RavennaRhosyn
In the Brooder
I've had chickens for about 3 years. I'd moved to the Appalachian mountains (SW virginia), to what is now an 85 yo farmhouse on just under an acre in the middle of a very small town. My daughter and her family came to live with me for a while, and they got some. When they left, they were unable to take the chickens. Good thing I'd wanted some anyway! When I was in 4th grade, my parents and lived in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Northern California, and kept a handful for a bit. I loved it. Unfortunately, this ones were quite literally scared to death by a visiting mountain lion... and the flock here was massacred by another one during a worse than normal freeze. I have one amazingly tough girl left from that. After some serious fortification last year (still a little to do, but it'll be done soon), I've got 24 black australorp chicks in the brooder (2 of which are cockerals), and all are happy and healthy. 
I'm sure my tough girl will be happy to have some company again when they're old enough to join her! I know I'm looking forward to seeing them all waddle-run to me every time I go out to or near the run! 
I remarried a year ago (5/24/24), and my husband has never had chickens, so I'm looking forward to his enjoyment of them as well - and the neighbors are looking forward to fresh eggs!
Right now, other than the chickens, my focus is on finishing renovations on the house. I wasn't able to when the kids were here, but my husband and I started whipping it into shape last year. We put in a good, strong, tall fence for a nice big chicken run, and another for the dogs. Then we finished what I'd started upon moving in, and pulled a massive amount of termite food out of the crawlspace (someone, Lord knows how long ago, decided that was a good place for all of the debris wood from roof and flooring replacements, along with various other projects...), and got the basement waterproofed (no more flooding!
) and the crawlspace encapsulated, finishing the job with a new composite front porch, because the best way to get all that termite food out was to remove the decking! 
We also re-plumbed most of the house, and got the damaged oil furnace back up and running. No more space heaters! $$$$ This year, the plans are to finally get things organized and unpacked (it's only been 4 years since I moved in 
), rewire the house, replace the windows and flooring, strip and stain the interior trim, and paint both the interior and the exterior. It'll be a busy year!
Once that's done, I'll be able to get back to my hobbies of making jewelry and clothes, asking with several other various crafts. My husband and I both love music - it helps us cope - so a lot of our down time is spent singing along with our favorite artists from more than a few genres. We love to travel, but, due to several things, that won't happen for 2-3 years. In addition to the chickens and 2 ankle biter dogs, I have the hobby of being "that crazy goth cat lady," and do my best to stay ahead of the havoc that 8 cats create!
When I'm not on a medical leave of absence, as I have been since December, I work remotely as customer service for a well known health insurance company. We are, however, very seriously considering opening a Billiard hall/grill, as there isn't much to do locally. We'd likely incorporate several other things as well - arcade games, music venue, selling my crafts and his spice concoctions, and maybe a few other things. We'd like to create a family friendly space to help combat the boredom that contributes to the area's rampant drug use.
I came across BYC while researching things for the chicks, and in a matter of minutes was very appreciative of what you all have built here. Thank you, and I look forward to learning from and interacting with you all! May God bless you all and all of your efforts!
I'm sure my tough girl will be happy to have some company again when they're old enough to join her! I know I'm looking forward to seeing them all waddle-run to me every time I go out to or near the run! I remarried a year ago (5/24/24), and my husband has never had chickens, so I'm looking forward to his enjoyment of them as well - and the neighbors are looking forward to fresh eggs! Right now, other than the chickens, my focus is on finishing renovations on the house. I wasn't able to when the kids were here, but my husband and I started whipping it into shape last year. We put in a good, strong, tall fence for a nice big chicken run, and another for the dogs. Then we finished what I'd started upon moving in, and pulled a massive amount of termite food out of the crawlspace (someone, Lord knows how long ago, decided that was a good place for all of the debris wood from roof and flooring replacements, along with various other projects...), and got the basement waterproofed (no more flooding!
) and the crawlspace encapsulated, finishing the job with a new composite front porch, because the best way to get all that termite food out was to remove the decking! We also re-plumbed most of the house, and got the damaged oil furnace back up and running. No more space heaters! $$$$ This year, the plans are to finally get things organized and unpacked (it's only been 4 years since I moved in ), rewire the house, replace the windows and flooring, strip and stain the interior trim, and paint both the interior and the exterior. It'll be a busy year! Once that's done, I'll be able to get back to my hobbies of making jewelry and clothes, asking with several other various crafts. My husband and I both love music - it helps us cope - so a lot of our down time is spent singing along with our favorite artists from more than a few genres. We love to travel, but, due to several things, that won't happen for 2-3 years. In addition to the chickens and 2 ankle biter dogs, I have the hobby of being "that crazy goth cat lady," and do my best to stay ahead of the havoc that 8 cats create!
When I'm not on a medical leave of absence, as I have been since December, I work remotely as customer service for a well known health insurance company. We are, however, very seriously considering opening a Billiard hall/grill, as there isn't much to do locally. We'd likely incorporate several other things as well - arcade games, music venue, selling my crafts and his spice concoctions, and maybe a few other things. We'd like to create a family friendly space to help combat the boredom that contributes to the area's rampant drug use.
I came across BYC while researching things for the chicks, and in a matter of minutes was very appreciative of what you all have built here. Thank you, and I look forward to learning from and interacting with you all! May God bless you all and all of your efforts!
Mine trashed everything 
They've been gone 2 years, and I've finally *just* finished cleaning up after them. Gotta love 'em, right? 
