Villainess
Songster
Greetings, all. Alicia here from Indiana and I’m just now getting around to introducing myself. First I’d just like to say WOW on this forum! Such a wealth of information, pictures, ideas, and so on. It is really quite impressive.
(1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens?
I am a chicken newbie. Until this April the only experience I had with anything of the feathered persuasion were some parakeets (budgies) as a child.
(2) How many chickens do you have right now?
Well, right now I actually have a mixed flock of 47 chickens, 5 ducks, and 1 guinea fowl.
(3) What breeds do you have?
I have 45 SL Wyandotte, GL Wyandotte, Australorp, Black Sex-links, and RIR pullets. One cockerel that is a SLW/Australorp (?) mix, a second cockerel that is a Buff Cochin. I have 1 Pekin gander, his girlfriend a Fawn and White Indian Runner, and 3 Rouens just a little over 2 months old (these were my gift from the hubby to “replace”my beautiful Cayuga after a raccoon attack.) I believe the Rouens are 2 drakes and 1 hen, but I’m not quite certain yet. I hope not, because my drakes will outnumber my hens
Oh, and I have 1 Pearl Guinea. His girlfriend was recently killed, so he has attached himself to my Reds.
(4) What are your favorite aspects of raising backyard chickens
There are so many that I don’t quite understand it myself, that I don’t know if I can explain. But I’m sure many of you can relate. I love interacting with them. I love just simply observing them, seeing the differences in personality from one to another, and learning all that I can to take care of them so they can in turn provide for my family.
I love animals (I think I like animals more than I do a lot of people), but never in a
million years could I have seen myself having chickens. Or ducks. Or guineas. Much less a flock of the three. But now....My RIR girls have imprinted on me. I have 7 left of the original 10. They follow me and “talk” to me. I walk into their yard and all 7 girls immediately run straight to me like they are overjoyed that I’m visiting. If I’m stooped down low enough,they will try to jump into my lap, or on my back or shoulders, or lean against me. If I’m in their yard and one of the bigger, older girls try to mess with one of my Red’s, they will hide behind me for protection. If I don’t pay them each some attention by giving them each a little rub, they will peck at my boots until I pay attention; not a hard peck, not to hurt, but just enough for me to take notice, like, “hey, Mom! I’m down here.” They try to follow me out of their yard. They tease me at times, like mischievous children. While one distracts me to bend down for a petting, another will sneak up the ramp to the coop and pick at my hair, or pull on my Fitbit if my wrist is low enough. The other day I was trying to fix a feeder attached to the fence, and not thinking, I had my face against the fence. One of my girls jumped up on my knee and must have noticed my eyebrow ring, because she started a light pulling on it while chirping at me. She could have gotten my eye, but she didn’t. Yes, I realize that probably was not intentional her being gentle, that I’m starting to anthropomorphize here, but it was like she was more curious about it, conducting an innocent exploration of it much like my daughter had. I couldn’t imagine not having chickens now.
(5) What are some of your other hobbies?
Honestly, I don’t have many and I am a pretty boring person. I work a lot of hours, often 7 days a week for long stretches, so I don’t have much time for hobbies because that time I’d rather spend with my family. I love reading. I love finally having a day off from work to relax. And I can really see having chickens and ducks becoming a hobby.
(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share.
I am a 37-year old working mother of two. Previously born and raised in Southern California and forced to move to BFE, is-this-the-Children-of-the-Corn? Indiana as a teenager, I was the avowed City Girl....until buying my own home in the peaceful countryside. I’ve been married 19 years, with my husband for over 20. My son is 18 and about to graduate high school, while my daughter is 12 (going on 16!) and just entered junior high.
I have 3 fur babies. Bunny is my Maine Coon mix that has been bonded to me since her birth. I call her my third child. Her mother was a stray I had taken in, not knowing at the time she was pregnant. Momma kitty decided to give birth in the middle of my living room one night and was having some issues. I helped the birth along. Bunny was the first little one out, I was the very first thing she saw, and I think this resulted in her imprinting on me. This cat is so attached to me, and I to her, that if anything were to happen to her it would affect me like she were one of my own children. She sleeps with (or on) me. When I eat she wants to eat near me. She follows me to the bathroom and sits on the tub next to me while I do my business. She’s even gotten into the shower with me before. She’s not clingy, she doesn’t freak out or cry if she can’t see me, but she just wants to be near me as much as she can. I’ve never had a cat quite like her, and boy do I have stories! Like the time she brought me the pooper scooper because she wanted the litter box cleaned....
Kira and Drifter are my two canine fur babies. Kira is my 3-year old sable German Shepherd, Drifter is my long-haired chihuahua of an unknown age. Despite being bigger and “tougher,” both dogs know Bunny is the Top Dog and rules the roost—in the house at least.
(7) Bonus: How did you find BYC, how long have you known about BYC, and what made you finally join our awesome community?
I ran into BYC a few years ago when my husband and I first talked about maybe getting some chickens. It was always just TALK, until one day my husband went to Rural King to find they had a surplus of chicks and were selling them for $0.10 a piece. So that TALK went from 0 to 50 in no time (and yes, chicken math did come into play here. Thrice.) and I was left trying to figure out how to take care of these baby birds when I had no home for them and only the most basic of supplies (literally just a bag of food and a heat lamp). Lo and behold, I came back here and had SO many questions and concerns answered. After lurking around for some time I finally registered as a member. And now, I log in almost daily and enjoy reading the different posts of a wide range of topics and learning new things!
My apologies for my verbosity if you are still awake and reading this. Like I said, I work a lot and don’t have much of a life outside of work. LOL
(1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens?
