Hi, I'm Kathleen. I've got 6 random ladies my son and I have raised from day olds to the lovely 11 weekers they are now, and I knew I'd like having chickens, but I didn't know how very much I'd like them. My favorite one, (aptly named Favorite) seeks out my lap or shoulder for petting (and delicious hairs she can snack on...) the rest come running when I open the back door since they usually get spinach stems or apple cores or what have you. I do think I've got a roo though, waiting to see on that one. I live in Flagstaff AZ, which at 7000 feet has pretty rough, LONG, snowy winters. Glad this forum is here to get advice on things like that. Also waiting for the ladies to get bigger than the cat so he will leave them be while they are out eating bugs. Oooo, Also? picking nasty bugs off my potato and pea plants and having the ladies to feed them too? SO satisfying!
Hi, Kathleen! from Australia! Yes, originally, I had no idea how much I'd enjoy having my chickens. We got the ideas off the neighbours, who told us the people who used to own our house kept a bunch of hens. The coop was there but falling apart. After getting rid of the dirty, rusty nest boxes and nailing planks of wood to the rotting door frame, we reckoned it'd be okay to house some chickens... We've got exactly the opposite problem to cold: it gets almost unbearably hot in the summers here: think 45 degrees C. The chickens don't shed their feathers until after this period so it's pretty tough on them. I love feeding the birds. I get a spade a turn the soil over and over after it's been raining: so many worms. You'd think Australia would be too dry for worms, but no. Watch them go... They used to climb onto my shoulder and sit on my head when they were chicks. Now, as hens and pullets, they hate being touched or picked up. It's like children and adolescents.
I also love picking nasty bugs off my plants and feeding them to the chickens. I hold a pitcher with hot water in it under the plants in the morning where I see them, give the leaves a wack and they drop straight down into the bucket. Then I pour out the water/bug mixture out in front of the chickens and they go to it! Very fun to see!
& from Alabama. Glad you joined us. You can post pics of your suspected roo in the What Breed or Gender is This? section. Good luck
