Long time lurker finally signed up.

[Irish Ridge]

First of all, I hope you all had a Merry Christmas.

My name is Jon, Irish Ridge is our farm name. I raise birds (chickens) and bees here on our farm. I finally broke down and signed up to the forum (obviously). I've been here off and on quite a bit, but never signed up. I filled out the new member questionnaire, I hope it will help. If anyone has questions, just ask.

(1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens?
No, I've had chickens for about 6 years.
(2) How many chickens do you have right now?
Right now I have bout 15-20 (I should really count them)
(3) What breeds do you have?
I think they are all mutts. Most come from Barred Rock, but there are a few Silver Laced Wyandottes, and one black hen and rooster (not sure of the breed). I had a Cochin Bantam that dissapeared. I really love the look of the Cochins.
(4) How did you find out about BackYardChickens.com?
I think I found it in an internet search waaaaaay back when I got started and was looking for more information on raising chickens.
(5) What are some of your other hobbies?
Beekeeping is a big hobby of mine. I also have a huge Lego collection (kinda geeky, I know), the kids just love. I am trying to learn more metalworking skills, I can cast aluminum. I love steam engines and am trying to get the time to fabricate one. My winter hobby is to try and learn Mandarin Chinese. So far so good, I even know how to ask for a glass or a bottle of beer. lol
(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share.
I'm currently 35, I have a wonderful wife and 3 kids, 2 boys, 1 girl. My little girl is the youngest. I'm looking forward to her starting kindergarden next year so I can finally get some peace and quiet. My youngest boy wants to help me with beekeeping this spring, so I'm trying to talk the wife into getting him the proper gear. I am looking into getting some day old Cochins this spring, the wife seems to be interested. She misses our little bantam Cochin too. I'm hoping to learn more about breeds and incubating here.

 

[3goodeggs]

I have a Dadant catalog with little kid bee clothes!
We kept bees until my husband got stung enough that he became too allergic.
I miss having honey anytime i want it. Are you having any problem with die off? I was thinking about getting a pollinator hive for my gardens and orchards...for me to work, that's why I had the catalogue out.

'Someday,'...she says wistfully.
welcome, officially, because you've been her for YEARS!

 

[scgamecock]

 

[Darlasmum]

Glad you found us.

 

[TipsyDog]

and

from PA! What took you so long to sign up? Glad you finally decided to!

 

[DonnaBelle]

Welcome Jon, you've come to the right place if you like chickens. If you have other animals, try backyardherds.com. It's great for other kinds of critters.

I got chickens March, 09. I attribute about 80% of my successful chicken farming to BYC and the great people who ask really good intelligent questions about chickens, although beware, some of them can get a little wacky sometimes. I think it's a generational thing really. I'm 60 something, so some of it goes right over my head.

Don't miss the search section, it is great for specific questions. Like leg mites....who knew?? I posted a picture of a roo I rehomed, and he had a severe case of them, did I know that?? nope, not till kind folks on here let me know, and how to treat them. Great place, watch out, will become addicting, much like chocolate.

DonnaBelle

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

From Arkansas! GREAT SITE!!!

 

[Barred Rocker]

Welcome Jon. Like you I lurked here for a long time too before I signed up and I have to say I'm addicted. I think I found the site just by googling chicken sites.
I raised chickens when I was boy (I'm 48 now) with my grandmother. When she died when I was 17 we kept the chickens a few more years but when I started working we no longer had the time for them. 2 years ago my wife and I bought a 20 acre farm and I made up my mind I was going to raise a "few' chickens again. We started out with 1 bantam hen and 2 bantam roosters that the previous owners left. Today I have 4 bantam hens and 3 bantam roosters, 8 Barred Rocks, 9 Buff Orpingtons and 10 mutts. 34 in all.
My other hobbies, other than a little farming is woodworking and antique furniture restoration. I was laid off from a job in printing about a year ago, I am currently working part time for UPS. My wife has a good job so we're getting by ok. We have one daughter who is a senior in high school and planning to go to college next year and a mixed terrier dog named Zak that's like our second child.
Glad you joined us!

 

[noahsgeese]

from, VA

 

[Irish Ridge]

Sorry it took me so long to get back here. I was out doing the farm chores. I counted my chickens, I have 17 chickens, 6 of which are roosters. I know... too many roosters. I also have 5 ducks, 9 geese, and the wife has two pot belly pigs.

Quote:
I try to keep about 10 hives, I've been meaning to expand, but keep finding myself too busy. I haven't had any unusual die out (ie: colony collapse), but I always lose some over winter, and some when they start robbing. Last winter I only lost one, but I didn't feed them early spring and lost two more to starvation. I still feel bad about it, and the wife was irritated too. I was down to 4 hives this winter, so I am going to have to buy more bees this spring.

Quote:
Procrastination?... lol... I actually tried to log in because I thought I had made an account and forgot about it. I was surprised that my email came up as not having an account, so I signed up. I guess I just never thought I had anything useful to say, and most of the questions I had, I found answers to.