Hi BYC Folks! I've been frequenting, and thankful, for this site, its community and advice for years, but am just now getting around to an intro.
(1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens? - I grew up in far northern California in the 70s-90s and we had an ongoing flock of chickens during those 20 years, sometimes numbering up to 30. It took a long time to get back to the life style I wanted, and I/we finally got chickens again four years ago.
(2) How many chickens do you have right now? We have 15 - 5 of which are roosters. We keep the peace by having a divided coop (4 boys on one side, head roo and girls on the other) and alternate free range days.
(3) What breeds do you have? Welsummer, cochin, wyandotte and one that was "supposed" to be a wyandotte but we suspect is actually an ameraucana. We let two hens hatch out broods and now we have some beautiful crosses - welsummer/wyandotte, welsummer/cochin and welsummer/ameraucana.
(4) What are your favorite aspects of raising backyard chickens? Chickens make for good friends.
(5) What are some of your other hobbies? Organic gardening, herbalism, I'm certified in California Natural History and lead hikes on edible and medicinal plants.
(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share. My husband, daughter and I rent a small converted barn on a horse ranch in Sonoma County. It's a beautiful place to live, but since 2017 we've also lived in the shadow of wildfires...the Tubbs/Nun and Kincade especially. This past October our entire town was evacuated, and we loaded all 15 chickens into carriers in the back of my little toyota at 4am and drove to safety. I'm a therapist by profession, and work with wildfire survivors. I'm also an herbalist and use integrated health management for our flock with some good successes, at some point I hope to share what I've learned here.
(7) Bonus: How did you find BYC, how long have you known about BYC, and what made you finally join our awesome community?
BYC always showed up whenever I did a google search for chicken health problems, and has long been my go-to for advice and support. Thanks so much everyone!
(1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens? - I grew up in far northern California in the 70s-90s and we had an ongoing flock of chickens during those 20 years, sometimes numbering up to 30. It took a long time to get back to the life style I wanted, and I/we finally got chickens again four years ago.
(2) How many chickens do you have right now? We have 15 - 5 of which are roosters. We keep the peace by having a divided coop (4 boys on one side, head roo and girls on the other) and alternate free range days.
(3) What breeds do you have? Welsummer, cochin, wyandotte and one that was "supposed" to be a wyandotte but we suspect is actually an ameraucana. We let two hens hatch out broods and now we have some beautiful crosses - welsummer/wyandotte, welsummer/cochin and welsummer/ameraucana.
(4) What are your favorite aspects of raising backyard chickens? Chickens make for good friends.
(5) What are some of your other hobbies? Organic gardening, herbalism, I'm certified in California Natural History and lead hikes on edible and medicinal plants.
(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share. My husband, daughter and I rent a small converted barn on a horse ranch in Sonoma County. It's a beautiful place to live, but since 2017 we've also lived in the shadow of wildfires...the Tubbs/Nun and Kincade especially. This past October our entire town was evacuated, and we loaded all 15 chickens into carriers in the back of my little toyota at 4am and drove to safety. I'm a therapist by profession, and work with wildfire survivors. I'm also an herbalist and use integrated health management for our flock with some good successes, at some point I hope to share what I've learned here.
(7) Bonus: How did you find BYC, how long have you known about BYC, and what made you finally join our awesome community?
BYC always showed up whenever I did a google search for chicken health problems, and has long been my go-to for advice and support. Thanks so much everyone!
Lovely introduction. That picture is too funny.
