Hello,
My name is Olen. I live in Michigan but have split my time with the great State of Mississippi (where I am presently) due to care-taking my elderly and recently deceased parents. I love the South but am here for an extended time trying to sort out my father's estate.
(1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens?
Not new to Chickens but have more interest in partridge and quail. I have episodically had poultry since the mid 70's.
(2) How many chickens do you have right now?
I have just a few quail at present (anywhere from 3 dozen to a dozen... depending on what I'm doing with my pointer puppy).
(3) What breeds do you have?
Bobwhites... but when I get back up north I will be raising Tennessee Reds, Chukars, and Coturnix.
(4) What are your favorite aspects of raising backyard chickens?
I really enjoy working with bird dog puppies. But you have to have birds to have a bird dog. I do enjoy listening to bobwhites and watching the birds grow/mature. I usually use them in call-back pens of some sort. I also enjoy hatching eggs, etc. I enjoy eating poultry as well. And I use the feathers for fly-tying
(5) What are some of your other hobbies?
Working with bird dogs, fly fishing, fly-tying.
(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share.
I went back to school later in life and graduated in May, 2019 with an A.S. in Electronic Technologies and an A.A in General Studies. I did really well in school for an old fogey, carried a 4.0 GPA and received Graduate of the Year award in my field. Then I went to Mississippi to take care of my 88 y.o. father (I had already had to take a couple of semesters off school to care for him) and approximately 2 months later he passed on. I am down here waiting for the estate to clear (a lengthy process in Mississippi), but it has interfered with my ability to seek employment in Michigan, where I live (not to mention I don't want to forget everything I just learned before starting a new career!). Since, I have to just wait... I picked up a pointer puppy, something I did not have time for while I was going to school and taking care of my parents. However, wild quail have been decimated in the Eastern U.S., so I had to purchase birds to train the puppy. It helps to have pen-raised birds but I prefer raising my own. I have an old Hov-a-bator and a Li'l Giant up north but became intrigued with the cheap digital incubators and recently purchased one. It is really just something to tinker with while I'm waiting for this process to finish. I do have it functioning well and holding stable temp and humidity but probably won't use it until I return home. There's some great advice on here regarding incubation and incubators.
(7) Bonus: How did you find BYC, how long have you known about BYC, and what made you finally join our awesome community?
I found BYC several years back by doing searches for information on quail and pretty much just read various threads. I found very good suggestions and decided to join due to the number of knowledgeable members. I'm not a big poster... but I'm sure I'll need some advice at some point down the line. Thanks for having me.
Warm Regards,
Olen
My name is Olen. I live in Michigan but have split my time with the great State of Mississippi (where I am presently) due to care-taking my elderly and recently deceased parents. I love the South but am here for an extended time trying to sort out my father's estate.
(1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens?
Not new to Chickens but have more interest in partridge and quail. I have episodically had poultry since the mid 70's.
(2) How many chickens do you have right now?
I have just a few quail at present (anywhere from 3 dozen to a dozen... depending on what I'm doing with my pointer puppy).
(3) What breeds do you have?
Bobwhites... but when I get back up north I will be raising Tennessee Reds, Chukars, and Coturnix.
(4) What are your favorite aspects of raising backyard chickens?
I really enjoy working with bird dog puppies. But you have to have birds to have a bird dog. I do enjoy listening to bobwhites and watching the birds grow/mature. I usually use them in call-back pens of some sort. I also enjoy hatching eggs, etc. I enjoy eating poultry as well. And I use the feathers for fly-tying
(5) What are some of your other hobbies?
Working with bird dogs, fly fishing, fly-tying.
(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share.
I went back to school later in life and graduated in May, 2019 with an A.S. in Electronic Technologies and an A.A in General Studies. I did really well in school for an old fogey, carried a 4.0 GPA and received Graduate of the Year award in my field. Then I went to Mississippi to take care of my 88 y.o. father (I had already had to take a couple of semesters off school to care for him) and approximately 2 months later he passed on. I am down here waiting for the estate to clear (a lengthy process in Mississippi), but it has interfered with my ability to seek employment in Michigan, where I live (not to mention I don't want to forget everything I just learned before starting a new career!). Since, I have to just wait... I picked up a pointer puppy, something I did not have time for while I was going to school and taking care of my parents. However, wild quail have been decimated in the Eastern U.S., so I had to purchase birds to train the puppy. It helps to have pen-raised birds but I prefer raising my own. I have an old Hov-a-bator and a Li'l Giant up north but became intrigued with the cheap digital incubators and recently purchased one. It is really just something to tinker with while I'm waiting for this process to finish. I do have it functioning well and holding stable temp and humidity but probably won't use it until I return home. There's some great advice on here regarding incubation and incubators.
(7) Bonus: How did you find BYC, how long have you known about BYC, and what made you finally join our awesome community?
I found BYC several years back by doing searches for information on quail and pretty much just read various threads. I found very good suggestions and decided to join due to the number of knowledgeable members. I'm not a big poster... but I'm sure I'll need some advice at some point down the line. Thanks for having me.
Warm Regards,
Olen
Glad you joined.
