Hello from Southeast Texas glad to finally be joining BYC

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TattooedKeeper3

TattooedKeeper3

Chirping
6 Years
Mar 6, 2013
225
22
96
Caldwell, TX
(1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens?

I am not new to chickens I have been around them for over 10 years. I am new to raising them myself however. I got my first chicks 1 years ago and it has been an enjoyable learning process since. I have had as many as 75 chickens (roosters and hens a mix of breeds in the bunch).

(2) How many chickens do you have right now?

I currently have 4 adult hens who are about a year old this month. Also I have just hatched 6 baby chicks and bought 4 ducklings. I am only keeping 2 of the baby chicks and 2 of the ducklings. The others have great homes to go to soon.

(3) What breeds do you have?

The ladies are 1 Barred Rock, 1 Rhode Island Red, 2 Ameraucanas. My baby chicks are a mix of a Barred Rock rooster and Rhode Island Red hens. The ducklings are 2 Mallards and 2 Black Indian Runners I believe.

(4) How did you find out about BackYardChickens.com?

I used to get the Back Yard Chickens magazine. I heard about the site through there and a friend of mine who raises chickens. She told me this site had amazing information and would be a good resource for me.

(5) What are some of your other hobbies?

I bicycle ride through the woods around were I live. I enjoy reading on herbs and herbal medicine, as well as, anthropology and archaeological books. Sometimes I go out hunting for rabbit or deer. I hope to go on my first hog hunt soon.

(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share.

Our household inside pets include: 3 dogs and 7 cats. The outside pets are the chickens, ducks, and 2 outside cats who keep me company while I am in with the chickens.
 
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Hello and welcome to BYC
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Glad you joined us!
 
Wow thanks guys
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It is really neat to have a place such as this. I can talk chicken all day here. Sometimes I think I drive my 2 roommates nuts with chicken talk. =)
I am really going to enjoy BYC!
 
My sister had chickens, turkeys, quail, and a few ducks along with other livestock. She taught me most of what I know. I learned a lot from her. I really started learning more when I was raising them myself. It has been a joy. With a few sad moments in there. In the first 3 months of having my first 25 chicks, I learned how to mend 3 broken legs, 2 broken toes, and a couple of pecked at eyes. My previous landlord wanted to have chickens but didn't know a thing about them. He had 16 acres he wanted to put to use. He asked for my help and I said yes.
What an adventure that turned out to be.
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He started with 25 chicks. He thought he was getting a straight run but turns out he actually order 25 day old roosters of mixed breeds. The next round of chicks there were 50 hens of mixed breeds. I only lost under 10. I had to put one of the little guys to sleep. I had grown attached to him and the other roosters picked on him so bad. I let him out in the yard to be able to get away and have some peace. I mended his legs after they had broken. He liked to jump from up high. Since they were free-range I didn't clip there wings because I wanted to allow them a fighting chance if something came after them while I wasn't there. But after his toe had broken and was in the process of healing I saw the green in his leg. It got bad. That was hard to take care of but I didn't want him to suffer. Texas A&M was the closest poultry vet to me at the time and they wanted approx. $500-$600 total to amputate. I couldn't afford it.

I have had a lot of pleasure from them too though. I love giving them Happy Hen Treats. They go nuts over the meal worms. It is so neat watching the hens run up to you. I call the fluffy bottom feathers that shake when they run their bloomers. Because it looks like they are wearing bloomers. When we moved I kept the 4 hens we had to put in a hospital pen. Two of the hen (The Barred Rock and Rhode Island Red) lost an eye when they were a few weeks old. The Americauanas were getting picked on bad so I had placed them in the hospital pen with the girls. They all got so chummy together that I didn't want to separate them. They are my feathered babies. I spent many night out at our old place with a shotgun on coyote and wolf watch. They would come investigate close but after the first warning shot they stopped coming as close. I can't wait for the new babies to grown up and waddle around with the adult girls.
 

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