Hi everyone! I’ve been a member since June 21st of last year, but despite this, I’ve never really introduced myself! Most of you know me by now, but I thought I’d share a little more.
(1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens?
I’m not new to chickens! In fact, I got my first flock back in April of 2017, when I was fresh into the world of poultry keeping. I had purchased 4 speckled Sussex pullets, and 2 pekin ducklings that winter and was very excited to start my journey. A year later I purchased 10 Barred Rock pullets and my first Cockerel, also a barred rock. Unfortunately he didn’t work out and so I gave him away pretty soon. Sadly, one of my original Pekins died, along with two of my SSs, both of those to hawks. I made my third order from Cackle Hatchery that spring, and soon I had two new ducklings, a silver appleyard and a welsh harlequin in the brooder. A while later I lost all but 4 of my birds and I was left to start over. I moved them to a more secure run, but lost one of those birds. I ordered 4 chicks the following year. It was the greatest thing that ever happened to me. I like my small flock much more than my old big flock because I can really bond with each individual. Now of course, this year my chicken and duck craze has caught up to me once more, and I have 4 ducklings to come in April!
Old flock:
(2) How many chickens do you have right now?
I have 7 beautiful chickens, and am adding 4 ducks to a separate flock this spring.
(3) What breeds do you have?
Great question! I have 2 Easter Eggers, 2 Barred Rocks (the last remaining from my big BR flock) 1 Lavender Orpington, 1 Silver Laced Wyandotte, and finally, 1 Speckled Sussex.
This is Joy! My only remaining chicken from my first ever flock. She is 4 years old but absolutely full of spunk. She went through a nasty case of EYP this summer, but I managed to help her get back to her normal self. She’s an absolute Joy to have around, I could never ask for a better friend.
Bubbles and Jokgu, my two remaining Barred Rocks from my batch of 11. I love them to pieces as they are so sweet and also great layers.
This is Opal! She’s a funny, quirky, curious, sweet, and adorable EE. Her personality is out of this world as she’s always exploring and just being to darn cute. She lays green eggs and I love her so much.
This is Jellybean! She was the first of my 4 pullers to start laying, and her eggs are a beautiful blue. She’s a super reliable layer too. She’s shy but gorgeous and I couldn’t ask for a better bird.
This is Valentine! Although her comb has looked this way since week 18 of her life, she didn’t start laying until she was around 30 weeks old! That earned her the kind old nickname of Liar Liar Comb On Fire! Of course, now that she does lay, she’s leaves me a nice brown egg every day, and is a wonderful girl to have around
This is Indigo! She’s a weird one, sweet and adorable. This picture is from when she was much younger. Now of course she has a huge healthy red comb.
(4) What are your favorite aspects of raising backyard chickens?
When I first got my chickens, I didn’t realize how much I would enjoy them. I had just moved to a 21 acre property and was looking for something to raise on it. The first years I wasn’t as interested, but recently I’ve grown strong bonds with my girls and we’re like best friends. During free resign time I sit on the ground with them and they take dust baths up against me. I’ve learned to “speak” their language by imitating their noises, and talk to them in my own language as if they’re people. My favorite aspect of keeping chickens is by far the enjoyment of their company.
(5) What are some of your other hobbies?
I have a lot of hobbies actually! From collecting fossils, four leaf clovers, and rocks, to photography, art, and dog training. Here are a few of my photos artwork and pics of my findings:
Photography
Artwork:
Pics of random hobbies:
Pics from an old house fire excavation I did.
(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share.
I have two sisters and a total of 14 pets. Ill attach pics of the animal fam later.
(7) Bonus: How did you find BYC, how long have you known about BYC, and what made you finally join our awesome community?
My aggressive google searches led me here a long time ago. I finally made an account last year when I had a few questions to ask about my new chicks.
I had so much fun introducing myself! I hope you enjoyed reading a little more about me
(1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens?
I’m not new to chickens! In fact, I got my first flock back in April of 2017, when I was fresh into the world of poultry keeping. I had purchased 4 speckled Sussex pullets, and 2 pekin ducklings that winter and was very excited to start my journey. A year later I purchased 10 Barred Rock pullets and my first Cockerel, also a barred rock. Unfortunately he didn’t work out and so I gave him away pretty soon. Sadly, one of my original Pekins died, along with two of my SSs, both of those to hawks. I made my third order from Cackle Hatchery that spring, and soon I had two new ducklings, a silver appleyard and a welsh harlequin in the brooder. A while later I lost all but 4 of my birds and I was left to start over. I moved them to a more secure run, but lost one of those birds. I ordered 4 chicks the following year. It was the greatest thing that ever happened to me. I like my small flock much more than my old big flock because I can really bond with each individual. Now of course, this year my chicken and duck craze has caught up to me once more, and I have 4 ducklings to come in April!
Old flock:
(2) How many chickens do you have right now?
I have 7 beautiful chickens, and am adding 4 ducks to a separate flock this spring.
(3) What breeds do you have?
Great question! I have 2 Easter Eggers, 2 Barred Rocks (the last remaining from my big BR flock) 1 Lavender Orpington, 1 Silver Laced Wyandotte, and finally, 1 Speckled Sussex.
This is Joy! My only remaining chicken from my first ever flock. She is 4 years old but absolutely full of spunk. She went through a nasty case of EYP this summer, but I managed to help her get back to her normal self. She’s an absolute Joy to have around, I could never ask for a better friend.
Bubbles and Jokgu, my two remaining Barred Rocks from my batch of 11. I love them to pieces as they are so sweet and also great layers.
This is Opal! She’s a funny, quirky, curious, sweet, and adorable EE. Her personality is out of this world as she’s always exploring and just being to darn cute. She lays green eggs and I love her so much.
This is Jellybean! She was the first of my 4 pullers to start laying, and her eggs are a beautiful blue. She’s a super reliable layer too. She’s shy but gorgeous and I couldn’t ask for a better bird.
This is Valentine! Although her comb has looked this way since week 18 of her life, she didn’t start laying until she was around 30 weeks old! That earned her the kind old nickname of Liar Liar Comb On Fire! Of course, now that she does lay, she’s leaves me a nice brown egg every day, and is a wonderful girl to have around
This is Indigo! She’s a weird one, sweet and adorable. This picture is from when she was much younger. Now of course she has a huge healthy red comb.
(4) What are your favorite aspects of raising backyard chickens?
When I first got my chickens, I didn’t realize how much I would enjoy them. I had just moved to a 21 acre property and was looking for something to raise on it. The first years I wasn’t as interested, but recently I’ve grown strong bonds with my girls and we’re like best friends. During free resign time I sit on the ground with them and they take dust baths up against me. I’ve learned to “speak” their language by imitating their noises, and talk to them in my own language as if they’re people. My favorite aspect of keeping chickens is by far the enjoyment of their company.
(5) What are some of your other hobbies?
I have a lot of hobbies actually! From collecting fossils, four leaf clovers, and rocks, to photography, art, and dog training. Here are a few of my photos artwork and pics of my findings:
Photography
Artwork:
Pics of random hobbies:
Pics from an old house fire excavation I did.
(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share.
I have two sisters and a total of 14 pets. Ill attach pics of the animal fam later.
(7) Bonus: How did you find BYC, how long have you known about BYC, and what made you finally join our awesome community?
My aggressive google searches led me here a long time ago. I finally made an account last year when I had a few questions to ask about my new chicks.
I had so much fun introducing myself! I hope you enjoyed reading a little more about me
