spottendogrun
Chirping
Hello fellow feathered friends,
I wanted to introduce myself, not just because it's suggested, but because it's such a great community and I wanted to dive right in [even though I still dont' have chickens...yet (June 23!)]
When I was younger, I would be sent to Mexico for the summer, to get to know my roots. Some years I would be in the city, but then as I got older, I was sent to smaller villages, where the biggest export was cactus paddles. Their were street chickens that ran around and I was super fascinated by them. They intimidated dogs and drunks alike. Our neighbors had a rooster they called the little devil, and he was this massive greenish and red cock. Honestly, I thought it was so pretty. I would feed it boiled peanuts and it was so nice to me (never pecked me, my cousins on the other hand..)
Anyway, I grew up, still loved birds as a pet, had many pets, cockatiels, parakeets, cats, dog- however, nothing quite like a chicken. Fast forward to five years ago, I met someone who also loved the great outdoors and loved the idea of living off the land and permaculture and we got together and bought 8 acres with woods and ponds and a house (Zone 5b). There was an existing coop but it's uh, a raccoon hotel now.
I always told myself that if/when I had the space, I would prove my commitment by building everything myself, and made plans over the last year and a half. I finally started building the coop as a method of dealing with grief (mentioned cat was put on hospice, she is at rest now) and built this coop that's been in my head for so long. My mistake is probably using 2x4 as the framing. I will probably post about this later, but I digress.
Onto the survey questions.
(1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens?
I am new to chicken partnership. I haven't purchased any yet, as I was waiting till June to acquire 5 pullets.
(2) How many chickens do you have right now?
The ideal number was 4, but I am leaning toward 5. Mostly because the breeds I am leaning toward seem to do better with larger flocks.
(3) What breeds do you have?
I have five breeds I am looking at. I favored pea comb type chickens, and medium sized chickens (along with cold hardy) but now I am wondering if I should consider colored eggs. I do have one that I really wish to acquire but I would honestly be fine with any of the 5.
(4) What are your favorite aspects of raising backyard chickens?
I am excited to have a flock. I wish to watch them and care for them. I was debating waiting to see if anyone wanted to rehome their chickens, as I am sure lots of people will buy them because of the egg stuff, and rehome them here. Just so many possibilities.
(5) What are some of your other hobbies?
I enjoy gardening, woodworking, sewing, light automation, biking, writing, reading and playing video games in the winter.
(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share.
I work part time for a nfp. My partner works, and we have a dog and two parakeets.
(7) Bonus: How did you find BYC, how long have you known about BYC, and what made you finally join our awesome community?
I have been lurking for a few years. Just looking at the different pros and cons of coop styles and chicken breeds. I saw a few threads on chicken nutrition that I am looking forward to reading.
I wanted to introduce myself, not just because it's suggested, but because it's such a great community and I wanted to dive right in [even though I still dont' have chickens...yet (June 23!)]
When I was younger, I would be sent to Mexico for the summer, to get to know my roots. Some years I would be in the city, but then as I got older, I was sent to smaller villages, where the biggest export was cactus paddles. Their were street chickens that ran around and I was super fascinated by them. They intimidated dogs and drunks alike. Our neighbors had a rooster they called the little devil, and he was this massive greenish and red cock. Honestly, I thought it was so pretty. I would feed it boiled peanuts and it was so nice to me (never pecked me, my cousins on the other hand..)
Anyway, I grew up, still loved birds as a pet, had many pets, cockatiels, parakeets, cats, dog- however, nothing quite like a chicken. Fast forward to five years ago, I met someone who also loved the great outdoors and loved the idea of living off the land and permaculture and we got together and bought 8 acres with woods and ponds and a house (Zone 5b). There was an existing coop but it's uh, a raccoon hotel now.
I always told myself that if/when I had the space, I would prove my commitment by building everything myself, and made plans over the last year and a half. I finally started building the coop as a method of dealing with grief (mentioned cat was put on hospice, she is at rest now) and built this coop that's been in my head for so long. My mistake is probably using 2x4 as the framing. I will probably post about this later, but I digress.
Onto the survey questions.
(1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens?
I am new to chicken partnership. I haven't purchased any yet, as I was waiting till June to acquire 5 pullets.
(2) How many chickens do you have right now?
The ideal number was 4, but I am leaning toward 5. Mostly because the breeds I am leaning toward seem to do better with larger flocks.
(3) What breeds do you have?
I have five breeds I am looking at. I favored pea comb type chickens, and medium sized chickens (along with cold hardy) but now I am wondering if I should consider colored eggs. I do have one that I really wish to acquire but I would honestly be fine with any of the 5.
(4) What are your favorite aspects of raising backyard chickens?
I am excited to have a flock. I wish to watch them and care for them. I was debating waiting to see if anyone wanted to rehome their chickens, as I am sure lots of people will buy them because of the egg stuff, and rehome them here. Just so many possibilities.
(5) What are some of your other hobbies?
I enjoy gardening, woodworking, sewing, light automation, biking, writing, reading and playing video games in the winter.
(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share.
I work part time for a nfp. My partner works, and we have a dog and two parakeets.
(7) Bonus: How did you find BYC, how long have you known about BYC, and what made you finally join our awesome community?
I have been lurking for a few years. Just looking at the different pros and cons of coop styles and chicken breeds. I saw a few threads on chicken nutrition that I am looking forward to reading.
Glad you joined.
