Rivendell Chick
Songster
You can call me Meg 
1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens?
I've been studying/researching/learning for about 4 years, finally took the plunge to become a chicken mama this spring. The "shelter in place" in my area made it a lot easier to clear other things from the schedule for them.
(2) How many chickens do you have right now?
I received my first order of 10 chicks last Friday (Good Friday chicks!). Amazed at how much they have already grown in just a few days.
(3) What breeds do you have?
Good question! I got a rare choice assortment from Hoovers, which includes a lot of really cool breeds and I'm still puzzling through what I might have! 5 of them have at least some feathering on the legs/feet. Positive I have one partridge cochin in there, but the chipmunk patterned ones are hard to figure since so many breeds have that pattern. I also have several black/white chicks with feathered legs that I'm hoping are Marans of some kind. wing tips are already black/white. I think I got a nice assortment?!?
(4) What are your favorite aspects of raising backyard chickens?
I love animals of all kinds and was that kid in school that couldn't focus on the teacher if there was a bunny, chicken, lizard, etc. in the classroom. I knew folks when I was still working for a university that showed chickens, and I was amazed at the varieties. But I also love the idea of having our own eggs, perhaps raising our own flock. I already grow a lot of our own food (veg, fruit), so this was the next step for greater food independence.
(5) What are some of your other hobbies?
Small market gardener, artisan soapmaking, cooking, canning, many other handicrafts as time permits. Art director in my previous life and still design for a few others, but mostly for the farm now. I also have a serious geek side and can talk your ear off about Tolkien, GRRM Martin, Heinlein, etc.
(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share.
Just me and my husband on a 150 farm (named Rivendell by my late FIL, also a Tolkien fan), most of which is woods and pastures for hay. We share it with 4 rescue dogs - two pyrenees mixes, a tolling retriever that doesn't retrieve, and a French bulldog that thinks she is a large dog or a cat depending on if she is indoors or out. 7 cats thanks to a very sweet girl that adopted us and then had amazing babies we couldn't part with. It's chaos, but a happy chaos!
(7) Bonus: How did you find BYC, how long have you known about BYC, and what made you finally join our awesome community?
I stumbled across the community while searching for images of Midnight Majesty Marans chicks (I may have one in my assortment). Looked like a pretty awesome place to continue to learn and share my enthusiasm for chickens that may be more than my FB circle can handle, haha!
1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens?
I've been studying/researching/learning for about 4 years, finally took the plunge to become a chicken mama this spring. The "shelter in place" in my area made it a lot easier to clear other things from the schedule for them.
(2) How many chickens do you have right now?
I received my first order of 10 chicks last Friday (Good Friday chicks!). Amazed at how much they have already grown in just a few days.
(3) What breeds do you have?
Good question! I got a rare choice assortment from Hoovers, which includes a lot of really cool breeds and I'm still puzzling through what I might have! 5 of them have at least some feathering on the legs/feet. Positive I have one partridge cochin in there, but the chipmunk patterned ones are hard to figure since so many breeds have that pattern. I also have several black/white chicks with feathered legs that I'm hoping are Marans of some kind. wing tips are already black/white. I think I got a nice assortment?!?
(4) What are your favorite aspects of raising backyard chickens?
I love animals of all kinds and was that kid in school that couldn't focus on the teacher if there was a bunny, chicken, lizard, etc. in the classroom. I knew folks when I was still working for a university that showed chickens, and I was amazed at the varieties. But I also love the idea of having our own eggs, perhaps raising our own flock. I already grow a lot of our own food (veg, fruit), so this was the next step for greater food independence.
(5) What are some of your other hobbies?
Small market gardener, artisan soapmaking, cooking, canning, many other handicrafts as time permits. Art director in my previous life and still design for a few others, but mostly for the farm now. I also have a serious geek side and can talk your ear off about Tolkien, GRRM Martin, Heinlein, etc.
(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share.
Just me and my husband on a 150 farm (named Rivendell by my late FIL, also a Tolkien fan), most of which is woods and pastures for hay. We share it with 4 rescue dogs - two pyrenees mixes, a tolling retriever that doesn't retrieve, and a French bulldog that thinks she is a large dog or a cat depending on if she is indoors or out. 7 cats thanks to a very sweet girl that adopted us and then had amazing babies we couldn't part with. It's chaos, but a happy chaos!
(7) Bonus: How did you find BYC, how long have you known about BYC, and what made you finally join our awesome community?
I stumbled across the community while searching for images of Midnight Majesty Marans chicks (I may have one in my assortment). Looked like a pretty awesome place to continue to learn and share my enthusiasm for chickens that may be more than my FB circle can handle, haha!
