I never know what to say when I'm asked to stand up and introduce myself so I'm "borrowing" the sample list....
(1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens?
I received my first 11 chickens from My Pet Chickens in 2011 - 3 Buff Orpington roosters (two ended up in the freezer), 5 Orpington hens and 3 Ancona hens. I realized my mistake after about a few days and gave the Anconas to a friend and picked up 2 Americanas from the Co-op. The Anconas had been bullying my poor laid back Orpingtons.
(2) How many chickens do you have right now?
My Orpingtons went broody last spring and I have 4 more hens, along with 4 more Americanas I picked up at the co-op. The roosters in the home-grown batch went to a friend who wanted some outside blood for his hens. Unfortunately one of my original Americanas had a habit of sleeping under the car (they can fly the 5'6" fence around the pen) and didn't pay any attention while I strapped my child into the car seat, revved the engine and backed up. I'm hoping she died in her sleep. I was horrified - I can't even stand to run over road kill, I have to go around it. And this after threatening everyone not to run over my chickens. So...I now have 1 Orpington rooster, 5 Americana hens and 9 Orpington hens. Oh, and one buff duck who thinks she's a chicken - she had friends, but apparently as soon as they discovered what a nifty place the creek is, dogs found them. There is a leash law in this area and I am good at running off dogs, but these snuck in across the back of the property where I couldn't see them. Needless to say, all the free-range ladies were upset to be locked up for the next three weeks, but the dogs haven't come back.
(4) How did you find out about BackYardChickens.com?
I did so much research before I bought my first chickens that my husband made fun of me. I found backyardchickens has so much information that if I had a question, all I had to do was search and I'd find it. So I've been reading from this since 2011 and finally decided to show my face.
(5) What are some of your other hobbies?
I like gardening (heritage seeds - vegetable and herb), reading, chicken watching and would like to expand my chickens to include Marans and Araucanas or Cream Legbars to have rainbow egg cartons. My sisters and 5-year old love the range of egg color we have now, but I'd like chocolate and blue eggs.
(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share.
I'm currently in the Dandridge area outside Knoxville, TN and am looking for local breeders of Marans and Araucanas or Cream Legbars. The places that ship have minimum orders and high prices and while I'd like the above breeds, I'm not willing to spend $100+ on them.
My ladies are spoiled. They have a house on stilts with a fenced-in area underneath. Both the house and the area underneath can be closed up and there's also a pen outside of that (dogproof). So these girls have a safe place to be outside when I see stray dogs roaming around. I feed them co-op layer feed, but most of them prefer to get out and forage before touching the feed. It's so cute to see my original 5 Orpingtons come running at me with their wings outspread for balance, heads low to the ground, weaving from side-to-side, going just as fast as they can to see what new treat I've got for them. They get a lot of leftovers, mostly vegetables and breads (my husband and I both make our own bread), and have the run of the compost heap. They love getting leftover yogurt when we make it, and I've started putting just a little cider vinegar in their water because I've heard sneezing. Chicken sneezes are hilarious! However, I'd rather not be hearing them.
So that's it. Hi!
(1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens?
I received my first 11 chickens from My Pet Chickens in 2011 - 3 Buff Orpington roosters (two ended up in the freezer), 5 Orpington hens and 3 Ancona hens. I realized my mistake after about a few days and gave the Anconas to a friend and picked up 2 Americanas from the Co-op. The Anconas had been bullying my poor laid back Orpingtons.
(2) How many chickens do you have right now?
My Orpingtons went broody last spring and I have 4 more hens, along with 4 more Americanas I picked up at the co-op. The roosters in the home-grown batch went to a friend who wanted some outside blood for his hens. Unfortunately one of my original Americanas had a habit of sleeping under the car (they can fly the 5'6" fence around the pen) and didn't pay any attention while I strapped my child into the car seat, revved the engine and backed up. I'm hoping she died in her sleep. I was horrified - I can't even stand to run over road kill, I have to go around it. And this after threatening everyone not to run over my chickens. So...I now have 1 Orpington rooster, 5 Americana hens and 9 Orpington hens. Oh, and one buff duck who thinks she's a chicken - she had friends, but apparently as soon as they discovered what a nifty place the creek is, dogs found them. There is a leash law in this area and I am good at running off dogs, but these snuck in across the back of the property where I couldn't see them. Needless to say, all the free-range ladies were upset to be locked up for the next three weeks, but the dogs haven't come back.
(4) How did you find out about BackYardChickens.com?
I did so much research before I bought my first chickens that my husband made fun of me. I found backyardchickens has so much information that if I had a question, all I had to do was search and I'd find it. So I've been reading from this since 2011 and finally decided to show my face.
(5) What are some of your other hobbies?
I like gardening (heritage seeds - vegetable and herb), reading, chicken watching and would like to expand my chickens to include Marans and Araucanas or Cream Legbars to have rainbow egg cartons. My sisters and 5-year old love the range of egg color we have now, but I'd like chocolate and blue eggs.
(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share.
I'm currently in the Dandridge area outside Knoxville, TN and am looking for local breeders of Marans and Araucanas or Cream Legbars. The places that ship have minimum orders and high prices and while I'd like the above breeds, I'm not willing to spend $100+ on them.
My ladies are spoiled. They have a house on stilts with a fenced-in area underneath. Both the house and the area underneath can be closed up and there's also a pen outside of that (dogproof). So these girls have a safe place to be outside when I see stray dogs roaming around. I feed them co-op layer feed, but most of them prefer to get out and forage before touching the feed. It's so cute to see my original 5 Orpingtons come running at me with their wings outspread for balance, heads low to the ground, weaving from side-to-side, going just as fast as they can to see what new treat I've got for them. They get a lot of leftovers, mostly vegetables and breads (my husband and I both make our own bread), and have the run of the compost heap. They love getting leftover yogurt when we make it, and I've started putting just a little cider vinegar in their water because I've heard sneezing. Chicken sneezes are hilarious! However, I'd rather not be hearing them.
So that's it. Hi!
and Welcome To BYC! Sorry about the one hen, they are bad about sitting under parked cars for some reason. You might want to post in your state / nearby states thread about the breeds you are looking for 
