long time "listener" first time "caller" (an old Bob and Tom ref)

Well, I have been using BYC for the last 6 months as I have built my tractors and started my flocks. I guess it is about time that I become a member!

I am in South Western Indiana and I have not even been near live chickens since I was about 5 (grama's flock.) My husband worked on a chicken farm in high school and it has taken me 21 years to convince him that we should have chickens. I have an amazing family, twin boys in high school, a daughter in college, my high school sweetheart, a fierce papillion, and a 90 pound schnauzer "chicken." As for my girls... the first 7 were a drop off. One of my students came to school and was telling me that someone left a box of chickens on her porch?!? Her dad loved them, but by the following Monday her mom wanted to know how fast I could come get them. I have been trying to identify them and I believe that I have 2 Danish leghorns, 2 brahamas, 2 red sex-link, and one golden sebright bantam. After that the 6 day olds that I ordered in April arrived... 2 ameracounas, 2 brahamas, and 2 white leg horns. Finally, I bought some fertile eggs. Of the eggs, 3 black copper marans made it. I live in town and cannot have roosters. Unfortunately, I am pretty sure that ALL of my marans are roos :-( One of them was exceptionally advanced and began crowing at about 5 weeks old, unfortunately he and one of his brothers is no more. The third one has beautiful curly copper feathers, but no crowing so he stays for now. I love my girls and often go sit and talk baby talk to them when I get home in the afternoons. (my children won't let me sit and talk baby talk to them any more, but my girls thrive on it) My favorite tricks are to find "sweet grass" and dandelion leaves to hand feed them, and to give them large bugs and watch them run laps around the tractor trying to avoid avian treat theft.