- Jun 28, 2011
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Wisher1000 has been a member of our community since March 2010. One of our wonderful "old timers", she is known for her friendliness and good advice.
1. Tell us a bit more about yourself.
I live in Tuscaloosa County in Alabama. I am a retired police officer and I have a wonderful husband, a married daughter, two granddaughters, and three teenage sons. I enjoy lots of different activities from raising chickens to reading. I love to draw, paint, and craft but I have little time for that. I have a garden of vegetables and flowers and I love to grow fruit trees. I have been a clogger and an assembly line worker. I have been the manager of a pet shop and a groomer. I have worked in a kennel, given horse back riding instructions and taught kids about the dangers of drugs, and about making good decisions. I love to travel and I love making friends. Currently, I have a part time job delivering nuts and candies for a local candy business. It gets me out of my night gown.
2. Why and when did you start keeping chickens?
I got my love of chickens from my maternal grandmother. She always had chicken decor and would entertain me with stories about the hens and chicks she adored as a child. Her stories taught me about the habits of chickens which she had learned through keen observation and delighted fascination. I got my first chicks when I was just a child and have had them on and off ever since.
3. Which aspect(s) of chicken keeping do you enjoy the most?
The part that I like the most about the chicken hobby is selective breeding. It gives me a great deal of satisfaction to take a few birds and work with them until I see better birds produced than the ones in the previous generation(s.) It is both challenging and rewarding. The natural extension of selective breeding is showing. I travel to several large poultry shows to give my breed more exposure and to fellowship with other breeders. I have found that the best information comes from the experienced "old timers" in the hobby who only share their knowledge through word of mouth and only if you are truly willing to learn.
4. Which members of your flock, past and present, stand out for you and why?
One of my favorite birds was a hatchery quality production red hen named Henrietta. I named her after my mom because shortly after my mom passed away, she started coming to the house (several hundred feet from the coop and chicken yard) to look in the windows of the house. I assumed she was checking to see if I was keeping up with my housework now that Mom was not around to do it.
5. What was the funniest (chicken related) thing(s) that happened to you in your years as chicken owner?
My breed of choice is the Silver Campine. They are a Belgium land race breed and have been around for centuries. I was hauling several crates of half grown Campines to a breeding partner for a swap. We agreed to meet in Shreveport, LA because that was roughly half way between us. I was feeding and watering my birds in the back of my van when a bright yellow sports car pulled up behind me. It parked and the driver was about to go in to the hotel lobby when she stopped and stared at the birds. I assumed it must seem strange to someone else to have a minivan full of chickens. I was a bit amused and about to say something when she said, "Excuse me. Are those baby eagles?"
6. Beside chickens, what other pets do you keep?
I have had a great variety of animals in my care. I have had lots of dogs, a few cats, horses, donkeys, chickens, guineas, rabbits, squirrels, rats, mice, gerbils, hermit crabs, tropical fish, tropical birds, and once, a tiger! It was not mine, but belonged to a friend and I "tiger sat" when he was out of town.
7. Anything you'd like to add?
I have made a lot of good friends on BYC and have even met several IRL. This is a wonderful community and a valuable resource.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/members/wisher1000.52775/
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 live in Tuscaloosa County in Alabama. I am a retired police officer and I have a wonderful husband, a married daughter, two granddaughters, and three teenage sons. I enjoy lots of different activities from raising chickens to reading. I love to draw, paint, and craft but I have little time for that. I have a garden of vegetables and flowers and I love to grow fruit trees. I have been a clogger and an assembly line worker. I have been the manager of a pet shop and a groomer. I have worked in a kennel, given horse back riding instructions and taught kids about the dangers of drugs, and about making good decisions. I love to travel and I love making friends. Currently, I have a part time job delivering nuts and candies for a local candy business. It gets me out of my night gown.
2. Why and when did you start keeping chickens?
I got my love of chickens from my maternal grandmother. She always had chicken decor and would entertain me with stories about the hens and chicks she adored as a child. Her stories taught me about the habits of chickens which she had learned through keen observation and delighted fascination. I got my first chicks when I was just a child and have had them on and off ever since.
3. Which aspect(s) of chicken keeping do you enjoy the most?
The part that I like the most about the chicken hobby is selective breeding. It gives me a great deal of satisfaction to take a few birds and work with them until I see better birds produced than the ones in the previous generation(s.) It is both challenging and rewarding. The natural extension of selective breeding is showing. I travel to several large poultry shows to give my breed more exposure and to fellowship with other breeders. I have found that the best information comes from the experienced "old timers" in the hobby who only share their knowledge through word of mouth and only if you are truly willing to learn.
4. Which members of your flock, past and present, stand out for you and why?
One of my favorite birds was a hatchery quality production red hen named Henrietta. I named her after my mom because shortly after my mom passed away, she started coming to the house (several hundred feet from the coop and chicken yard) to look in the windows of the house. I assumed she was checking to see if I was keeping up with my housework now that Mom was not around to do it.
5. What was the funniest (chicken related) thing(s) that happened to you in your years as chicken owner?
My breed of choice is the Silver Campine. They are a Belgium land race breed and have been around for centuries. I was hauling several crates of half grown Campines to a breeding partner for a swap. We agreed to meet in Shreveport, LA because that was roughly half way between us. I was feeding and watering my birds in the back of my van when a bright yellow sports car pulled up behind me. It parked and the driver was about to go in to the hotel lobby when she stopped and stared at the birds. I assumed it must seem strange to someone else to have a minivan full of chickens. I was a bit amused and about to say something when she said, "Excuse me. Are those baby eagles?"
6. Beside chickens, what other pets do you keep?
I have had a great variety of animals in my care. I have had lots of dogs, a few cats, horses, donkeys, chickens, guineas, rabbits, squirrels, rats, mice, gerbils, hermit crabs, tropical fish, tropical birds, and once, a tiger! It was not mine, but belonged to a friend and I "tiger sat" when he was out of town.
7. Anything you'd like to add?
I have made a lot of good friends on BYC and have even met several IRL. This is a wonderful community and a valuable resource.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/members/wisher1000.52775/
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
