Hello, I've googled BYC enough times now that I figured I might as well set up an account. My name's Austin, and I'm a Student at Oregon State University studying animal science. (1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens? I got my first chickens about a month and a half ago. Part of the criteria in the Vet school admissions process is personal animal interactions. Having only dogs and cats I figured backyard chickens was a great economical and personal opportunity for me. And I love eggs, seriously. (2) How many chickens do you have right now? Right now I have 4 awesome hens. (3) What breeds do you have? I have a Barred Rock, Rhode Island Red, Golden Comet, and one White Leghorn. (4) How did you find out about BackYardChickens.com? It's pretty much what pops up first when I google a question about chickens. (5) What are some of your other hobbies? Jazz, Fishing, Polo, Triathlons, School, Blogging Video Games. (6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share. Most of my animal experience has been in the small animal veterinary clinic setting, this fall I'll be participating in an internship in Burns doing research with beef cattle. While I love animals, I tend to have a big picture view on production animals in particular, though I always promote good welfare. In my spare time I keep a blog through the college where I discuss research that I study in my spare time and occasionally comment on the news. If you like you can read ithere. Oh, and my chickens' names are Nugget, Omelet, Quiche, and Fajita.
PLEASE be one of those vets that can see cats, dogs, AND chickens! They can be really hard to find. Congrats on your flock!
& from Alabama. I agree with kla37, there's a huge shortage of vets willing to treat any farm animals, but most especially poultry. Lots of good luck with your chickens & with vet school DF is a vet, so I know vet school is hard & extremely expensive, but it's worth it.
