Hey there from Where the Lovers Leap :-)

[bluemtndiva]

Hi
I am the self-described Madam of the Buffalo Chicken Ranch (named so because my rural community is dubbed "Buffalo Ridge) I live in southwestern Virginia....and my fondest childhood memories are the times I spent with my Memaw and her chickens! I FINALLY have a flock of my own and I LOVE it! I've stopped watching TV cause my Girls are just too much fun :-D

Despite my experience helping my grandmother in my youth...I am definitely learning as I go and I use this website quite frequently for advice and the F.A.Qs.

Also...I'm an amateur photographer and these chickens have proved to be my very best models!

So.....that's me looking forward to talkin' to all a'yall!

oxoxox
bluemtndiva

 

[dawg53]

Welcome to BYC.

 

[kidcody]

from washington state glad you joined us!

 

[Kevin565]

 

[deek]

Anyone that says y'all is welcome IMO. Welcome from South Georgia.

 

[1muttsfan]

Hi and welcome to BYC from northern Michigan

 

[weimarmama]

&

from Alabama. Glad you joined us.

 

[bluemtndiva]

thanks Er'body! and @weimarmama I'm sorry I couldn't give you the thumbs up as well....apparently I met my quota for that today! But rest assured , you are appreciated!

today we went and picked up the rest of the materials for our second coop that we are building for our lil fledgling Easter Eggers....and no time like the present!! our Girls are really outgrowing their current living conditions on our front porch!! I am approaching my chicken adventures just as I do everything....reuse, recycle...etc etc...our new coop is built from old decking material that was doomed to a burn pile and their initial yard area is going to be an old dog lot...(hoping my Girls wont mind the smell of dog...I don't think they will..they seem to get along with MY dogs pretty well)
I would love to free range our birds...but we literally live in the wilds of the Blue Ridge Mountains, complete with coyotes, hawks and bears (oh MY) and so I feel better about keeping them all hemmed up unless I am present in the yard! It's super fun to let them out under supervision and watch Alvin, my Manchester Terrier (think Doberman.......but shrunk with a Super Devious Shrink Ray)....watching Alvin "herd" the Girls back where they belong!!

So far.......I have two Rhode Island hens and "Stew" the rooster(who's time on Earth is limited because he's super aggressive and has lethal looking spurs.....I'm either going to eat him or make some money on him fighting ((KIDDING!!!)) ...and then there's my new babies........2 New Hampshire hens....2 Brown Leghorn hens......6 EEs....one of them a Roo (I think)
all the new Girls (and Boy) are about 7 weeks old....we are watching them closely to see if we have more Roos than we bargained for.......

I have taken great pains (ok...not pains, I have enjoyed ever dang minute of it) to love the new babies....hold them, pet them, squeeze them, hug them, and name them George (...and Freckles, and Pickle, and Ophelia...and etc etc).....I am hoping that even if we end up with the extra Roo....this will make the difference!

 

[Lothiriel]

Hi and welcome to BYC from NY State!

Glad you joined us here.

I love the mental image of your Manchester Terrier herding the chickens! They're probably about the same size as he is, right? (I haven't seen a Manchester in person.)

 

[bluemtndiva]

heheh...in their minds....the Girls are way bigger and meaner than Alvin ......he is a Manchester....is really sort of like a median between a Mini Pin (which is more the size of a Chihuahua.) and an actual Dobi.....so Al....is like 24 lbs (he was thinner but he's pretty lazy and has gotten a lil fat)

however....when he starts herding the Girls...they squawk and flock up and get all worked up...and it makes him feel powerful......which is the opposite of how he feels when my Blue Tick Hound (Sally Anne) nips his rear end.......