It's been 33 days since my last order of day old chicks -
But seriously, I have repeatedly found myself in these forums for insight and advice over the last year - so decided it is time to join. This is my first forum of any kind - so be gentle.
It's a long introduction so scroll at your own risk.
Intro questions/answers:
(1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens? No, but I have been married (29 yrs) to a sailor (USN 25 yrs ret) so we have lived in places that allowed chickens and places that haven't... and a few in between. He is now retired and we are "settling" down on a small 5 acre farmstead in eastern WA.
(2) How many chickens do you have right now? I have 5 hens that are just over a year and I'm expecting another 7 day-old chicks tomorrow for a grand total of the dusty dozen.
(3) What breeds do you have? Currently I have 2 Welsummers and 3 Americaunas. I'm expecting 2 cream Legbars, 1 black copper Maran, 1 Buckeye, 1 Spangled Hamburg, 1 Egyptian Fayoumi, and an easter egger. (So basically a kaleidoscope of eggs in an assortment of sizes)
(4) How did you find out about BackYardChickens.com? Every search I have tried over the last year for advice on chickens has found it's way back here for the best and most common sense driven advice!
(5) What are some of your other hobbies? Horses, sewing, canning - basically home economics meets Ag plus a little soccer mixed in.
(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share. Our last duty station was in San Diego, CA - we waited for the kids (23 and 25 y.o.) to get settled doing their own thang and we RAN out of there as fast as we could!!! LOL. I work from home - as in some company back East actually pays me to sit at my computer in my pjs - which has allowed me way too much time to create a healthy (or unhealthy if you're asking my husband) bond with my hens.
In 2011 I was diagnosed with MS - and we completely changed our lifestyle/eating habits. We focused on eating whole organic foods with minimal processing and what better way to minimize processed food than to raise it yourself. We were going through eggs like nobody's business and it occurred to me I could literally guarantee what the hens were fed if I raised them myself.
Therefore we (meaning me...I can't lie...it was all me
) decided to get a few hens for eggs and I ordered chicks. Four weeks out from the hatch date my hubby's new company suddenly gave us a quick path out of CA with a great package. Knowing we would be moving at some point (sooner not later) I made a serious effort to hand raise my chicks when they arrived - mainly to make the move easier on all of us but the by-product was I fell head over heels for them. They became so much more than a food source. Their personalities, their quirks, how they greet me and ignore everyone else.
As Murphy would have it, my new pullets hit laying age about a week before the big move. We loaded them and their little coop into the back of our empty horse trailer (the horse was shipped separately) and those silly girls laid us eggs all the way from Southern CA to Eastern WA!!! Our realtor loved that we gave her fresh eggs as our house warming gift. LOL
Why more chicks? LSS and aside from the obvious addiction issues - our daughter was away at college when I brooded my first batch of chicks so when she came home for the summer we decided it would be fun to brood another batch together - plus I wanted to add some specific birds. But my designer flock wasn't as easy to find and we had to wait for the right hatch dates. Hey, the heart wants what the heart wants, right? A big shout out to MyPetChicken.com - because I put them through their paces with this order. - However, I do reserve the right to change my opinion based on the arrival of healthy and correct breed chicks, but so far they have been just great.
Apparently it's late in the year to start brooding
We do have long summers and fairly mild winters plus we built a solid and well insulated yet ventilated coop. (Hubs was in nuclear power so we (meaning he) over engineer everything. It really is both a blessing and a curse.
My 8x10 chicken "castle" is mostly move in ready... just needs some exterior details like shingles, a moat, and drawbridge. jk probably not a moat...well... maybe a moat? Hey, who doesn't want a moat? Right?!?!
I do plan to officially move the big girls this week. They've been "helping" keep the bugs at bay throughout the coop build so it's just a matter of convincing them the new bigger one is where to find food, water, and the best place to roost at night. We will move our smaller 4x6 coop along side the big one once the babies get their big girl feathers so "we" can all get to know each other before it's winter and there's only one draft free coop. (My hens do free range all day and get locked up for protection at night through all seasons.)
So here I am on the eve of my new chickies arrival... I have confirmed my phone number with the Post Office...the brooder is prepped and temp perfected... probiotic water/electrolytes are ready... And now I have officially joined Backyard Chickens forum. Nothing left to do but wait for the call.
Anyhoo... looking forward to meeting everyone and tapping into some great advice.
