Hello!
Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens?
For awhile I considered getting some pet chickens, but I never committed for many reasons mainly cause of my parents. That was until a chicken wandered into my backyard all skinny and unwell. I don't know who the original owners could be. It was my first time seeing a chicken in person. I was not prepared to suddenly be the caretaker of one who fortunately was a hen (she laid an egg a few days later) since roosters are not allowed here. Her wing was clipped on one side and her crop was floppy and a dull red.
My parents don't help all that much and do the bare minimum when it comes to taking care of any animal. I did some googling and purchased some proper food for hens, an okay sized chicken run from Amazon (that is admittedly very flimsy), modified a dog crate I had lying around as a makeshift nest box, and added a wood dowel as a perch. I'm not good with DIY projects and lumbar is expensive, so I can't make anything myself. Fortunately there's not many predators here other than the occasional stray cats/dogs.
It has been half a year and she's doing wonderfully! She has to be at least 1 year old now. I let her out of her run whenever weather permits and she wanders everywhere in my backyard. She lays an egg nearly everyday and she always chases us when she thinks we have food for her. She loves getting into my mom's garden even though she always gets scolded afterwards for it. My parents and I loved having her around. Its like having a pet dog! We named her Chicken as we didn't know if we were gonna keep her in the beginning, but now she's a permanent member of the family!
How many chickens do you have right now?
1 which is Chicken, but I know she gets lonely, so we got 4 baby chicks from TSC a week ago, BUUUT I made a grave mistake of not reading that it was actually a straight run, so I ordered 3 pullets from an Meyer Hatchery who should be coming next week hopefully! The TSC ones will probably be given away to a family member once their old enough or we might just keep them if their hens who knows.
What breeds do you have?
I'm not exactly sure what breed Chicken is, but I think she's a White Leghorn? Honestly, no clue what the TSC ones are, but the chicks from the online hatchery I ordered from will be a Lavender Orpington, Barnevelder, and a Blue Ameraucana! My dream chicken breed was a Buff Orpington as I heard they make the best pets, but their either sold out everywhere or you need to wait several months for one or you need to order 10-15 minimum, which I know I cannot accomodate. I'm hoping the Lavender Orpington will be somewhat similar to a Buff Orpington. I still want a Buff Orpington though.
(4) What are your favorite aspects of raising backyard chickens?
Having small dinosaurs in your backyard that chase you down for food and keep you company sometimes. The way they run towards you is so funny! I hope I can raise future chickens to be cuddly lap chickens. Daily fresh eggs are great too!
(5) What are some of your other hobbies?
Building and painting scale models!
(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share.
My parents aren't the best animal caretakers in the world, but they enjoy having an animal in the backyard they can play with. Chicken really grew on them. They were surprised at how smart Chicken was. We have no other pets as we suffer from allergies, so getting a dog/cat isn't a good idea cause of all their fur.
(7) Bonus: How did you find BYC, how long have you known about BYC, and what made you finally join our awesome community?
I found BYC by googling questions about chickens and I always land here. I been lurking here ever since Chicken came to my backyard. Since I plan on having more chickens in the future, I want them to have the best quality of life I can afford with my limited resources.
I believe she's a White Leghorn. Can anyone confirm Chicken's breed? She's also in the middle of molting I believe as her clipped wing is growing back. Sorry for the zoomed in photo, she keeps thinking my phone is food haha!
Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens?
For awhile I considered getting some pet chickens, but I never committed for many reasons mainly cause of my parents. That was until a chicken wandered into my backyard all skinny and unwell. I don't know who the original owners could be. It was my first time seeing a chicken in person. I was not prepared to suddenly be the caretaker of one who fortunately was a hen (she laid an egg a few days later) since roosters are not allowed here. Her wing was clipped on one side and her crop was floppy and a dull red.
My parents don't help all that much and do the bare minimum when it comes to taking care of any animal. I did some googling and purchased some proper food for hens, an okay sized chicken run from Amazon (that is admittedly very flimsy), modified a dog crate I had lying around as a makeshift nest box, and added a wood dowel as a perch. I'm not good with DIY projects and lumbar is expensive, so I can't make anything myself. Fortunately there's not many predators here other than the occasional stray cats/dogs.
It has been half a year and she's doing wonderfully! She has to be at least 1 year old now. I let her out of her run whenever weather permits and she wanders everywhere in my backyard. She lays an egg nearly everyday and she always chases us when she thinks we have food for her. She loves getting into my mom's garden even though she always gets scolded afterwards for it. My parents and I loved having her around. Its like having a pet dog! We named her Chicken as we didn't know if we were gonna keep her in the beginning, but now she's a permanent member of the family!
How many chickens do you have right now?
1 which is Chicken, but I know she gets lonely, so we got 4 baby chicks from TSC a week ago, BUUUT I made a grave mistake of not reading that it was actually a straight run, so I ordered 3 pullets from an Meyer Hatchery who should be coming next week hopefully! The TSC ones will probably be given away to a family member once their old enough or we might just keep them if their hens who knows.
What breeds do you have?
I'm not exactly sure what breed Chicken is, but I think she's a White Leghorn? Honestly, no clue what the TSC ones are, but the chicks from the online hatchery I ordered from will be a Lavender Orpington, Barnevelder, and a Blue Ameraucana! My dream chicken breed was a Buff Orpington as I heard they make the best pets, but their either sold out everywhere or you need to wait several months for one or you need to order 10-15 minimum, which I know I cannot accomodate. I'm hoping the Lavender Orpington will be somewhat similar to a Buff Orpington. I still want a Buff Orpington though.
(4) What are your favorite aspects of raising backyard chickens?
Having small dinosaurs in your backyard that chase you down for food and keep you company sometimes. The way they run towards you is so funny! I hope I can raise future chickens to be cuddly lap chickens. Daily fresh eggs are great too!
(5) What are some of your other hobbies?
Building and painting scale models!
(6) Tell us about your family, your other pets, your occupation, or anything else you'd like to share.
My parents aren't the best animal caretakers in the world, but they enjoy having an animal in the backyard they can play with. Chicken really grew on them. They were surprised at how smart Chicken was. We have no other pets as we suffer from allergies, so getting a dog/cat isn't a good idea cause of all their fur.
(7) Bonus: How did you find BYC, how long have you known about BYC, and what made you finally join our awesome community?
I found BYC by googling questions about chickens and I always land here. I been lurking here ever since Chicken came to my backyard. Since I plan on having more chickens in the future, I want them to have the best quality of life I can afford with my limited resources.
I believe she's a White Leghorn. Can anyone confirm Chicken's breed? She's also in the middle of molting I believe as her clipped wing is growing back. Sorry for the zoomed in photo, she keeps thinking my phone is food haha!
