Hi. I forgot to introduce myself earlier when I came here, registered, and posted a panicky post about a sick chicken of mine. So here's the official press release because now I'm not panicking.
(1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens?
Had chickens as a teenager and loved them. Then, as an adult, my sister and I were going to have a few chickens as a project, but she ended up moving after she got them so they all came to me. I started (in Las Vegas, NV) with her flock of ten chickens; two died, had to slaughter the two meaties, got two more layers from a friend, lost three to a windstorm and a pond, and then I moved to Utah.
(2) How many chickens do you have right now?
And then I got 26 more chicks in the mail and a flock of eight from a friend. Of the adults, one from my original flock turned up missing (my favorite one
- she used to ride on my shoulder) and one from the new flock I lost to an unknown illness. Of the 26 chicks, I lost five. So I have, at last count, 21 chicks almost 11 weeks old, one rooster, and ten adult / laying hens.
(3) What breeds do you have?
4 white leghorns (Sir Soupington, Rose, TwinkleToes, MudButt)
1 red sex link ('Rina; her sister, the one who sat on my shoulder, was Zelda)
1 black australorpe (Oz)
1 barred rock (Petty - because she likes pets (the kids named her))
1 dark cornish (Chickie; her sister, one we lost, was named Bickie)
3 black rocks (??) (they're all the Triple Chocolate Brownies because we can't tell them apart)
5 buff orpingtons (Puffy, Buffy, Muffy, Duffy, and Scruffy)
9 aurucanas (Beyoncegg, Valkin, Shadow, and six unnamed ones)
6 silver laced wyandottes (we haven't named these guys yet; they're too hard to tell apart right now)
1 pearl white leghorn (Snowflake; the only chick of her breed to survive from the hatchery, so she's unique)
(4) How did you find out about BackYardChickens.com?
Always went to it for help and information; finally decided to join when I had more than a handful of chickens.
(5) What are some of your other hobbies?
Goats, reading, building fences, painting actual paintings, reading, writing, craft stuff, and strange taxidermy projects. Oh, and reading.
(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share.
This farm I have now has five acres. I've cut one off by fence for the chickens and goats to roam in; everyone would be free-range on the whole property except that the goats have jumped on the hood of my truck more than once and I really would love to have a garden one day. The last thing I planted - even with the chicken wire over the top of it - was almost immediately trampled and eaten and then used for dirt bathing. The goats were in cahoots with the chickens for that one.
I have two boys (ages 4 and 6). I have one husband who kicks back in his urn on my nightstand. We have one cat (Muffin) who tolerates and ignores most of the other animals. We have two goat wethers (PJ and Clyde). We also have 61 fish, nine red-eared slider turtles, two bearded dragons (Face & Renji), and a countless number of tadpoles and toads and frogs that just hang out in the little Frog Island area. Oh, and a California King Snake named Smiley who the boys claim is a she.
I love living this life more than anything else. I've lived in the city all my life and this ... out here, where the air is clean, where the land is tillable, where the neighbors are more than 20 feet to either side, where I can let my kids run free in the backyard because it's all dirt and fun ... this is the life. I can't imagine going back to the city for anything. The fresh air and space and tending to animals has almost cured my anxiety issues.
Yay chickens! The kids are teaching the Buffs to ride on their shoulders for treats. They're so much more docile and friendly compared to the other breeds.
Oh, and Khavilah is the name of my farm. It means "package" in Hebrew (which I'm roughly translating to "gift") and also is the land of milk and honey between two rivers in Eden.
(1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens?
Had chickens as a teenager and loved them. Then, as an adult, my sister and I were going to have a few chickens as a project, but she ended up moving after she got them so they all came to me. I started (in Las Vegas, NV) with her flock of ten chickens; two died, had to slaughter the two meaties, got two more layers from a friend, lost three to a windstorm and a pond, and then I moved to Utah.
(2) How many chickens do you have right now?
And then I got 26 more chicks in the mail and a flock of eight from a friend. Of the adults, one from my original flock turned up missing (my favorite one
- she used to ride on my shoulder) and one from the new flock I lost to an unknown illness. Of the 26 chicks, I lost five. So I have, at last count, 21 chicks almost 11 weeks old, one rooster, and ten adult / laying hens. (3) What breeds do you have?
4 white leghorns (Sir Soupington, Rose, TwinkleToes, MudButt)
1 red sex link ('Rina; her sister, the one who sat on my shoulder, was Zelda)
1 black australorpe (Oz)
1 barred rock (Petty - because she likes pets (the kids named her))
1 dark cornish (Chickie; her sister, one we lost, was named Bickie)
3 black rocks (??) (they're all the Triple Chocolate Brownies because we can't tell them apart)
5 buff orpingtons (Puffy, Buffy, Muffy, Duffy, and Scruffy)
9 aurucanas (Beyoncegg, Valkin, Shadow, and six unnamed ones)
6 silver laced wyandottes (we haven't named these guys yet; they're too hard to tell apart right now)
1 pearl white leghorn (Snowflake; the only chick of her breed to survive from the hatchery, so she's unique)
(4) How did you find out about BackYardChickens.com?
Always went to it for help and information; finally decided to join when I had more than a handful of chickens.
(5) What are some of your other hobbies?
Goats, reading, building fences, painting actual paintings, reading, writing, craft stuff, and strange taxidermy projects. Oh, and reading.
(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share.
This farm I have now has five acres. I've cut one off by fence for the chickens and goats to roam in; everyone would be free-range on the whole property except that the goats have jumped on the hood of my truck more than once and I really would love to have a garden one day. The last thing I planted - even with the chicken wire over the top of it - was almost immediately trampled and eaten and then used for dirt bathing. The goats were in cahoots with the chickens for that one.
I have two boys (ages 4 and 6). I have one husband who kicks back in his urn on my nightstand. We have one cat (Muffin) who tolerates and ignores most of the other animals. We have two goat wethers (PJ and Clyde). We also have 61 fish, nine red-eared slider turtles, two bearded dragons (Face & Renji), and a countless number of tadpoles and toads and frogs that just hang out in the little Frog Island area. Oh, and a California King Snake named Smiley who the boys claim is a she.
I love living this life more than anything else. I've lived in the city all my life and this ... out here, where the air is clean, where the land is tillable, where the neighbors are more than 20 feet to either side, where I can let my kids run free in the backyard because it's all dirt and fun ... this is the life. I can't imagine going back to the city for anything. The fresh air and space and tending to animals has almost cured my anxiety issues.
Yay chickens! The kids are teaching the Buffs to ride on their shoulders for treats. They're so much more docile and friendly compared to the other breeds.
Oh, and Khavilah is the name of my farm. It means "package" in Hebrew (which I'm roughly translating to "gift") and also is the land of milk and honey between two rivers in Eden.
Last edited:
and Welcome To BYC! Sounds like you have a busy farm! That is a nice varied flock, sorry for the birds you've lost, good luck with the rest of them.