Kathy
But seriously, I have repeatedly found myself in these forums for insight and advice over the last year - so decided it is time to join. This is my first forum of any kind - so be gentle.
It's a long introduction so scroll at your own risk.Intro questions/answers:
(1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens? No, but I have been married (29 yrs) to a sailor (USN 25 yrs ret) so we have lived in places that allowed chickens and places that haven't... and a few in between. He is now retired and we are "settling" down on a small 5 acre farmstead in eastern WA.
(2) How many chickens do you have right now? I have 5 hens that are just over a year and I'm expecting another 7 day-old chicks tomorrow for a grand total of the dusty dozen.
(3) What breeds do you have? Currently I have 2 Welsummers and 3 Americaunas. I'm expecting 2 cream Legbars, 1 black copper Maran, 1 Buckeye, 1 Spangled Hamburg, 1 Egyptian Fayoumi, and an easter egger. (So basically a kaleidoscope of eggs in an assortment of sizes)
(4) How did you find out about BackYardChickens.com? Every search I have tried over the last year for advice on chickens has found it's way back here for the best and most common sense driven advice!
(5) What are some of your other hobbies? Horses, sewing, canning - basically home economics meets Ag plus a little soccer mixed in.
(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share. Our last duty station was in San Diego, CA - we waited for the kids (23 and 25 y.o.) to get settled doing their own thang and we RAN out of there as fast as we could!!! LOL. I work from home - as in some company back East actually pays me to sit at my computer in my pjs - which has allowed me way too much time to create a healthy (or unhealthy if you're asking my husband) bond with my hens.
In 2011 I was diagnosed with MS - and we completely changed our lifestyle/eating habits. We focused on eating whole organic foods with minimal processing and what better way to minimize processed food than to raise it yourself. We were going through eggs like nobody's business and it occurred to me I could literally guarantee what the hens were fed if I raised them myself.
Therefore we (meaning me...I can't lie...it was all me
) decided to get a few hens for eggs and I ordered chicks. Four weeks out from the hatch date my hubby's new company suddenly gave us a quick path out of CA with a great package. Knowing we would be moving at some point (sooner not later) I made a serious effort to hand raise my chicks when they arrived - mainly to make the move easier on all of us but the by-product was I fell head over heels for them. They became so much more than a food source. Their personalities, their quirks, how they greet me and ignore everyone else. As Murphy would have it, my new pullets hit laying age about a week before the big move. We loaded them and their little coop into the back of our empty horse trailer (the horse was shipped separately) and those silly girls laid us eggs all the way from Southern CA to Eastern WA!!! Our realtor loved that we gave her fresh eggs as our house warming gift. LOL
Why more chicks? LSS and aside from the obvious addiction issues - our daughter was away at college when I brooded my first batch of chicks so when she came home for the summer we decided it would be fun to brood another batch together - plus I wanted to add some specific birds. But my designer flock wasn't as easy to find and we had to wait for the right hatch dates. Hey, the heart wants what the heart wants, right? A big shout out to MyPetChicken.com - because I put them through their paces with this order. - However, I do reserve the right to change my opinion based on the arrival of healthy and correct breed chicks, but so far they have been just great.
Apparently it's late in the year to start brooding
We do have long summers and fairly mild winters plus we built a solid and well insulated yet ventilated coop. (Hubs was in nuclear power so we (meaning he) over engineer everything. It really is both a blessing and a curse.My 8x10 chicken "castle" is mostly move in ready... just needs some exterior details like shingles, a moat, and drawbridge.
jk probably not a moat...well... maybe a moat? Hey, who doesn't want a moat? Right?!?! I do plan to officially move the big girls this week. They've been "helping" keep the bugs at bay throughout the coop build so it's just a matter of convincing them the new bigger one is where to find food, water, and the best place to roost at night. We will move our smaller 4x6 coop along side the big one once the babies get their big girl feathers so "we" can all get to know each other before it's winter and there's only one draft free coop. (My hens do free range all day and get locked up for protection at night through all seasons.)
So here I am on the eve of my new chickies arrival... I have confirmed my phone number with the Post Office...the brooder is prepped and temp perfected... probiotic water/electrolytes are ready... And now I have officially joined Backyard Chickens forum. Nothing left to do but wait for the call.
Anyhoo... looking forward to meeting everyone and tapping into some great advice.
Kathy
and Welcome to Backyard Chickens. Good luck with your future flock! 