I am a chicken newbie. Until this April the only experience I had with anything of the feathered persuasion were some parakeets (budgies) as a child.
(2) How many chickens do you have right now?
Well, right now I actually have a mixed flock of 47 chickens, 5 ducks, and 1 guinea fowl.
(3) What breeds do you have?
I have 45 SL Wyandotte, GL Wyandotte, Australorp, Black Sex-links, and RIR pullets. One cockerel that is a SLW/Australorp (?) mix, a second cockerel that is a Buff Cochin. I have 1 Pekin gander, his girlfriend a Fawn and White Indian Runner, and 3 Rouens just a little over 2 months old (these were my gift from the hubby to “replace”my beautiful Cayuga after a raccoon attack.) I believe the Rouens are 2 drakes and 1 hen, but I’m not quite certain yet. I hope not, because my drakes will outnumber my hens
Oh, and I have 1 Pearl Guinea. His girlfriend was recently killed, so he has attached himself to my Reds.(4) What are your favorite aspects of raising backyard chickens
There are so many that I don’t quite understand it myself, that I don’t know if I can explain. But I’m sure many of you can relate. I love interacting with them. I love just simply observing them, seeing the differences in personality from one to another, and learning all that I can to take care of them so they can in turn provide for my family.
I love animals (I think I like animals more than I do a lot of people), but never in a
million years could I have seen myself having chickens. Or ducks. Or guineas. Much less a flock of the three. But now....My RIR girls have imprinted on me. I have 7 left of the original 10. They follow me and “talk” to me. I walk into their yard and all 7 girls immediately run straight to me like they are overjoyed that I’m visiting. If I’m stooped down low enough,they will try to jump into my lap, or on my back or shoulders, or lean against me. If I’m in their yard and one of the bigger, older girls try to mess with one of my Red’s, they will hide behind me for protection. If I don’t pay them each some attention by giving them each a little rub, they will peck at my boots until I pay attention; not a hard peck, not to hurt, but just enough for me to take notice, like, “hey, Mom! I’m down here.” They try to follow me out of their yard. They tease me at times, like mischievous children. While one distracts me to bend down for a petting, another will sneak up the ramp to the coop and pick at my hair, or pull on my Fitbit if my wrist is low enough. The other day I was trying to fix a feeder attached to the fence, and not thinking, I had my face against the fence. One of my girls jumped up on my knee and must have noticed my eyebrow ring, because she started a light pulling on it while chirping at me. She could have gotten my eye, but she didn’t. Yes, I realize that probably was not intentional her being gentle, that I’m starting to anthropomorphize here, but it was like she was more curious about it, conducting an innocent exploration of it much like my daughter had. I couldn’t imagine not having chickens now.
(5) What are some of your other hobbies?
Honestly, I don’t have many and I am a pretty boring person. I work a lot of hours, often 7 days a week for long stretches, so I don’t have much time for hobbies because that time I’d rather spend with my family. I love reading. I love finally having a day off from work to relax. And I can really see having chickens and ducks becoming a hobby.
(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share.
I am a 37-year old working mother of two. Previously born and raised in Southern California and forced to move to BFE, is-this-the-Children-of-the-Corn? Indiana as a teenager, I was the avowed City Girl....until buying my own home in the peaceful countryside. I’ve been married 19 years, with my husband for over 20. My son is 18 and about to graduate high school, while my daughter is 12 (going on 16!) and just entered junior high.
I have 3 fur babies. Bunny is my Maine Coon mix that has been bonded to me since her birth. I call her my third child. Her mother was a stray I had taken in, not knowing at the time she was pregnant. Momma kitty decided to give birth in the middle of my living room one night and was having some issues. I helped the birth along. Bunny was the first little one out, I was the very first thing she saw, and I think this resulted in her imprinting on me. This cat is so attached to me, and I to her, that if anything were to happen to her it would affect me like she were one of my own children. She sleeps with (or on) me. When I eat she wants to eat near me. She follows me to the bathroom and sits on the tub next to me while I do my business. She’s even gotten into the shower with me before. She’s not clingy, she doesn’t freak out or cry if she can’t see me, but she just wants to be near me as much as she can. I’ve never had a cat quite like her, and boy do I have stories! Like the time she brought me the pooper scooper because she wanted the litter box cleaned....
Kira and Drifter are my two canine fur babies. Kira is my 3-year old sable German Shepherd, Drifter is my long-haired chihuahua of an unknown age. Despite being bigger and “tougher,” both dogs know Bunny is the Top Dog and rules the roost—in the house at least.
(7) Bonus: How did you find BYC, how long have you known about BYC, and what made you finally join our awesome community?
I ran into BYC a few years ago when my husband and I first talked about maybe getting some chickens. It was always just TALK, until one day my husband went to Rural King to find they had a surplus of chicks and were selling them for $0.10 a piece. So that TALK went from 0 to 50 in no time (and yes, chicken math did come into play here. Thrice.) and I was left trying to figure out how to take care of these baby birds when I had no home for them and only the most basic of supplies (literally just a bag of food and a heat lamp). Lo and behold, I came back here and had SO many questions and concerns answered. After lurking around for some time I finally registered as a member. And now, I log in almost daily and enjoy reading the different posts of a wide range of topics and learning new things!
My apologies for my verbosity if you are still awake and reading this. Like I said, I work a lot and don’t have much of a life outside of work. LOL
Glad you decided to join us! Great intro! No worries.... we all like to talk chicken... and ducks... other poultry.... other animals 
Welcome to BYC
Best wishes and have lots of fun! 
