “Super Chicken” because she survived several predator attacks unscathed.

Meanie #2, our other Black Star, was also very memorable – she had her head nearly twisted off by a raccoon, was bittern by a dog, and survived fly strike. She was just so docile and adorable through it all.
Screen Shot 2024-07-12 at 5.30.23 AM.png

Meanie #2 and Meanie #1


5. What was the funniest poultry related thing that has happened to you in your years as an owner?
Ducks. Ducks were one of the funniest things to happen to me. I didn’t realize Muscovy were so amusing until I acquired four in 2023. Their antics and arguments seem to make no sense and it’s hilarious.
Screen Shot 2024-07-12 at 5.31.20 AM.png



6. Beside poultry, what other pets do you keep?
We currently have two dogs, a sheep, a snake, a chameleon, two tarantulas, and hundreds of cockroaches.
Screen Shot 2024-07-12 at 5.32.27 AM.png

Screen Shot 2024-07-12 at 5.32.58 AM.png



7. Anything you'd like to add?
BYC is THE place to learn all things poultry. I am so glad I found this forum and have learned so much just by scrolling through the threads. Thank you to all who have shared your knowledge and experiences and to the BYC staff for making it all possible.



@StinkyAcres

For more information about the interview feature and a complete list of member interviews:
introducing-vip-member-interviews​
 
Last edited:
WOW! I am so very impressed with your farm and your incredible talent at animal portraits. I may have to hit you up for one!

I, too, grew up on a farm so I know the connection you had and retained. I am also the only one out of my siblings that has continued to own farm animals.

I'm glad to know you better. Thanks for doing the interview.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom