I joined about five years ago, shortly before entering the chicken world with four older rescued Easter Egger hens. I decided to start keeping chickens for several reasons.
*I tasted free-range (REAL free range, not the BS USDA free-range-but-not-really eggs from the grocery store) eggs for the first time about six years ago. My God, they were incredible, and I had to have them again, even if I had to farm them myself!
*There's a forest right behind my house, and I was having REAL problems with ticks! I found multiple ticks on myself every summer. One of my dogs contracted Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, another one contracted Erlichiosis, and yet another one of my dogs developed tick paralysis! Scary! I didn't want to douse my yard with poison, but something had to be done!
*My back yard was a dust bowl. The soil was rock-hard, compacted and not fertile at all.
*I tried not to think about it, but I had been getting eggs from the store. And I know industrial farm chickens live in deplorable conditions, overcrowded, covered in feces, stressed, pumped full of antibiotics because of their filthy living conditions. Their misery obviously shows in their eggs, with their pale yolks and runny whites. My conscience was getting to me.
My happy birds solved all these problems, and I regret nothing. Some of my chickens have passed on, either due to hawks or old age(a few of my girls had quite a few years on them already when I adopted them). I've brought more in to live peaceful, happy chicken lives, with lots of space and sunshine and the protection of my two benevolent Pit Bulls, Lucy and Gracie.
Life with them sure is interesting, and this is a great place to come whenever I get stumped.
*I tasted free-range (REAL free range, not the BS USDA free-range-but-not-really eggs from the grocery store) eggs for the first time about six years ago. My God, they were incredible, and I had to have them again, even if I had to farm them myself!
*There's a forest right behind my house, and I was having REAL problems with ticks! I found multiple ticks on myself every summer. One of my dogs contracted Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, another one contracted Erlichiosis, and yet another one of my dogs developed tick paralysis! Scary! I didn't want to douse my yard with poison, but something had to be done!
*My back yard was a dust bowl. The soil was rock-hard, compacted and not fertile at all.
*I tried not to think about it, but I had been getting eggs from the store. And I know industrial farm chickens live in deplorable conditions, overcrowded, covered in feces, stressed, pumped full of antibiotics because of their filthy living conditions. Their misery obviously shows in their eggs, with their pale yolks and runny whites. My conscience was getting to me.
My happy birds solved all these problems, and I regret nothing. Some of my chickens have passed on, either due to hawks or old age(a few of my girls had quite a few years on them already when I adopted them). I've brought more in to live peaceful, happy chicken lives, with lots of space and sunshine and the protection of my two benevolent Pit Bulls, Lucy and Gracie.
Life with them sure is interesting, and this is a great place to come whenever I get stumped.
