Hello there! 
(1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens?
We live in a Minneapolis suburb, and we had a flock of 6 chickens about eight years ago. We had them for two years before a neighbor complained (aka: LIED because she had nothing better to do that day, I guess - accused us of burning the manure (who does that??? That's garden gold!) There were no laws on the books about chickens at the time, but the damage was done. The city insisted that I get rid of them, so we gave them away and tore everything down.
Fast forward 8 years later...
Because of our situation, a number of city council members made it a mission to pass a law a for chickens, and they did a year after we lost our flock. As a single, home schooling mama of three kids, and a self-employed writing instructor, I just didn't have the $ or energy to start up again. When the law passed, however, my neighbors got chickens and often asked me to babysit while they were away on weekends. This last Memorial Day weekend, I was helping out, and those sweet darlings just came running up to me when I checked in on them, and I couldn't take it anymore. I took my savings, found a wonderful coop on Craigslist and 4 six-month old hens, and here I am again.
I've been searching and lurking, refreshing my memory and understanding as I get the girls settled. I bought them from a farm that had about 100 chickens in three different hard dirt runs. It's like they've been rescued from chicken prison and landed in Bel Air at the Henny Hilton.
(2) How many chickens do you have right now?
(3) What breeds do you have?
Four:
Minianna - Speckled Sussex
Chiquita Banana - Buff Orp
Ginger - Gold Star
Dwayne-arietta - Bard Rock
(4) How did you find out about BackYardChickens.com?
I was here way back during the first round back in 2010-12.
(5) What are some of your other hobbies?
There are "other hobbies"???
Actually, I do enjoy "bible journaling" - illustrating/painting bible verses. My art desk faces the backyard where I can watch my girls each morning. It's my happy place.
(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share.
As I shared before, I am self-employed as a writing instructor, so I work from home. I teach writing courses via webinar to students ages 10+. I have a webcam set up so we can watch the chickens before class starts. I home schooled my kids, 1 son and 2 daughters, who are all grown up now. My son is married and works in the manufacturing industry building control panels for ag-related machines. My older daughter teaches full time with me now, and my younger daughter will be a sophomore in college studying abroad in South Korea next year.
We also have 2 cats and a beagle. The beagle - Sherlock Bones - bless his heart, remembered how we trained him to leave the chickens alone before, and he guards their food with severe dedication (ie: he waits for when no one is watching so he can steal it! He LOVES the fermented feed!)
The 2 cats -
Snickers is old - about 14 years, and she couldn't care less about them. She hangs out with me in the yard sometimes and runs away when a chicken gets too close.
Bruce, on the other hand, is 2 years old, goofy as all get-out, curious to no end, and a hunter (he's taken down a full grown rabbit and a squirrel in addition to myriad mice, etc.) We were worried about him, but he freaked out and ran away to hide when he first saw them. He's warming up and thoroughly checked out the coop the other day while the girls were ranging. He sniffed every board and nook and cranny with expert attention. He likes to follow me around as I hang out with the girls. He's super friendly with the dog (shares the dog bed with him), and it seems he's taking the chickens in stride as well. Although I'm still a bit cautious, I wouldn't be surprised to find him napping in an egg nest one day.
Thanks for the invitation to introduce myself.
It's great to be here again!
(1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens?
We live in a Minneapolis suburb, and we had a flock of 6 chickens about eight years ago. We had them for two years before a neighbor complained (aka: LIED because she had nothing better to do that day, I guess - accused us of burning the manure (who does that??? That's garden gold!) There were no laws on the books about chickens at the time, but the damage was done. The city insisted that I get rid of them, so we gave them away and tore everything down.
Fast forward 8 years later...
Because of our situation, a number of city council members made it a mission to pass a law a for chickens, and they did a year after we lost our flock. As a single, home schooling mama of three kids, and a self-employed writing instructor, I just didn't have the $ or energy to start up again. When the law passed, however, my neighbors got chickens and often asked me to babysit while they were away on weekends. This last Memorial Day weekend, I was helping out, and those sweet darlings just came running up to me when I checked in on them, and I couldn't take it anymore. I took my savings, found a wonderful coop on Craigslist and 4 six-month old hens, and here I am again.
I've been searching and lurking, refreshing my memory and understanding as I get the girls settled. I bought them from a farm that had about 100 chickens in three different hard dirt runs. It's like they've been rescued from chicken prison and landed in Bel Air at the Henny Hilton.
(2) How many chickens do you have right now?
(3) What breeds do you have?
Four:
Minianna - Speckled Sussex
Chiquita Banana - Buff Orp
Ginger - Gold Star
Dwayne-arietta - Bard Rock
(4) How did you find out about BackYardChickens.com?
I was here way back during the first round back in 2010-12.
(5) What are some of your other hobbies?
There are "other hobbies"???
Actually, I do enjoy "bible journaling" - illustrating/painting bible verses. My art desk faces the backyard where I can watch my girls each morning. It's my happy place.
(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share.
As I shared before, I am self-employed as a writing instructor, so I work from home. I teach writing courses via webinar to students ages 10+. I have a webcam set up so we can watch the chickens before class starts. I home schooled my kids, 1 son and 2 daughters, who are all grown up now. My son is married and works in the manufacturing industry building control panels for ag-related machines. My older daughter teaches full time with me now, and my younger daughter will be a sophomore in college studying abroad in South Korea next year.
We also have 2 cats and a beagle. The beagle - Sherlock Bones - bless his heart, remembered how we trained him to leave the chickens alone before, and he guards their food with severe dedication (ie: he waits for when no one is watching so he can steal it! He LOVES the fermented feed!)
The 2 cats -
Snickers is old - about 14 years, and she couldn't care less about them. She hangs out with me in the yard sometimes and runs away when a chicken gets too close.
Bruce, on the other hand, is 2 years old, goofy as all get-out, curious to no end, and a hunter (he's taken down a full grown rabbit and a squirrel in addition to myriad mice, etc.) We were worried about him, but he freaked out and ran away to hide when he first saw them. He's warming up and thoroughly checked out the coop the other day while the girls were ranging. He sniffed every board and nook and cranny with expert attention. He likes to follow me around as I hang out with the girls. He's super friendly with the dog (shares the dog bed with him), and it seems he's taking the chickens in stride as well. Although I'm still a bit cautious, I wouldn't be surprised to find him napping in an egg nest one day.
Thanks for the invitation to introduce myself.
It's great to be here again!
Glad you got chickens again!
. I used to write a bit in much younger years when I still had some brain cells. Thank you for joining us at Backyard chickens.
