Hi! My name is Beth, and I live on the southern coast of North Carolina.
(1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens?
I've had chickens for 3 years, but I guess I first got the bug back in 1979, when a breeder and family friend gave me these cool blue eggs for a 6th grade incubator project. Unfortunately, they didn't hatch (and my parents had already laid down the law that anything that did hatch was going straight back to the breeder anyway, lol) but I never forgot them, and did a lot of research on the 2 breeds that lay blue eggs. I decided it was Ameraucanas I wanted to work with, but thought it best to start w/EEs from a hatchery, since I'd never had chickens before and didn't want to gamble with valuable breeding stock. After I had raised the EE chicks to maturity and hatched 3 clutches in the incubator, I had enough confidence to order some Ameraucana hatching eggs from Wayne Meredith. As these birds (Black, Wheaton & Wheaton Blue) have matured, I have sold off all but 4 of my EEs, which I've kept as layers.
(2) How many chickens do you have right now? Currently I have about 75 birds on the place, but 40+ of those are RIR pullets I've raised up to sell. Last year everyone wanted to buy my hens, so I figured if they want hens, this year I'll give them hens, so I ordered 50 pullets.
(3) What breeds do you have? My focus is on LF Ameraucanas and that's all I breed, but I do have a few remaining EEs for egg production, and will probably retain some of the RIRs as well.
(4) How did you find out about BackYardChickens.com? Google
(5) What are some of your other hobbies? equestrian activities, carpentry, gardening, photography, cheese & soap making, knitting, and hope to get my goats & chickens to some shows this year.
(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share. I'm a SAHM w/one child, have elderly dogs, cats, horses & parrots that have all been with me many years, and Lamancha dairy goats whom I absolutely adore!
(1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens?
I've had chickens for 3 years, but I guess I first got the bug back in 1979, when a breeder and family friend gave me these cool blue eggs for a 6th grade incubator project. Unfortunately, they didn't hatch (and my parents had already laid down the law that anything that did hatch was going straight back to the breeder anyway, lol) but I never forgot them, and did a lot of research on the 2 breeds that lay blue eggs. I decided it was Ameraucanas I wanted to work with, but thought it best to start w/EEs from a hatchery, since I'd never had chickens before and didn't want to gamble with valuable breeding stock. After I had raised the EE chicks to maturity and hatched 3 clutches in the incubator, I had enough confidence to order some Ameraucana hatching eggs from Wayne Meredith. As these birds (Black, Wheaton & Wheaton Blue) have matured, I have sold off all but 4 of my EEs, which I've kept as layers.
(2) How many chickens do you have right now? Currently I have about 75 birds on the place, but 40+ of those are RIR pullets I've raised up to sell. Last year everyone wanted to buy my hens, so I figured if they want hens, this year I'll give them hens, so I ordered 50 pullets.
(3) What breeds do you have? My focus is on LF Ameraucanas and that's all I breed, but I do have a few remaining EEs for egg production, and will probably retain some of the RIRs as well.
(4) How did you find out about BackYardChickens.com? Google
(5) What are some of your other hobbies? equestrian activities, carpentry, gardening, photography, cheese & soap making, knitting, and hope to get my goats & chickens to some shows this year.
(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share. I'm a SAHM w/one child, have elderly dogs, cats, horses & parrots that have all been with me many years, and Lamancha dairy goats whom I absolutely adore!
