Feral Featherhead
In the Brooder
Greetings, y’all!
I learned of BYC back when my kids were in 4H and took chickens as their projects. And BYC served to be a VALUABLE resource, indeed!
Having a farm with a menagerie of farm animals had been my dream since I was eight. So, when my boys were of 4H age AND we had that farm I had dreamed of, I had them take chickens so I would have an excuse to get a flock. We had 50-ish give or take over the years. We learned so much from your site and have suggested it to all the new chicken folks we interacted with.
Fast forward now about 17 years or so, my 3 sons are grown, I have a new husband and a different homestead, AND a new flock in my life again, Yay!
This is my husband’s first experience raising chickens, so it’s been very fun sharing it with him and reliving the excitement of watching them grow and develop their own little personalities.
We currently have 21 large breed layering hens. Our first 14 are: 2 Rhode Island Reds, Boudica (who is alpha big boss, thus the name!) and Beatrice (she’s more at the bottom of the rung, but is super fearless during free range time); 6 Speckled Sussex, Houdini (she is constantly flying out of the run and finding ways to escape ever since she was a little fluff ball!), Wilomina Whitefeather, Wilma, Thelma and Louise, and Sprinkles; 6 Lavender Orpington's, Clarice (she wants to be a lap chick and is very affectionate), Stargazer Lily (who got her name because she is currently dealing with wry neck), Dark Star, Henrietta, Buffy and Betty. Those girls came to the farm on the first day of spring and we had our first egg on August 1
Round about September, Rural King had babies on sale for next to nothing and my husband, now a proud chicken dad, totally indulged me and we came home with our second batch.
Our new girls: 4 easter eggers, Grace Jones (she has a killer mohawk), and Eenie, Meenie, and Minie; 1 Buff Brahma, Brittany (who is a major ditzy diva with big chick energy); 1 Plymouth Barred Rock, Dominique (the timid one), and lastly, 1 black sex link named Queen Latifa (she and Grace are vying for alpha of their group, but I am betting on Latifa to be Queen of them all once she fills out and comes into her own). The younger girls were recently integrated into the older flock just before the winter vortex. They had been slowly acclimating during free range time, but with the subfreezing temps, it was too much to maintain two coops and two runs. Houdini and the Reds (Boudica and Beatrice) are definitely being bullies, but they will figure it all out. I try to play referee when I can.
Oh, did I mention we are homesteading and not on the energy grid? Yeah, so many fun challenges and problem solving, but we are LOVING it!
Right now our biggest challenge is keeping the water from freezing. Luckily, we are fortunate to be home most the time to continually check on it. My husband is retired and I am a visual artist (painting and mixed media) with a home studio. We are nearly finished with our cordwood home, that we designed and are building ourselves. Our homesteading project is now in year 14!
We moved out of town and have lived on our 5 acres since 2020 (sound familiar, hahaha!) But seriously, living the slow, self-sustaining life in the country has been our dream since childhood.
Having chickens sure has been such a fun and rewarding experience on so many levels! It’s funny, I have literally been hoarding egg cartons for the last 13 years knowing I would have a flock again. Now I’m glad I did!
Anyway, I am glad BYC is still around and I am excited to connect with other “FeatherHeads”
Sharon and Aaron
I learned of BYC back when my kids were in 4H and took chickens as their projects. And BYC served to be a VALUABLE resource, indeed!
Having a farm with a menagerie of farm animals had been my dream since I was eight. So, when my boys were of 4H age AND we had that farm I had dreamed of, I had them take chickens so I would have an excuse to get a flock. We had 50-ish give or take over the years. We learned so much from your site and have suggested it to all the new chicken folks we interacted with.
Fast forward now about 17 years or so, my 3 sons are grown, I have a new husband and a different homestead, AND a new flock in my life again, Yay!
This is my husband’s first experience raising chickens, so it’s been very fun sharing it with him and reliving the excitement of watching them grow and develop their own little personalities.
We currently have 21 large breed layering hens. Our first 14 are: 2 Rhode Island Reds, Boudica (who is alpha big boss, thus the name!) and Beatrice (she’s more at the bottom of the rung, but is super fearless during free range time); 6 Speckled Sussex, Houdini (she is constantly flying out of the run and finding ways to escape ever since she was a little fluff ball!), Wilomina Whitefeather, Wilma, Thelma and Louise, and Sprinkles; 6 Lavender Orpington's, Clarice (she wants to be a lap chick and is very affectionate), Stargazer Lily (who got her name because she is currently dealing with wry neck), Dark Star, Henrietta, Buffy and Betty. Those girls came to the farm on the first day of spring and we had our first egg on August 1
Round about September, Rural King had babies on sale for next to nothing and my husband, now a proud chicken dad, totally indulged me and we came home with our second batch.
Our new girls: 4 easter eggers, Grace Jones (she has a killer mohawk), and Eenie, Meenie, and Minie; 1 Buff Brahma, Brittany (who is a major ditzy diva with big chick energy); 1 Plymouth Barred Rock, Dominique (the timid one), and lastly, 1 black sex link named Queen Latifa (she and Grace are vying for alpha of their group, but I am betting on Latifa to be Queen of them all once she fills out and comes into her own). The younger girls were recently integrated into the older flock just before the winter vortex. They had been slowly acclimating during free range time, but with the subfreezing temps, it was too much to maintain two coops and two runs. Houdini and the Reds (Boudica and Beatrice) are definitely being bullies, but they will figure it all out. I try to play referee when I can.
Oh, did I mention we are homesteading and not on the energy grid? Yeah, so many fun challenges and problem solving, but we are LOVING it!
Right now our biggest challenge is keeping the water from freezing. Luckily, we are fortunate to be home most the time to continually check on it. My husband is retired and I am a visual artist (painting and mixed media) with a home studio. We are nearly finished with our cordwood home, that we designed and are building ourselves. Our homesteading project is now in year 14!
We moved out of town and have lived on our 5 acres since 2020 (sound familiar, hahaha!) But seriously, living the slow, self-sustaining life in the country has been our dream since childhood.
Having chickens sure has been such a fun and rewarding experience on so many levels! It’s funny, I have literally been hoarding egg cartons for the last 13 years knowing I would have a flock again. Now I’m glad I did!
Anyway, I am glad BYC is still around and I am excited to connect with other “FeatherHeads”
Sharon and Aaron
Glad you joined.
to have you here with us. Enjoy your time here at BYC!
