how did you start getting chickens for me it all started...

[ticks]

With squirrel hunting. my friend and I went squirrel hunting in mid september. After our trips my dad took us to a man's house who has chukars. (The guys name happens to be Chuck) We took them home and trained our dog. We thought it was cool that he raised chukar so we wanted to raise something. It strarted out with pheasant. We spent hours working on homemade feeders and planning our brooders. we were going to split the cost 50%. I saved 20 dollars in coins in a jar for 3 months. I also got allowance. One day Brandon, the kid, bailed on me. He said he was going to raise chickens with another friend of mine. I was ok with that but a little dissapointed. So then the idea struck me: why not have pheasant AND chickens! I started calling TSC almost every day to see when their chicks were coming in. I got them and almost passed out i was so excited. How lucky was I that we ended up going squirrel hunting then getting some chukars. Before that I could care less about fowl. Pheasant in may!! I want guineas now and cayugas and rouens. Story of my life........ so far

 

[HorseFeathers]

Mother Earth News inspired us with an article on city chickens! We proceeded to change our city zoning ordinance so we could legally own hens over a long and stressful summer! (Obviously, we won.)

 

[ticks]

nice i just bought chicks

 

[dacjohns]

when I retired from the Army and moved to the country. We wanted chickens for eggs and meat and probably since you're supposed to have chickens on a "farm". Someone at the local school gave us a bunch of eggs and lent us her incubator. We ahd fun waiting and watching them hatch but were very disappointed when we lost over half to problems with hatching and failed or infertile eggs. Those chickens were all mutts but we loved to watch them just the same. We gave them away when we moved. When we moved back the person we had given the chickens to gave us his flock. They weren't laying at the time and he wanted to build a new pen. He still hasn't built the pen. He mentioned going in with us in getting some birds this spring. I ended up doing all the leg work and ended up with 50 Cornish cross broiler pullets that the local farm supply store told me we straight run heavies. We lost 12 of them but all the birds are at his house in a coop. Since he wanted a bunch of layers I tried the store again. They ordered 50 straight run heavies for me. Sold us 54 for the price of 40 since we had lost a bunch of the last batch. After looking at the hatchery web page and trying to figure out how the store could make a profit I decided that the store had received a shipment of one of the specials, basically a mix of whatever was left over. The special description says guaranteed a few pullets. I think I'm done with dealing with farm supply stores and trying to save money. Will probably order from the hatchery myself next time but that will probably present a whole new set of frustrations. Oh yeah. My friend picked up 10 banty hens and 1 banty rooster and dropped them off at my place when I wasn't looking. Total count of chickens at this time: barnyard mix of 7 hens and 1 rooster, 10 banty hens and 1 rooster (not mine but I'm caring for them), 37 broilers (half are mine and they are at someone elses house), 54 hatchery special in the brooder. Of all these have one broody heavy and one broody banty (I get all the chicks since the hens are doing the work at my house). That's how I got started in chickens.

 

[wynedot55]

we had chickens off an on when i was growing up.so 1 winter day i was messing on the pc.an serched for hatcheries.an got to looking at them.an got back into chickens 3 months later.

 

[Betsy]

For reasons unknown to me, Dad decided to get chickens...and I fell in love with them and am now their caretaker. I've had chickens for over half my life now-I was 8 when we got the first batch, and am now a week away from 25

 

[Katy]

My folks and grandfolks always had chickens and one of the first things I did 35+ years ago when I got married was start my own laying flock.

 

[countryatheart]

Well, my Granny always had chickens. I was actually a bit scared of them! Hers were not pets. I've had a garden like my mom and Granny all my life eventhough I live in town. I've toyed with the idea of getting chickens for quite awhile. My sister-in-law told me about this website, I work with a lady that has always had chickens, and then I discovered a large bird hutch at my brothers house that had the potential to become a chicken coop and it just grew from there! I'm starting small since I live in town with a fairly small yard! I have 2 Production Reds and 2 Black Australorps. I have already experienced a chicken/rat snake in the coop! Luckily, my girls were not harmed.

 

[shmooborp]

FFA! i had been thinking of an ffa project to do... i lived in the city so i couldnt do sheep,pig.. etc.. so i did chickens.. it became such an addiction that now i have a homemade incubator and eggs hatching..lol.. i dont think i will ever NOT have chickens.. LOL this has become sooo much more than just an ffa project.. its a hobby, a job,, a love, and a fun thing to do! as far as my coop.. i converted an old rabbit hutch that had made from an old project.. and off i went!

 

[bluie]

When we bought our house here in the burbs (we moved from Queens, NYC), a big red rooster came with the house. He belonged to the whole neighborhood and we fed him and he spent more and more time in our yard. Then, my DH had a friend in Brooklyn, an old man from Puerto Rico, who kept chickens for meat, and he insisted on giving my DH two hens. We knew nothing, but busied ourselves making a little coop. 6 days later the 'coons killed 'em both. However, six days was enough to give me the idea and I have been meaning to get chickens ever since. I have ordered chicks for July, and spent money on feeders, heat lamps, etc, so I can't back out. My kids are SOOOOO excited. We can't have any indoor pets 'cause of my husbands allergies, so these will be our soft and cuddly and funny and amusing pets. And, the coop and run I have planned will be like Fort Knox.