Orpington1
In the Brooder
Hello from Maryland! I am a full-time professional woman and mother of two grown children; I’m happily married, and ready for the Backyard Chicken life. I’ve read everything I can get my hands on about backyard chicken keeping and am ready for the test!
(1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens?
Yes, I consider myself new to chickens since my only previous experiences were as a teen – many moons ago - gathering eggs and getting attacked by a rooster. Explaining to non-chicken people that roosters attack by flying backwards and punching with their legs “…and it HURTS!!” always resulted in peals of laughter. I’m happy to finally talk to people that won’t laugh at me!
(2) How many chickens do you have right now?
I am currently the proud owner of: 1 Buff Orpington, 2 Plymouth Rocks, and 2 Golden Comets.
Here they are upon arrival, two days old from MyPetChicken.com.
They are almost 4 weeks old now and doing well, but the fuzz is flying! They are getting big girl feathers, LOVE scrambled eggs, and are sick and tired of life in a plastic tub.
It’s still too cold in Maryland for them to move to the coop, though – not to mention the fact that the coop doesn’t have a door yet (people door), but I’m working on that, see below.
(3) What breeds do you have? See above
(4) How did you find out about BackYardChickens.com?
Just doing an internet search for information on chickens – it always pops up!
(5) What are some of your other hobbies?
My only hobby right now is building a coop! Or a ‘sedan’ as my hubby likes to call it since it has 4 doors, not 2 (HA! He likes to tell this joke several times a week
). I’ve had a great time with my project and am very pleased with the results so far. Gotta get those doors done, though.
I used Building Chicken Coops for Dummies (great book!!) and modified the plans to include more windows (and used windows) and a poop door. I also divided it into two rooms: the near side is chicken coop and the far side is shed space. My only worry is that five chickens won’t heat it up enough in the winter. My husband got me a remote temperature monitor for Christmas, so at least I can keep track from the house next fall as the temperature drops and take action as needed.
(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share.
In my past life I was a horse person and hope to get back there someday as my income and free time increase (HA!). But in the meantime, I’m sure my ‘girls’ will keep me busy and happy, along with my dog, hubby, vegetable gardening (and composting!), reading, playing board games, working for the Federal government, dog-walking/–playing/-scratching, and exercising.
Thanks so much for the opportunity to be part of this great community. Chicken-people Rock!
(1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens?
Yes, I consider myself new to chickens since my only previous experiences were as a teen – many moons ago - gathering eggs and getting attacked by a rooster. Explaining to non-chicken people that roosters attack by flying backwards and punching with their legs “…and it HURTS!!” always resulted in peals of laughter. I’m happy to finally talk to people that won’t laugh at me!
(2) How many chickens do you have right now?
I am currently the proud owner of: 1 Buff Orpington, 2 Plymouth Rocks, and 2 Golden Comets.
Here they are upon arrival, two days old from MyPetChicken.com.
They are almost 4 weeks old now and doing well, but the fuzz is flying! They are getting big girl feathers, LOVE scrambled eggs, and are sick and tired of life in a plastic tub.
It’s still too cold in Maryland for them to move to the coop, though – not to mention the fact that the coop doesn’t have a door yet (people door), but I’m working on that, see below.
(3) What breeds do you have? See above
(4) How did you find out about BackYardChickens.com?
Just doing an internet search for information on chickens – it always pops up!
(5) What are some of your other hobbies?
My only hobby right now is building a coop! Or a ‘sedan’ as my hubby likes to call it since it has 4 doors, not 2 (HA! He likes to tell this joke several times a week
I used Building Chicken Coops for Dummies (great book!!) and modified the plans to include more windows (and used windows) and a poop door. I also divided it into two rooms: the near side is chicken coop and the far side is shed space. My only worry is that five chickens won’t heat it up enough in the winter. My husband got me a remote temperature monitor for Christmas, so at least I can keep track from the house next fall as the temperature drops and take action as needed.
(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share.
In my past life I was a horse person and hope to get back there someday as my income and free time increase (HA!). But in the meantime, I’m sure my ‘girls’ will keep me busy and happy, along with my dog, hubby, vegetable gardening (and composting!), reading, playing board games, working for the Federal government, dog-walking/–playing/-scratching, and exercising.
Thanks so much for the opportunity to be part of this great community. Chicken-people Rock!
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and Welcome To BYC! Lovely coop you have started!
