- Jun 16, 2011
- 39
- 2
- 24
Hey everybody! I'm probably going to be spending a fair bit of time on here due to my new hobby, so introductions are in order!
I'm Cab! Ever since I was a little boy, I've always been crazy about animals. Reptiles, Cats, Dogs, Fish, you name it. I was a handful for my ever-patient mom... Every sort of critter I could scrounge up in our suburban neighborhood was fair game for watching, following, and in the case of many terrified frogs and snakes; capturing. Even turned our house into a my own personal butterfly show one day while mom was napping... Imagine her surprise when she woke up to a crying child and a bunch of dead butterflies all over the house who couldn't handle the air conditioning!
Needless to say... Somehow my heart was just born to beat for critters! Well anyways, when I was about 7, my mom decided to satisfy my love for interesting animals once and for all by getting me a flock of little pet chickens! Sadly, she and her family didnt really see the fowl as pets, so they weren't taken as close of care as they should have been. Half of the original six died from having the light on them too hot for too long...
The three that lived were the sweetest little pets I could ever have had. I especially loved the Gingernut Ranger(some sort of mix breed I have read?) they had put in our straight-run... her intelligence and love for sitting on my shoulder quickly made her my favorite pet of all. Sadly, the summer ended, and we had to transfer them to my cousins farm out in the country. Not only was my heart broken, but that year, we found out that our town was banning pet farm fowl for one reason or another. I grew up missing the experience greatly.
Last year, however, the ban was lifted when a local lady fought hard and made pet flocks under 50 birds legal!
So two days ago I went to the hatchery and got two Barred Plymouth Rocks, a Buff Orpington, a Speckled Sussex, a Jersey Giant, and a Silver-Laced Wyandotte. Wouldnt you know it, I guess all the talking I did about the old days with the chickens really got people interested in it.... when I came home that day, the phone rang off the hook from friends who wanted to meet the ladies!
We have few predators in the area, as indicated by the wealth of birds, squirrels, and rabbits that roam about like there's no tomorrow. Our backyard has both a dusty area under a couple trees, and a larger grassy area with lots of sun and room, as well as an unused wooden shed that I'm going to convert into a suitable henhouse. Not only that, but a 7-foot tall wooden fence barred by metal poles at the gate and reinforced near the ground was already put in place around our back yard to protect our little yorkshire terrier-poodle mix from getting mauled by leash-unaware idiots. Also, our two shetland sheepdogs love chickens and in the old days, they're mom would protect the chickens like any sheepdog protects a flock.
The overall affect is that I'm blessed with the good luck of having an already perfect backyard for the job, but friends and family who are just as happy about the chickens as I am... Though perhaps their true motivation is eggs!
Long story short, I have been waiting for this a long time, and am ecstatic to say I'm entering the world of Backyard Chickens! my first question is... Where can I find a quick guide to all the crazy abbreviations that are tossed out casually here?!
I'm Cab! Ever since I was a little boy, I've always been crazy about animals. Reptiles, Cats, Dogs, Fish, you name it. I was a handful for my ever-patient mom... Every sort of critter I could scrounge up in our suburban neighborhood was fair game for watching, following, and in the case of many terrified frogs and snakes; capturing. Even turned our house into a my own personal butterfly show one day while mom was napping... Imagine her surprise when she woke up to a crying child and a bunch of dead butterflies all over the house who couldn't handle the air conditioning!
Needless to say... Somehow my heart was just born to beat for critters! Well anyways, when I was about 7, my mom decided to satisfy my love for interesting animals once and for all by getting me a flock of little pet chickens! Sadly, she and her family didnt really see the fowl as pets, so they weren't taken as close of care as they should have been. Half of the original six died from having the light on them too hot for too long...
The three that lived were the sweetest little pets I could ever have had. I especially loved the Gingernut Ranger(some sort of mix breed I have read?) they had put in our straight-run... her intelligence and love for sitting on my shoulder quickly made her my favorite pet of all. Sadly, the summer ended, and we had to transfer them to my cousins farm out in the country. Not only was my heart broken, but that year, we found out that our town was banning pet farm fowl for one reason or another. I grew up missing the experience greatly.
Last year, however, the ban was lifted when a local lady fought hard and made pet flocks under 50 birds legal!
So two days ago I went to the hatchery and got two Barred Plymouth Rocks, a Buff Orpington, a Speckled Sussex, a Jersey Giant, and a Silver-Laced Wyandotte. Wouldnt you know it, I guess all the talking I did about the old days with the chickens really got people interested in it.... when I came home that day, the phone rang off the hook from friends who wanted to meet the ladies!
We have few predators in the area, as indicated by the wealth of birds, squirrels, and rabbits that roam about like there's no tomorrow. Our backyard has both a dusty area under a couple trees, and a larger grassy area with lots of sun and room, as well as an unused wooden shed that I'm going to convert into a suitable henhouse. Not only that, but a 7-foot tall wooden fence barred by metal poles at the gate and reinforced near the ground was already put in place around our back yard to protect our little yorkshire terrier-poodle mix from getting mauled by leash-unaware idiots. Also, our two shetland sheepdogs love chickens and in the old days, they're mom would protect the chickens like any sheepdog protects a flock.
The overall affect is that I'm blessed with the good luck of having an already perfect backyard for the job, but friends and family who are just as happy about the chickens as I am... Though perhaps their true motivation is eggs!
Long story short, I have been waiting for this a long time, and am ecstatic to say I'm entering the world of Backyard Chickens! my first question is... Where can I find a quick guide to all the crazy abbreviations that are tossed out casually here?!
