How did you get into the chicken hobby?

[joanm]

My brother lives in a small town not far from me. Easter, two years ago, we went to his house and ate lunch and sat outside and watched their chickens free-ranging in the yard. That evening I helped collect the eggs and feed all their animals. It was so peaceful and entertaining to watch the chickens and all the other animals. That got me to thinking...

 

[lcountry]

Two months ago, I got seven chicks to raise for the eggs. Just the eggs. They were SUPPOSED to be simply "working girls". I had NO idea that I would love them so much...or to be honest, spend so much on them!

I didn't even really know that the breeds were so different, but good advice from the feed store got me 3 orpingtons, two americauna (maybe), and two leghorns. My orpington sweeties are extra special, but I really the love the mix that I have.

Now, I'm just dying to have a couple silkies. Anyone in north Texas with some silkies for sale?

I'm hooked!

 

[jaseg]

This might sound a little odd, but the reason I got into hobby farming (back yard chickens, turkeys and pigs) was when I was a kid in the late 70's my brother and I got a fisher price farm set and I just loved the little characters that came with it.
Growing up in the city I never saw or was exposed to farm life. I come from a rich ancestoral backgorund of farmers but My Grandfather became an electrical engineer after WW2 and the 1000 acre farm was sold off piece by piece. My father never farmed but has many nice stories about visiting the farm in the summer, -something I was never exposed to. So here I am 35 year old father of three beautiful children and a loving wife who tolerates my ambitious ideas and I have a small hobby farm which is slowly growing each year. This year we may build a big barn out back if the finances allow.

 

[SpottedCrow]

I love your avatar too, Aimee! LOL
This is going to be long, sorry.
My sojourn in the land of chicken started 4 years ago.
My son's 3rd grade class hatches chicks every year as a science project. At the end of 2 weeks they go back to the farm. All of the kids get to take a couple for a few days and tell what they did...Well, our 2, Tom Brunanaski, an EE pullet and Jerry Remy, a Leghorn cockerel, peeped and cried the first night. So I picked them up and they fell asleep on my shoulder...that was it...I was done for...had to keep em...So I went to the teacher and got the waterer and feeder and food and I took them home for good. Hubby didn't talk to me for a few days. Then I went and bought them a lovely rabbit hutch as a coop. Silent treatment for a whole week.
In August, I lost Tom to a raccoon attack. Jerry was a wreck. He cowered under the dining room table and cried and whimpered. So I went off and got a couple of friends for him. They were Slifer the Sky Dragona Light Brahma/Leghorn mix and Obelisk the Tormentor, a Leghorn. I didn't get to name them OR Tom and Jerry. Around Sept. Jerry started crowing and all hell broke loose.By the end of Sept. I was getting visited by the Health Department. I was so stressed that I wound up going into the hospital at the end of Oct. In October, I had to find a home for Jerry which wasn't easy, even though he was handraised and friendly as all get out. I was getting to the point where stuffing him in a box and running him over with the car was an alternative to him going someplace for soup. My SIL found a place in NH that would take him. That was a very sad and long 3 hours...I thought I had cried out all my tears with Tom's demise.
In November, Slifer starts crowing...aw nuts!! Now I have to have her in the house. At least my back porch is enclosed. It's one of the coldest Januarys on record and my babies got frostbite, so into the bathroom they go until the temp gets back to normal.
Skip ahead to the summer. I have learned to muzzle my chicken. Slifer is such a great big cantakerous bird, who only likes me! She's still crowing...so I wound up asking about hormones and caponizing and all that fun stuff. I get a hint about Sepia and Phytoestrogens, so I put my birdy on a female hormone regimen for a month. She's still crowing, but lays a lovely baby yellow egg. Her first and only one. I still have it in the fridge. LOL
The first winter Obelisk also started laying. I had one problem with her being eggbound, but I got such great information on how to fix her up, that we got through it fine.
She lays a nice pink egg.
My babies have gone to petshops, school for show and tell, and to Chickenstocks. They've been completely spoiled and loved.
Last summer, I lost my Slifer to bumblefoot. I cut out the bumble, but I had gotten to her too late to do much good. She crossed the bridge the same day that Tom died. To say I was hysterical was putting it mildly.
Obelisk walked around calling for her for a few days, then went on with her life.
I felt that she would be fine on her own, but in December I found Miss MoneyPenny at the NEBC show. There were four birds in the pen and Penny was getting stomped on and I couldn't just leave her there. I asked to pat her, then hold her, then she sat on my shoulder and I bought another bird. The first one I ever bought and the first one of my own that I named. LOL
Obelisk was sooo not amused. She's sort of gotten used to her now. There's a few squabbles about who has the better food in the dish even though there's two dishes for food and two dishes for water and they're both the same!
My Goddess, I really did run on...I do apologize.

