sewingkitty1170
Chirping
- May 4, 2021
- 76
- 192
- 86
Hi everyone!
I'm not new to chickens. I got my first flock about 9 years ago, and three weeks ago I lost my barred rock, leaving my red sex-link pretty lonely. The other hens were a rhode island red, a black sex-link, a second barred rock and an americana, but they've been gone for a number of years now... I wasn't going to replace them, but Red was so needy after I lost Diva. I felt so bad that Red was by herself.
The place I got my previous flock went out of business, so I looked online at hatcheries. But I can only have 6 hens, no roosters. I didn't want to buy the minimum of 10 chicks because it would be too hard to give some of the up. So, I picked up some two to three days old chicks - 2 cuckoo marans & 3 olive egger chicks from Craigslist. Not sure what they will look because the young teenager breeding her chickens said they might be a cross of the two. Her goal is to buy her own ranch someday to breed chickens, preferably all black because even their livers can be black (her exact words!). How could I say no? She might be all of 15 years old and had lots of 4-H ribbons on the wall. My chicks are now three weeks old, hopping around like crazy in the improvised brooder in my family room. They are NOT scared of my cats! I did purchase a young red sex-link hen to keep Red company, but it will be probably several weeks before I can safely let her out into the yard. Red is more territorial than I thought with a stubborn/ornery streak a mile wide! LOL!
I love my backyard chickens for many reasons! They love to eat dandelions. They are super bug hunters and they eat the blue-belly fence lizards that live in my yard, keeping the population in check. I love their soft cackle conversations, and their egg song serenades. They make excellent environmentally-friendly rototillers, are super adorable with BIG personalities, and are fun to watch. They love to garden with me especially when I pull weeds and hang out with me in general.
There isn't really anything I don't like, except for maybe sweeping up their poo up from my patio and that they eat my flowers if I let them. Yes, I do let them free-range from dawn to early evening. They're extremely happy when I offer a lap in the early evening before their bedtime. Red even puts herself to bed when she's done for the day! What's not to love about chickens... Since I work all day inside, I prefer to be outdoors as much as possible. My cats love to hang in the garden with me, and Red is the queen of the backyard! What could be better?!
My other hobbies are gardening both veggies & flowers, sewing & quilting, and reading paper books (because I like the feel of a real book in my hands). I love camping, cycling, hiking for wild flowers, and riding my horse.
That's about it for this middle aged, cat & chicken-crazy lady! If I could have more of both, I most certainly would have at least 5 cats and 15 or so chickens. One can never have enough of both.
I'm not new to chickens. I got my first flock about 9 years ago, and three weeks ago I lost my barred rock, leaving my red sex-link pretty lonely. The other hens were a rhode island red, a black sex-link, a second barred rock and an americana, but they've been gone for a number of years now... I wasn't going to replace them, but Red was so needy after I lost Diva. I felt so bad that Red was by herself.
The place I got my previous flock went out of business, so I looked online at hatcheries. But I can only have 6 hens, no roosters. I didn't want to buy the minimum of 10 chicks because it would be too hard to give some of the up. So, I picked up some two to three days old chicks - 2 cuckoo marans & 3 olive egger chicks from Craigslist. Not sure what they will look because the young teenager breeding her chickens said they might be a cross of the two. Her goal is to buy her own ranch someday to breed chickens, preferably all black because even their livers can be black (her exact words!). How could I say no? She might be all of 15 years old and had lots of 4-H ribbons on the wall. My chicks are now three weeks old, hopping around like crazy in the improvised brooder in my family room. They are NOT scared of my cats! I did purchase a young red sex-link hen to keep Red company, but it will be probably several weeks before I can safely let her out into the yard. Red is more territorial than I thought with a stubborn/ornery streak a mile wide! LOL!
I love my backyard chickens for many reasons! They love to eat dandelions. They are super bug hunters and they eat the blue-belly fence lizards that live in my yard, keeping the population in check. I love their soft cackle conversations, and their egg song serenades. They make excellent environmentally-friendly rototillers, are super adorable with BIG personalities, and are fun to watch. They love to garden with me especially when I pull weeds and hang out with me in general.
There isn't really anything I don't like, except for maybe sweeping up their poo up from my patio and that they eat my flowers if I let them. Yes, I do let them free-range from dawn to early evening. They're extremely happy when I offer a lap in the early evening before their bedtime. Red even puts herself to bed when she's done for the day! What's not to love about chickens... Since I work all day inside, I prefer to be outdoors as much as possible. My cats love to hang in the garden with me, and Red is the queen of the backyard! What could be better?!
My other hobbies are gardening both veggies & flowers, sewing & quilting, and reading paper books (because I like the feel of a real book in my hands). I love camping, cycling, hiking for wild flowers, and riding my horse.
That's about it for this middle aged, cat & chicken-crazy lady! If I could have more of both, I most certainly would have at least 5 cats and 15 or so chickens. One can never have enough of both.
Glad you joined.
thank you for your introduction, it's a pleasure to have you with us peeps 
