How did you get into chickens??

[Chick_In_The_Burbs]

I saw a magazine cover about a year ago when I was shopping. It was a gorgious hen; I hadn't ever thought of chickens in colors other than brown. This bird was white with black spots and had a crest! That caught my interest and I bought the magazine(still have it around here somewhere). Then thoughts of self-sufficiancy, anti-antibiotics and humaine treatment filled my head. The rest is history!

 

[Netherworldtaken]

Our story begins with a trip to the farm supply store. The wife meant to ask if the girls were interested in chickens but instead asked if they wanted some. After convincing them that they needed to wait one year to learn all that they could, we got three reds, then the buff and the rock a few weeks later. One of the reds moved to topeka to live on a farm because we cant have roos.

 

[Stevo]

When I bought this farm it was very shambled. No one had lived here for over 4 years. The fields were overgrown and the woods were creeping up to the house and around all the buildings. I started to clear everything in January. But by April with everything warming up I would have to pull ticks off me everyday. I decided to get some chickens to eat the ticks. I went to Agway right after easter and got a bunch of chicks. Turned out to be EE's. By July there was not one tick left lol. I found this site and got good info and now get close to a dozen eggs everyday and have been tick free ever since. I added a dozen mixed Bantams to the flock. The snow is starting to melt and we have some clear spots were you can actually see the ground now. The girls have allready been scratching threw the litter looking for bugs.

 

[sheila3935]

I have always wanted chickens. But with kids and job I just seemed too busy all the time. Well kids grew up all left home but 1 and I started telling DH I wanted chickens. At first he just kind of ignored me. I starting researching and found out we could have them. This last Mothers day DH surprised me by building me a coop. He then went to the feed store to get me some chicks. Curses they were all out. So my neighbor that had bought some gave DH 2 for me. They were RIR. Told DH 2 were not enough to give us eggs and let our kids have some too. So we went to an auction and got 6 more RIR's.( I will never go to an auction again but thats another story) Then I want different variety. So now I have 25 chickens. RIR's BR's BA's NN's Bearded belgian D'Anvers cochin bantams and several mixes. Just hatched 5 chickies yesterday have 6 more in lockdown and 10 more in another incubator. We also have 4 ducks. Now that we have had chickens for almost a year I couldnt imagine a life without them

 

[maple]

Quote:
I was waitin for that.

 

[maple]

I started cuz I wanted some poo and the garden books said chicken poo was the best.

 

[calicokat]

Oh my goodness, it was my neighbor's fault! Darn her

I mentioned that I was enjoying the fresh eggs she shared, and thought I might like to have a couple of chickens too. Dh built a nice coop & run. Then that awful, enabler lady . . . . she gave me two chickens. Then we rescued one that was hanging out in another neighbor's yard (and roosting in his mudroom on the freezer at night - using the dog entrance to get in, LOL).

Oh, and then we saw the baby chicks at the store, well . . . . that added 2, now we're at 5. Saw an ad on Craigslist for 2 Green Egg layers - well, gosh, had to have those -- but wait, I mentioned 4H to the guy and "boy do I have a great pair of hens for that!" So, add two White Crested Blue Polish to the flock -- now we're at 9.

And, needless to say it's just been crazy chicken math mixed with polish love ever since! Today the flock is at 16 (down from a high of 24 last summer), and there are at least 10 chicks heading our way at the end of the month (maybe more. . . . I ended up in charge of making the group order for the 4H group, and 10 are not spoken for. . . . . .oh dear!)

 

[Judy]

We had chickens when I was a kid. We'd get what I now know were RIR some years and BR or Dominiques some years, in early spring, get eggs for a while, but always ate them all before the dead of winter set in. I can actually remember chickens occasionally running around with their heads cut off. I've had 3 flocks at various times in my adult life, for eggs. Bought the start of this flock after I retired and moved to the country, from a local feed store, without knowing anything about breeds. They had a flyer from Ideal posted, and I thought, gotta have some of those "Ameraucanas" for blue eggs for the grandkids. I remember the brown eggs from our back yard always tasted better than the white ones from the store. I did know by then they are the same inside, but still suspected that brown shells are harder and hopefully keep the egg fresher longer, so mostly I wanted brown egg layers.

 

[feather and mountain man]

Well it is a family illness for me and mine. It is kind of a funny thing. My mom had chickens first she gave me my chickens. In return I gave her eggs. She missed her chickens and when I moved I gave them back. She then gave some chicks to my sister and she raised them up and gave me some full grown chickens a few years ago. Oh yeah and me and my Mom drove an hour away once to get her some EE's a few years ago and bought about 30 chickens. She lost most of them to coons in about a week and gave the others to her friend for safe keeping. Now my sis moved and gave her chickens to mom. I also gave mom 5 hens last year. Now I have bought a few from Rural King and from Ideal. So my mom wants some EE's and I bought the chicks to raise up until Mothers Day to give her. SSHHhhh its a secret she doesn't know. I can't wait.

Anyway it is a family illness for us we are all chicken crazy.

 

[PaulaSB12]

I got my allotment 2 years ago and last year my mother said don't get chickens for it, which of course set me of thinking about chickens. I have waited til this year partly because she has been ill and partly because I knew nothing about chickens.