Hello everyone! I'm a new member of BackYard Chickens, but I've been visiting your forums on and off over the years. Thought I should make it official in case I have some advice/help to offer 
.
I'm not brand new to chickens at all. I had pet chickens while growing up, then took a break once I hit high school and during my college years. About six or seven years ago I decided I missed having bickies (my pet name for chickens and hence, part of my user name). My dad and I built a coop as part of my Christmas present and that spring I got some new babies (Rhode Island Reds and Barred Rocks).
I still have one girl left from the original batch (Alice my Barred Rock), and adopted a batam mix rooster (Rori) from some friends and a stray American game hen (Larke) I rescued from my dogs.
At the beginning of June I got some more chicks from my local feed store: 2 Buff Orpingtons (Gerard and Gretchen), 2 Rhode Island Reds (Hattie and Eloise), 2 Silver Laced Wyandottes (Agatha and Maisie), 2 Ameracaunas (Beatrix and Viola), and 2 Silver Laced Polish (Sylvia and Dinah). A week after I finished getting all my new chicks, a Guinea fowl chick (Victoria) showed up in my yard, so now I have him/her as well.
The chicks are now 7 and 6 weeks old (I got the Silver Laced Polish a week after the rest) and Larke just hatched out a batch of 11 (Larke is the Am. game hen and the father is Rori, a White Leghorn Bantam/Serama cross). Four of the chicks are black, two are brown, and five are yellow/white/pale buff colored. Some look like they'll have their father's rose comb while others look like they'll have the game fowl comb.
Altogether, I have 24 chickens (including the young ones) and one Guinea fowl.
My favorite aspects of raising backyard chickens are: 1.) The baby phase. I LOVE raising the chicks up from day-old/hatchlings and enjoy spending a lot of time with them so they know I'm a member of their flock. I love to see what colors they will be and how their personalities develop. 2.) Fresh eggs. Who doesn't like fresh eggs? 3.) Having a Roo (I live more out in the country and the neighbors have dozens of roosters). I love roosters and if they didn't fight with each other all the time, I'd keep more of them. I'm certain one of my Buff Orpingtons is a roo and I'm kind of excited about having one for this new flock.
I have lots of other hobbies. I like gardening to some extent - at least I love plants and trees. I like camping and go to Yosemite as often as I can. I'm a fantasy author and reader, so I love my books and writing. I also like to cook and sew when time permits. On Sundays, I go to my long sword class where I learn to fight HEMA (historical European martial arts) style. I'm a huge nerd and the fact that I treat my chickens like my precious children just confirms that fact.
I'm pretty sure I stumbled upon BYC years ago when I first started up chicken keeping again to get some answers to questions I had. I think I Googled a question and a conversation in a BYC forum popped up. The people in this community seem to be very knowledgeable and everyone here clearly loves their bickies (chickens), so I kept coming back and thought it was time I joined. Hope to be able to contribute in the future!
Here are some pictures of my Littles:
.I'm not brand new to chickens at all. I had pet chickens while growing up, then took a break once I hit high school and during my college years. About six or seven years ago I decided I missed having bickies (my pet name for chickens and hence, part of my user name
). My dad and I built a coop as part of my Christmas present and that spring I got some new babies (Rhode Island Reds and Barred Rocks).I still have one girl left from the original batch (Alice my Barred Rock), and adopted a batam mix rooster (Rori) from some friends and a stray American game hen (Larke) I rescued from my dogs.
At the beginning of June I got some more chicks from my local feed store: 2 Buff Orpingtons (Gerard and Gretchen), 2 Rhode Island Reds (Hattie and Eloise), 2 Silver Laced Wyandottes (Agatha and Maisie), 2 Ameracaunas (Beatrix and Viola), and 2 Silver Laced Polish (Sylvia and Dinah). A week after I finished getting all my new chicks, a Guinea fowl chick (Victoria) showed up in my yard, so now I have him/her as well.
The chicks are now 7 and 6 weeks old (I got the Silver Laced Polish a week after the rest) and Larke just hatched out a batch of 11 (Larke is the Am. game hen and the father is Rori, a White Leghorn Bantam/Serama cross). Four of the chicks are black, two are brown, and five are yellow/white/pale buff colored. Some look like they'll have their father's rose comb while others look like they'll have the game fowl comb.
Altogether, I have 24 chickens (including the young ones) and one Guinea fowl.
My favorite aspects of raising backyard chickens are: 1.) The baby phase. I LOVE raising the chicks up from day-old/hatchlings and enjoy spending a lot of time with them so they know I'm a member of their flock. I love to see what colors they will be and how their personalities develop. 2.) Fresh eggs. Who doesn't like fresh eggs? 3.) Having a Roo (I live more out in the country and the neighbors have dozens of roosters). I love roosters and if they didn't fight with each other all the time, I'd keep more of them. I'm certain one of my Buff Orpingtons is a roo and I'm kind of excited about having one for this new flock.
I have lots of other hobbies. I like gardening to some extent - at least I love plants and trees. I like camping and go to Yosemite as often as I can. I'm a fantasy author and reader, so I love my books and writing. I also like to cook and sew when time permits. On Sundays, I go to my long sword class where I learn to fight HEMA (historical European martial arts) style. I'm a huge nerd and the fact that I treat my chickens like my precious children just confirms that fact
.I'm pretty sure I stumbled upon BYC years ago when I first started up chicken keeping again to get some answers to questions I had. I think I Googled a question and a conversation in a BYC forum popped up. The people in this community seem to be very knowledgeable and everyone here clearly loves their bickies (chickens
), so I kept coming back and thought it was time I joined. Hope to be able to contribute in the future!Here are some pictures of my Littles:
from me in Adelaide! In case you don't know, that's in South Australia. I enjoyed reading your intro, thanks for writing it and your little ones are gorgeous.
Glad you joined.
We are glad you joined this flock!
