birdlady11
Songster
- Feb 14, 2020
- 55
- 177
- 106
Hello to everyone and thank you for welcoming me. I've had chickens for almost three decades. I started my first flock by ordering 20 chicks (1 Partridge Rock cockerel and 19 pullets of 12 different breeds) from Murray McMurray Hatchery. I was a wildlife rehabilitator and as such I was buying a lot of eggs so it just made more sense to raise my own eggs rather than buy them. After that first order, I hatched all my other chickens from my own eggs or by swapping fertile eggs with my local chicken friends. My goal was to have a good mix of genes with hens that have gentle personalities and lay large eggs. Over the years my flock has slowly become a genetic mix of many different breeds (partridge and barred rock, buff orpington, dark cornish, red and black star, golden laced and silver laced wyandottes, americana, white leghorn, and columbian). I currently have 24 hens, my youngest being 9 months old and the oldest two being close to 14 years. Obviously my girls are with me for life. My fourth and last rooster, Big Daddy, passed away at the beginning of this year so for the first time in almost 30 years we are roosterless. I live in Florida in a predator-rich environment (raccoon, possum, fox, bobcat, corn snakes, hawks, and black bear) and it has been a learning experience on how to coexist with all the wildlife around me and still keep my chickens healthy and safe. I also enjoyed raising coturnix and chinese painted (button) quail for a number of years.
. Losses can be hard on backyard chicken -keepers. But I hope you make yourself at home on BYC!
