johnhallford
In the Brooder
- Oct 21, 2024
- 15
- 30
- 39
I am new to owning chickens having lived in the city all my life. I now live in a nice country setting, and I inherited 31 chickens when I bought my home. Talk about being thrown into the deep end!
I have several breeds, and I am still trying to learn them all. Right now they are simply "chickens." I'll get them figured out eventually. They have already proven to be a lot of fun. I have three pens, and the older girls pretty much tolerate me. Two other pens have birds a bit over a year old, and the youngest of the three have adopted me as one of their own. They are so friendly that I've tripped over them a few times as one of them wonders in and around my feet like a cat.
Not long after I took ownership of the house and chickens, one of the birds turned broody. Well, as a new chicken man, I had to let her raise some chicks. She hatched two babies before abandoning the next three days later. I put the abandoned eggs in an incubator, and now I have eight new chicks. Sadly, the first two that mama was taking care of were apparently killed, and presumably by rats or a snake. Not really sure, but it was sad to see the mother look for her babies for the next several days.
On the positive side, the other hatchlings are an absolute trip. Several fight for my attention and love having their chest stroked. Several will push and shove to be able to hop into my hand and just park it there for a bit.
I love aviation and am a licensed pilot though I have not flown in several years. I grew up in the North Dallas area (Carrollton) and lived there most of my life. I moved to Florida where I stayed for three years, and I recently returned to East Texas. Florida was nice, but it is not Texas. Nice to be home.
I joined BYC to be a source for learning about chickens and to tap into experienced chicken owners' knowledge. These girls are entertaining (as well as the roosters), and I am enjoying the various antics except being attacked by a rooster who apparently thought I was moving in on his harem. I explained to him I prefer taller women who have more than three toes on the ground. That seemed to suffice for now.
I have several breeds, and I am still trying to learn them all. Right now they are simply "chickens." I'll get them figured out eventually. They have already proven to be a lot of fun. I have three pens, and the older girls pretty much tolerate me. Two other pens have birds a bit over a year old, and the youngest of the three have adopted me as one of their own. They are so friendly that I've tripped over them a few times as one of them wonders in and around my feet like a cat.
Not long after I took ownership of the house and chickens, one of the birds turned broody. Well, as a new chicken man, I had to let her raise some chicks. She hatched two babies before abandoning the next three days later. I put the abandoned eggs in an incubator, and now I have eight new chicks. Sadly, the first two that mama was taking care of were apparently killed, and presumably by rats or a snake. Not really sure, but it was sad to see the mother look for her babies for the next several days.
On the positive side, the other hatchlings are an absolute trip. Several fight for my attention and love having their chest stroked. Several will push and shove to be able to hop into my hand and just park it there for a bit.
I love aviation and am a licensed pilot though I have not flown in several years. I grew up in the North Dallas area (Carrollton) and lived there most of my life. I moved to Florida where I stayed for three years, and I recently returned to East Texas. Florida was nice, but it is not Texas. Nice to be home.
I joined BYC to be a source for learning about chickens and to tap into experienced chicken owners' knowledge. These girls are entertaining (as well as the roosters), and I am enjoying the various antics except being attacked by a rooster who apparently thought I was moving in on his harem. I explained to him I prefer taller women who have more than three toes on the ground. That seemed to suffice for now.
Glad you joined.
