Howdy!

Hi there, I'm new to this coop but I've been raising my own chickens for over a year now. Let me tell you a little about me... I'm a mother to 3 very lively children (2 boys and a girl ages 3,2, and 4 months) , 3 horses, 3 goats, 3 dogs and a cat. My backyard chickens came to us Mother's Day weekend in 2010, a wild chicken decide to make her nest in our unused coop. On the day her chicks hatched (12!) our bird dog killed the hen. What can I say my mommy instincts took over and my husband and I ran out and scooped up all of the hatchlings and brought them inside. We made a quick run to tractor supply and came back with everything these chicks would need. We were extremely lucky only 2 were roosters and the rest started laying last year continued through the winter and now that summer is full tilt these beautiful girls are laying like crazy! We're getting a minimum of 12 eggs a day, and had one crazy day with 30 eggs laid... yep THIRTY! Needless to say we've been making a lot of egg based meals, and our friends and family call us when they need eggs.

A few months ago 2 of our hens went broody and I decided to let them keep some eggs, unfortunately the hens have started fighting for a chance to sit on the eggs as well and a few eggs have been broken. I was devastated to find that a chick had hatched and had been killed in the mayhem. So as of today I ordered an incubator kit ( Little Giant complete incubator kit with brooder) and we'll see what happens. Family members are quite eager to have a chance to raise some chicks in hopes they get a hen. Oh and before you think I let the roosters breed with essentially their siblings, I didn't. I actually traded one of the roosters for a Bantam rooster... I can't wait to see the chicks!!

 

Ah I forgot to mention.... our own mini farm is located in Bakersfield, California.

And thanks for the Welcome posts! I have a feeling I might end up spending too much time on here ...