I am a country girl that was born and raised in rural West Virginia for my first 18 years. Since that time, I have lived and worked in metropolitan areas. I now live in Alvarado, Texas on 11 acres (a rural town about 60 miles south of the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex) with my husband of 34 years. I was financial institution executive for over 25 years, got tired of the "rat race" and worked in support in a law enforcement agency for 3 years. My husband and I discussed it and decided to that I should opt for early retirement March 1, 2017. This is the first time I haven't worked since I was 15 and I am enjoying myself immensely. However, I've got so many irons in the fire with my projects in progress that I finally had to tell myself no more!
My first major decision was I wanted chickens. My family had chickens when I was a little girl but to be honest I never paid any attention to them--they were just chickens. My husband has said the same. I began researching but couldn't settle on a single breed and ended up ordering 20 day-old chicks to be delivered June 3, 2017: 4 Dominiques (3 hens, 1 rooster but ended up w/ 2 & 2), 4 Golden Laced Wyandottes (3 hens, 1 rooster), 3 RIR's, 3 Black Australorps, 3 Silver Laced Wyandottes (lost one very early to impacted crop), 4 White Plymouth Rocks (ordered 3 but received extra as bonus in order).
We built a 4'x4' brooder that could later double as a isolation/medical coop or for a brooding hen. We then began construction on the main coop but my husband ruptured his distal bicep tendon and construction had to be halted until his rehab is complete. We have constructed a temp structure in our 3-car garage.
I have so enjoyed watching them grow, their individual personalities develop, their surprising intelligence, and the interaction of the flock. At this point, they are only 10 weeks old! Another surprise was our 2 dogs: 11-year old lab mix and a 5-year old German Shepherd. The lab tries to get them to play with her and is as gentle as with small puppies and my German Shepherd is very protective which was my hope in keeping them in the house for the first few weeks. We also have a very large 13-year old house cat that ignores them since they are no longer chicks.
With all that, I love BackYard Chickens! I spent hours pouring through the posts before I purchased my chickens. I spent many, many more hours reviewing posts and photos when designing our coop. And every time I have a question this is the first place I go.
My first major decision was I wanted chickens. My family had chickens when I was a little girl but to be honest I never paid any attention to them--they were just chickens. My husband has said the same. I began researching but couldn't settle on a single breed and ended up ordering 20 day-old chicks to be delivered June 3, 2017: 4 Dominiques (3 hens, 1 rooster but ended up w/ 2 & 2), 4 Golden Laced Wyandottes (3 hens, 1 rooster), 3 RIR's, 3 Black Australorps, 3 Silver Laced Wyandottes (lost one very early to impacted crop), 4 White Plymouth Rocks (ordered 3 but received extra as bonus in order).
We built a 4'x4' brooder that could later double as a isolation/medical coop or for a brooding hen. We then began construction on the main coop but my husband ruptured his distal bicep tendon and construction had to be halted until his rehab is complete. We have constructed a temp structure in our 3-car garage.
I have so enjoyed watching them grow, their individual personalities develop, their surprising intelligence, and the interaction of the flock. At this point, they are only 10 weeks old! Another surprise was our 2 dogs: 11-year old lab mix and a 5-year old German Shepherd. The lab tries to get them to play with her and is as gentle as with small puppies and my German Shepherd is very protective which was my hope in keeping them in the house for the first few weeks. We also have a very large 13-year old house cat that ignores them since they are no longer chicks.
With all that, I love BackYard Chickens! I spent hours pouring through the posts before I purchased my chickens. I spent many, many more hours reviewing posts and photos when designing our coop. And every time I have a question this is the first place I go.
