ajsflock
In the Brooder
- Jun 20, 2020
- 7
- 21
- 21
Hello there! I’m AJ, I’m 17 and a beginner homesteader!
(1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens?
April 23 of this year, I brought home 6 white california pullets, and June 19th (just yesterday) I saw that tractor supply had ordered more chicks! So of course, now I have 4 more chicks to raise.
(2) How many chickens do you have right now?
10 altogether. (names being; Sunflower, Rex, Spicy, Cluck Norris, Bean, TBD, Nutmeg (meggie), Cinnamon, Skully and Peppercorn! Names sourced from various members of the damolt
(3) What breeds do you have?
6 California White, 2 barred Plymouth Rocks, and 2 speckled sussex.
(4) What are your favorite aspects of raising backyard chickens?
Being someone who is very against large, cruel factory farms, it has always appealed to me to raise my own food. Mine haven’t started laying yet, but I’m so excited to eat eggs that have come from my own happy chickens. It is also amazing to watch how they interact with each other and with fellow animals and humans. They are a lot more emotive and intelligent than I expected.
(5) What are some of your other hobbies?
I am a commission artist- specializing in digital pet portraits, and I also enjoy cooking, hiking, writing, collecting ethically-sourced antlers and bones, raising animals and gardening.
(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share.
I currently live in the middle of one of Montana’s biggest cities, with my mother, her boyfriend, and my siblings, however, we have turned our albeit small property into the coolest urban homestead I’ve seen. ;0
I own two dogs, a cat, and 4 rabbits, and when I move out i get to bring all the pets with me to start up my own homestead!
(the rest of the fam is moving somewhere tropical, so they can’t bother with bringing all the pets. Which is fine by me)
(7) Bonus: How did you find BYC, how long have you known about BYC, and what made you finally join our awesome community?
I have actually been looking into backyard chickens since I was a lot younger- I couldn’t tell you exactly how old I was, but I’ve always wanted chickens. My family called me the chicken whisperer when I was 5 because unlike any of the other kids or adults, my aunts flock of chickens would let me hold them and pet them, and I’d end up hanging out with the chickens whenever we had a family party. When I got older, my dad lived across the alleyway from someone who had a small flock of Rhode Island Reds, and once again my desire to raise chickens struck me! Of course, we were in quite a tough spot at that point and couldn’t take on such a task. I settled for observing the RIR’s and checking out every chicken book available from our library, and religiously checking out the backyard chickens site so that I would be prepared when I finally got my own.
Seeing as I’m only a few months shy of being an official adult, I figured that when I moved out, I would finally be getting my own chickens- but one day my mom asked if I was still interested in chickens, and of course I said yes! She had a change of heart, deciding its best to live in the moment than to wait and see if it ever comes up, so alas we brought home our first little flock.
(1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens?
April 23 of this year, I brought home 6 white california pullets, and June 19th (just yesterday) I saw that tractor supply had ordered more chicks! So of course, now I have 4 more chicks to raise.
(2) How many chickens do you have right now?
10 altogether. (names being; Sunflower, Rex, Spicy, Cluck Norris, Bean, TBD, Nutmeg (meggie), Cinnamon, Skully and Peppercorn! Names sourced from various members of the damolt
(3) What breeds do you have?
6 California White, 2 barred Plymouth Rocks, and 2 speckled sussex.
(4) What are your favorite aspects of raising backyard chickens?
Being someone who is very against large, cruel factory farms, it has always appealed to me to raise my own food. Mine haven’t started laying yet, but I’m so excited to eat eggs that have come from my own happy chickens. It is also amazing to watch how they interact with each other and with fellow animals and humans. They are a lot more emotive and intelligent than I expected.
(5) What are some of your other hobbies?
I am a commission artist- specializing in digital pet portraits, and I also enjoy cooking, hiking, writing, collecting ethically-sourced antlers and bones, raising animals and gardening.
(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share.
I currently live in the middle of one of Montana’s biggest cities, with my mother, her boyfriend, and my siblings, however, we have turned our albeit small property into the coolest urban homestead I’ve seen. ;0
I own two dogs, a cat, and 4 rabbits, and when I move out i get to bring all the pets with me to start up my own homestead!
(the rest of the fam is moving somewhere tropical, so they can’t bother with bringing all the pets. Which is fine by me) (7) Bonus: How did you find BYC, how long have you known about BYC, and what made you finally join our awesome community?
I have actually been looking into backyard chickens since I was a lot younger- I couldn’t tell you exactly how old I was, but I’ve always wanted chickens. My family called me the chicken whisperer when I was 5 because unlike any of the other kids or adults, my aunts flock of chickens would let me hold them and pet them, and I’d end up hanging out with the chickens whenever we had a family party. When I got older, my dad lived across the alleyway from someone who had a small flock of Rhode Island Reds, and once again my desire to raise chickens struck me! Of course, we were in quite a tough spot at that point and couldn’t take on such a task. I settled for observing the RIR’s and checking out every chicken book available from our library, and religiously checking out the backyard chickens site so that I would be prepared when I finally got my own.
Seeing as I’m only a few months shy of being an official adult, I figured that when I moved out, I would finally be getting my own chickens- but one day my mom asked if I was still interested in chickens, and of course I said yes! She had a change of heart, deciding its best to live in the moment than to wait and see if it ever comes up, so alas we brought home our first little flock.
Glad you joined.
