Hi,
Hi there. My name is Nancy, but you can call me SMITHNAN, lol, bet you can't guess my last name! It took a while for me to join BYC because whenever I had a question, I would just search on it, and SOMEONE had been through it before. Eventually I joined and now 4 years later, I guess it's time to introduce myself.
About 4-5 years ago, our next door renter sent his son to shoot all the (100 or so) chickens, turkeys, and ducks they had before they moved out. They were only about 6 months old, just getting to be a good age! The boy dressed some of them and put them in the fridge, others he just left. Also forgot to plug in the fridge, lol, EWWWWEEEE!!
As caretakers, my hubby and I helped maintain, rent/sell the property. One day he and our dogs flushed up a couple chickens. Hubby was going to go do them in. I said "NOOO! They lived through a Michigan winter (it's not exactly the tropics here, lol!) they didn't get shot, they didn't get eaten, they didn't starve! You can't kill them!" I thought we would feed them till someone bought the place, but the next thing I knew, he was building a coop for them. I had always wanted chickens; he had always said no, so yay!!
So we started with those- 2 sexlinks and a Rhode Island Red. They were so skinny, but just a couple weeks later they started laying eggs, and we were addicted!!!
Now we have about 15 adults, and various onsey -twosey babies. We have Black Copper Marans, Jubilee Orpingtons Lavender Ameracaunas, and of course our egg laying standby's Rhode Island reds.
I knew absolutely nothing whatsoever about chickens, so I did a lot of goggling, and most of the answers led me to BCY. Eventually I joined as a member, in 2012.
I often call this "the slippery slope to chicken addiction", we now have 3 separate coops and areas and talk about making more. Hubby has limited me to 3 "cool breeds" that we want to keep separate, but no limit (so far) on standard layers. By the way- a number of our friends have noted, he seems to be at least as addicted as I am, if not more so...
All this said - every day, I feel like I am very new to chicken keeping. I’m thankful to everyone who has provided useful info to me, and when I’m able to help someone else, it makes me feel like I won a prize!
Sorry this was so long....
Hi there. My name is Nancy, but you can call me SMITHNAN, lol, bet you can't guess my last name! It took a while for me to join BYC because whenever I had a question, I would just search on it, and SOMEONE had been through it before. Eventually I joined and now 4 years later, I guess it's time to introduce myself.
About 4-5 years ago, our next door renter sent his son to shoot all the (100 or so) chickens, turkeys, and ducks they had before they moved out. They were only about 6 months old, just getting to be a good age! The boy dressed some of them and put them in the fridge, others he just left. Also forgot to plug in the fridge, lol, EWWWWEEEE!!
As caretakers, my hubby and I helped maintain, rent/sell the property. One day he and our dogs flushed up a couple chickens. Hubby was going to go do them in. I said "NOOO! They lived through a Michigan winter (it's not exactly the tropics here, lol!) they didn't get shot, they didn't get eaten, they didn't starve! You can't kill them!" I thought we would feed them till someone bought the place, but the next thing I knew, he was building a coop for them. I had always wanted chickens; he had always said no, so yay!!
So we started with those- 2 sexlinks and a Rhode Island Red. They were so skinny, but just a couple weeks later they started laying eggs, and we were addicted!!!
Now we have about 15 adults, and various onsey -twosey babies. We have Black Copper Marans, Jubilee Orpingtons Lavender Ameracaunas, and of course our egg laying standby's Rhode Island reds.
I knew absolutely nothing whatsoever about chickens, so I did a lot of goggling, and most of the answers led me to BCY. Eventually I joined as a member, in 2012.
I often call this "the slippery slope to chicken addiction", we now have 3 separate coops and areas and talk about making more. Hubby has limited me to 3 "cool breeds" that we want to keep separate, but no limit (so far) on standard layers. By the way- a number of our friends have noted, he seems to be at least as addicted as I am, if not more so...
All this said - every day, I feel like I am very new to chicken keeping. I’m thankful to everyone who has provided useful info to me, and when I’m able to help someone else, it makes me feel like I won a prize!
Sorry this was so long....
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