Good Day to All..... I'm rookie farmer on a mini-sized farm nestled between mountain ranges in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. First and foremost, I have to say, "I wish I had found this site years ago!" the information and experience that the members of this site present to us, is invaluable to anyone starting a flock or even someone that has been caring for chickens for years. Thank you all up front for sharing your experiences and knowledge with me, I hope that I can be a good steward to this site as with my flock and one day pass on the experience gained to others.
I guess a brief history of my flock follows: I started 3 years ago with sharing an order from McMurray with a friend at work and a book on chickens from Tractor Supply. We recieved 14 little fuzzy beauties in spring and set to work with our throw together brooder. Amazingly we only lost 1 peep that appeared weak from shipping. We got an order in equal parts of BA's, Del's, NHR's, and BO's all hens we thought. We later learned 1 was a Del Roo! Sadly, because of my inexperience I think I contributed to his later aggression by having to small a house and not establishing my dominate roo status with him. He was a big pretty roo (almost 10lbs), but with a small son at home with us we had to shorten his life experience. We mangled the butchering part so bad we couldn't eat him, what a waste he was like a small turkey in size. The "girls" as I began to call them grew as well and have provided us with a bounty of eggs and entertainment over the years. There is just no comparison of a natural egg and (factory) egg in nutrition or pure enjoyment! Currently, My flock is down to only 6 girls left surviving illness and hawks, they are my toughest of the tough. A few weeks ago I answered an add in the valley trader and got a free rooster from a neighbor. I think it is a oeg but I'll post later to the indentify board to see what everyone else thinks. So far 4 hens have taken a shine to his romancing ways (he's a dancer funniest thing I ever saw), but 2 of my girls have issues with him. The one is my last del and the flock leader these past years, his attempts at wooing her have earned him a couple of UFC worthy behind kickings. The other is my main girl and the reason I got him, a BO we call Miss Broody, shes a very strong broody hen that stays broody off and on from Feb. to late Oct. I hope to raise some peeps the old fashioned way. Wish me luck... I recon I bored you guys enough for now... thanks for reading.....
I guess a brief history of my flock follows: I started 3 years ago with sharing an order from McMurray with a friend at work and a book on chickens from Tractor Supply. We recieved 14 little fuzzy beauties in spring and set to work with our throw together brooder. Amazingly we only lost 1 peep that appeared weak from shipping. We got an order in equal parts of BA's, Del's, NHR's, and BO's all hens we thought. We later learned 1 was a Del Roo! Sadly, because of my inexperience I think I contributed to his later aggression by having to small a house and not establishing my dominate roo status with him. He was a big pretty roo (almost 10lbs), but with a small son at home with us we had to shorten his life experience. We mangled the butchering part so bad we couldn't eat him, what a waste he was like a small turkey in size. The "girls" as I began to call them grew as well and have provided us with a bounty of eggs and entertainment over the years. There is just no comparison of a natural egg and (factory) egg in nutrition or pure enjoyment! Currently, My flock is down to only 6 girls left surviving illness and hawks, they are my toughest of the tough. A few weeks ago I answered an add in the valley trader and got a free rooster from a neighbor. I think it is a oeg but I'll post later to the indentify board to see what everyone else thinks. So far 4 hens have taken a shine to his romancing ways (he's a dancer funniest thing I ever saw), but 2 of my girls have issues with him. The one is my last del and the flock leader these past years, his attempts at wooing her have earned him a couple of UFC worthy behind kickings. The other is my main girl and the reason I got him, a BO we call Miss Broody, shes a very strong broody hen that stays broody off and on from Feb. to late Oct. I hope to raise some peeps the old fashioned way. Wish me luck... I recon I bored you guys enough for now... thanks for reading.....
