Hi everyone,
If you wonder about the user name, we live on 10 acres on a mountain between Morro Bay & Atascadero in California. The mountain backs up to national forest land. When we first moved here 10 years ago, the bobcat took naps in our small backyard and marked the rocks so we called our place Bobcat Ridge. We use to see the fox drink out of the birdbath from the family room window and the deer rut in the backyard. We have deer, skunk, possum, mountain lion, and I have seen one bear. In addition, we have gophers, voles (similar to moles), ground squirrels, regular squirrels, hawks, owls, quail, road runners, vultures, wild turkey, tarantulas, and various snakes including rattlesnakes. We definitely have wildlife. Since we got our dog (border collie/australian sheperd mix) we don't see as many animals near the house. Anyway we have decided to get some chickens (we actually have two at a friend's coop in Templeton - not sure of the breeds). We are in the planning stages for building the fort coop because that is what it will have to be. We have strong winds & rain in the winter. Everything blows down the hill if it is not anchored. We also have no flat land - our house is built on the top of a knoll on the only flat spot. We plan to build the coop on the edge of the very small backyard but it is starting to slope at that spot. We have purchased The Garden Coop plans from My Pet Chicken, although we plan some modifications to accomodate our site and area. Discarded lumber for the coop is coming on Saturday, although construction probably won't begin until the following weekend. It is my husband's 50th birthday and he is celebrating this weekend.
I found BackYardChickens.com via Bing internet searching. I have done lots of reading on the site and thought it sounded good like a great forum.
As far as chicken breeds we own, I just found out that one is a Barred Rock and the other is a brown chicken. My friend is trying to find out what it is. A friend gave me these chckens because they had too many chickens. One is laying already and the other is an adolescent. We are interesting in having good egg layers with a variety of egg colors. We would like some Rhode Island Red, Austalorp, and Easter Egger. We want 8 to 10 chickens.
My biggest hobby is photography. I have done it professionally but since my daughter was born (she is 9 yrs old) I have pretty much only photographed family. My husband use to make homemade beer but now he only makes it periodically. My husdand is a computer programmer/computer network manager. He works for a small biotech company in San Luis Obispo. I am a chemist who was laid off and couldn't find a job in this area. So I started my own photography business/digital imaging business which ended when I was pregnant. I have also worked in Quality Assurance, patent research, and been an office manager. In addition, I have recently added a garden in half wine barrels lining the driveway. I have tomatoes (Murray Smith type developed for the cold San Francisco area), various herbs, cucumbers, and bell peppers. My bell peppers aren't growing well but the rest is doing fine. I hope to add more barrels to expand my garden.
Our family consists of myself, my husband Jeff, 9 yr old daughter Amelia, the dog Whimsy, the cat Sasha (good mouser), and a new kitten named Smoke. We have been married for 15 years and have lived on our knoll for 10 years. I grew up and lived mostly in the mid-west (Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Indiana). My husband has lived his whole life in California.
Carol
If you wonder about the user name, we live on 10 acres on a mountain between Morro Bay & Atascadero in California. The mountain backs up to national forest land. When we first moved here 10 years ago, the bobcat took naps in our small backyard and marked the rocks so we called our place Bobcat Ridge. We use to see the fox drink out of the birdbath from the family room window and the deer rut in the backyard. We have deer, skunk, possum, mountain lion, and I have seen one bear. In addition, we have gophers, voles (similar to moles), ground squirrels, regular squirrels, hawks, owls, quail, road runners, vultures, wild turkey, tarantulas, and various snakes including rattlesnakes. We definitely have wildlife. Since we got our dog (border collie/australian sheperd mix) we don't see as many animals near the house. Anyway we have decided to get some chickens (we actually have two at a friend's coop in Templeton - not sure of the breeds). We are in the planning stages for building the fort coop because that is what it will have to be. We have strong winds & rain in the winter. Everything blows down the hill if it is not anchored. We also have no flat land - our house is built on the top of a knoll on the only flat spot. We plan to build the coop on the edge of the very small backyard but it is starting to slope at that spot. We have purchased The Garden Coop plans from My Pet Chicken, although we plan some modifications to accomodate our site and area. Discarded lumber for the coop is coming on Saturday, although construction probably won't begin until the following weekend. It is my husband's 50th birthday and he is celebrating this weekend.
I found BackYardChickens.com via Bing internet searching. I have done lots of reading on the site and thought it sounded good like a great forum.
As far as chicken breeds we own, I just found out that one is a Barred Rock and the other is a brown chicken. My friend is trying to find out what it is. A friend gave me these chckens because they had too many chickens. One is laying already and the other is an adolescent. We are interesting in having good egg layers with a variety of egg colors. We would like some Rhode Island Red, Austalorp, and Easter Egger. We want 8 to 10 chickens.
My biggest hobby is photography. I have done it professionally but since my daughter was born (she is 9 yrs old) I have pretty much only photographed family. My husband use to make homemade beer but now he only makes it periodically. My husdand is a computer programmer/computer network manager. He works for a small biotech company in San Luis Obispo. I am a chemist who was laid off and couldn't find a job in this area. So I started my own photography business/digital imaging business which ended when I was pregnant. I have also worked in Quality Assurance, patent research, and been an office manager. In addition, I have recently added a garden in half wine barrels lining the driveway. I have tomatoes (Murray Smith type developed for the cold San Francisco area), various herbs, cucumbers, and bell peppers. My bell peppers aren't growing well but the rest is doing fine. I hope to add more barrels to expand my garden.
Our family consists of myself, my husband Jeff, 9 yr old daughter Amelia, the dog Whimsy, the cat Sasha (good mouser), and a new kitten named Smoke. We have been married for 15 years and have lived on our knoll for 10 years. I grew up and lived mostly in the mid-west (Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Indiana). My husband has lived his whole life in California.
Carol