 

[Cheri]

I saw cute lil easter chickens for 2 dollars each. Little did I know they were all boys! Fell in love and here we are.

 

[intownfarm]

A few years ago I had to keep these chickens in a wildlife preserve that they came and tested for West Nile ever month. Better the chickens than me. Bears and weasles and all manner of wildlife would try to get them but I got attached to them and loved the fresh eggs. (we had some pretty crazy ways of keeping them from the critters) As soon as I got settled i knew I had to get chickens of my own. They are so fun to watch! So i ordered them and the rest is history.

 

[chickflick]

When I was a kid, I found a chick at the curb of a busy street when I lived in Chicago. Turned out to be a silkie. She was a house chicken....out during the day, in the house at night. She was such a cutie.
Now, I live in a rural area in MI. I have a big flower garden. A couple of years ago grasshoppers were eating everything. I read somewhere that the only way to control grasshoppers is with chickens. So, I went to a farmer to borrow a couple of chickens for the summer. They lent me two Astroloupes, young and not laying yet. They sure took care of those hoppers!! And, I fell in love with them. So did Krisrose! Went back to the farmer and told him he couldn't have Lavere and Shirley back!
I also saw an ad in the paper for silkies! I had to have them. I got one white and one black.
Krisrose wanted chickens also. So, off to the feed store we went. We ended up with 17 chicks. They are about 12 weeks old now. Then, Kristen's friend wanted to order chicks but only wanted 15, so we made up the other 10. They are now 5 wks old. I get 7 of the 1st batch and 5 of the other.
We've been busy building our coops and runs! We sure enjoy them!! Just reminds me of a simpler time and it's just so relaxing to watch them.

 

[homesteader34]

Well mine is long...My parents died when I was a child and I moved in with my grandparents. They had a farm and I loved it. I always helped with the chickens and garden and felt right at home. It brought a peace over me. I knew one day I wanted one of my own. Well, they died when I was a teenager and I bounced from home to home after that. I finally met my husband and had kids. I had to have a hysterectomy 3 yrs ago. After my surgery, my hormones and everything changed. I am now allergic to quite a few things. I had already been growing my own veggies and such, but not organically. So my doc recommended to get away from all chemicals I could. So being a homeschooler, I was like .. why not raise my own meat and eggs and use it for a science project also. So we got our babies "Production Reds" about 4 weeks ago now. But they will only be for eggs. My kids and I fell inlove with all of them. So we have 15 new pets. At least ill get eggs from them.

 

[fosterchick]

I have moved on the outskirts of town, in the wooded area. We were having a bug problem and problems with ticks. Well when one of my children got sick with lyme disease again, I took action. I went online and bought 25 chicks. Told the husband to build a coop that they were coming. I got them to eat the ticks. It is cheaper to feed the birds then to spray the chemicals in the lawn. I don't have to walk the lawn either the birds do. Also the chemicals aren't around the children (poop is not as harmful). The benifit to all of this is the eggs and the fertilizer for my veg. garden. To me it was a money move, but in the end this journey has been a fun hobby for the whole family.

 

[Alecia]

My uncle thought that I might like chickens so he decided to give me a subscription of "Backyard Poultry" as a gift for my birthday the May before last. I set the magazines aside until late fall. I read the magazines all winter and fell in love with chickens before I even had one. I was determined to have my own flock before summertime came this year. I just "knew" that I would love them. Little did I know, how wonderful the actual experience would be. My RIRs are just three weeks old but have developed their own personalities already. I love them and am looking forward to watching them grow. They are fascinating, wonderful creatures. I never want to be without them.