I live in Washington state, although, I'm on the eastern side, so not near Seattle. I'm so excited to find this chicken forum. I'm positive I'll have lots of questions for all of you!
I grew up on a farm not far from where I live now, and I remember always having chickens for meat and eggs. I LOVED collecting eggs in the morning as a child, and even helping to feed and water them (we also had pigs, horses, cows, cats, and dogs). I live in a city now (and I use the term city loosely. it's a VERY small town, with only around 300-400 people, and it's a mostly rural community) and always thought keeping chickens was a strictly farm land deal. Well 2 years ago (while pregnant with my third child) the desire to keep chickens overwhelmed any worries or questions that I had. Unfortunately, my husband didn't feel the same way. He is not an animal person, and needless to say has never been around chickens. Well, I've finally convinced him! I've picked out the coop design I want, and my dad is going to help me build it, or I should say let me and my kids help him build it
I'm planning on ordering chicks any day now (I'm just waiting for my mom to decide how many of which breed she wants. They haven't kept chickens for years, and are now deciding to get back into it), and I'm hoping for delivery the 2nd week of Apirl, right after Easter. perfect. I only want a small flock to start with, but I'm sure I'll soon want the max number of chickens allowed in city limits (12). So I'll be starting out with 4, maybe 5 chicks. I'll be ordering one each of: easter eggers, buff orpington, golden lace wyandotte, and I can pick up an australorp at the feed store (they only carry the australorps, rhode island reds, barred plymouth rocks and leghorns and I wanted a different variety).
And if you want to know more about me: I'm a stay at home mother to 3 wonderful kids. My oldest, a boy, is special needs (sensory input disorder) and in kindergarden, then I have a 4 year old and 18 month (both girls). I've been married for 8 1/2 years to my mechanical engineer hubby (who is great at math, but not a handy guy at all). I enjoy crafty things like quilting, cross-stitching, knitting, and crocheting. I'm excited our weather is warming up a LOT earlier than last year and have been out in my garden getting ready to plant vegetables, and pruning raspberries. (I'm excited to learn how to use the chicken droppings to fertilize my garden!). I've ordered 2 books from amazon on chicken keeping and they should be here any day now, as well as requesting some books to be sent to my branch of the library to read about chickens. I'm excited beyond belief, and I'll try to wait until I at least crack open one of those books before I start bothering all of you with my newbie questions!
I grew up on a farm not far from where I live now, and I remember always having chickens for meat and eggs. I LOVED collecting eggs in the morning as a child, and even helping to feed and water them (we also had pigs, horses, cows, cats, and dogs). I live in a city now (and I use the term city loosely. it's a VERY small town, with only around 300-400 people, and it's a mostly rural community) and always thought keeping chickens was a strictly farm land deal. Well 2 years ago (while pregnant with my third child) the desire to keep chickens overwhelmed any worries or questions that I had. Unfortunately, my husband didn't feel the same way. He is not an animal person, and needless to say has never been around chickens. Well, I've finally convinced him! I've picked out the coop design I want, and my dad is going to help me build it, or I should say let me and my kids help him build it
And if you want to know more about me: I'm a stay at home mother to 3 wonderful kids. My oldest, a boy, is special needs (sensory input disorder) and in kindergarden, then I have a 4 year old and 18 month (both girls). I've been married for 8 1/2 years to my mechanical engineer hubby (who is great at math, but not a handy guy at all). I enjoy crafty things like quilting, cross-stitching, knitting, and crocheting. I'm excited our weather is warming up a LOT earlier than last year and have been out in my garden getting ready to plant vegetables, and pruning raspberries. (I'm excited to learn how to use the chicken droppings to fertilize my garden!). I've ordered 2 books from amazon on chicken keeping and they should be here any day now, as well as requesting some books to be sent to my branch of the library to read about chickens. I'm excited beyond belief, and I'll try to wait until I at least crack open one of those books before I start bothering all of you with my newbie questions!
