Official BYC Poll: How Did You Get Into Chickens?

[Skyle]

Everything started when I saw a Brahma rooster at a show few years ago, I loved this breed at first sight and immediately decided I was going to breed them in the future.
I sent some photos of the chickens in the show to my mother and she responded "Which ones do you want take home?" I thought she was only kidding me lol
Later that day, during dinner, I asked my parents if I could really get chickens (I was joking, because I already knew my parents wouldn't let me lol), they said yes and they weren't joking
I researched for months about chickens, incubation, breeding, brooding, health, feed and the specific needs of Brahmas. I wanted to know everything before to get them.
I built my first coop and got my first chickens, I got more and more obsessed with them as time passed. That's how all started

 

[Iluveggers]

I grew up in the city, so always had thoughts of a rural/livestock lifestyle. A few years ago we moved to the suburbs and hubby and I immediately discussed chickens. Then I was diagnosed with cancer. Three operations later went into remission, I told hubby lets do chickens, so we did. That was last year. We are loving it.

Very glad to hear you are in remission. Cancer sucks. Too many of my friends are in the same boat.

 

[SilkieChicken123]

I'm relaying my "Other" choice off poll.

We had some friends who were moving and they no longer wanted nor needed their 8 RIR hens. Matter of fact, they were going to put them down, so we rescued them. It was an adventure we weren't really prepared for, but I'm so glad we did!

 

[NorthwoodsChick]

For many many years I have wanted livestock. Now that I am an empty nester at home I convinced DH that I need to fill my time with a new hobby. Big fat heavy fluffy chickens it is.

 

[Solanacae]

My journey to chicken keeping started years ago when I began reading books by Michael Pollan. I started to change my shopping habits to more locally sourced foods, and that transferred into wanting to grow/produce as much of my own food as possible. My parents always did a lot of canning/freezing of their garden produce, so that idea of growing your own food wasn’t foreign to me, though they never did much animal husbandry outside of a brief stint with meat rabbits that quickly became pets.

My husband and I gardened wherever we could while we finished our schooling - his parents’ house, a few community gardens, and eventually our own backyard gardens. I mentioned getting chickens at our first house, since there were a couple of sheds on the property that could easily have been converted into a coop or two, but he didn’t want any.

We moved and our property had/has a side yard shaded with trees and nothing much could grow there, so I again mentioned it would be perfect for a chicken run. Again he didn’t want to, even though I was more insistent about the idea. Finally the pandemic struck and there were no eggs to be found in the grocery stores for weeks, and then only very slim inventory for even longer. My husband loves having eggs for breakfast, and was complaining about how he couldn’t have his usual breakfast. I said, “You know, if we had chickens, we wouldn’t have this problem . . . “ and he caved.

So yes, we were part of the great chick buying craze of 2020, and neither of us would go back. I enjoy them more than he does, but he likes watching them and the eggs are (of course) far better than anything we could get at the store.

 

[curlycropchics]

hmmm I know it was my husbands first mention, we bought a large home with 20 acres in the country and my husband was like wouldn't be cool to have chickens... My first response (city girl) NO!

Thought nothing of it and time went by and hubs was like come on it would be fun and to get our own eggs and I will build the coop and everything. Nope.

Hey hun I have to go to tractor supply want to come, sure....SET UP. Baby chickens in the store..come on. I literally looked him in the face silently walked the other direction. silent "nope".

I am sitting one day starring at the land and I had been shopping at all the local farm stands in our area and I guess the dang country done snuck in. Then somehow some way found Mypetchicken online... June 3rd and 6 fluff butts later there I was. BUT I don't regret it now. I love my girls and they are SOOOO easy. Easier than my dang dog, NEEDY.

 

[Iluveggers]

My journey to chicken keeping started years ago when I began reading books by Michael Pollan.

Michael Pollan

 

[Crazy Chicken Helen]

My husband had the idea in early summer 2017. I wasn't overly keen already having a border collie and 2 budgies and quite a small house and garden. Plus we didn't have much spare cash at the time and i nearly keeled over when I saw the prices of small to medium sized coops! Hubby decided to spend 3 weekends building from mainly foraged materials a lovely coop and run. We got 6 bantam pullets, including a couple of polish, a black silkie amongst others, and within an hour of bringing them home I was in love.

It's now me that's the crazy chicken lady, and our flock grew to 8. We lost a couple and of course I got more, usually after making any excuse to go and "visit" our local poultry farm. One time we even ended up bringing one home the farm owner just gave to us free as she kept escaping and she feared she would become a fox's dinner.

Anyway lockdown came. Fertile eggs was the next thing to try and during lockdown and furlough 5 little babies certainly kept us busy and entertained . We've since hatched another 2 lots of eggs, our headcount (combcount?) was 18 at its highest but now down to 10 after rehoming some roosters and a couple of our older alfie's now in chicky heaven.

Also, Santa brought me an automatic egg incubator......


I'd also like to add that they are the best antidepressant anyone could prescribe!

EDIT forgot to also add that 1 coop is now 3 and we doubled the size of our run!

 

[Ryder_sanders]

Chickens really are the simplest and most rewarding animals to rear. From eggs to free therapy to learning about self-sustainability, there are a variety of reasons to keep your own backyard chickens. Whatever the reason, we would like to find out: How Did You Get Into Chickens?

Place your vote above, and please elaborate in a reply below if you chose "Other".

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Further Reading:

• Top 5 Reasons People Have Chickens
• Common Mistakes Poultry Keepers Make (And How to Fix Them)
• Keeping Chickens Without Free Ranging

(Check out more exciting Official BYC Polls HERE!)

We found a wild broody chicken( we live in Hawaii and wild chickens are everywhere) and I thought it would be a fun pandemic project for the kids to incubate and hatch our own.

 

[deidreg]

My journey to chicken keeping started years ago when I began reading books by Michael Pollan. I started to change my shopping habits to more locally sourced foods, and that transferred into wanting to grow/produce as much of my own food as possible. My parents always did a lot of canning/freezing of their garden produce, so that idea of growing your own food wasn’t foreign to me, though they never did much animal husbandry outside of a brief stint with meat rabbits that quickly became pets.

My husband and I gardened wherever we could while we finished our schooling - his parents’ house, a few community gardens, and eventually our own backyard gardens. I mentioned getting chickens at our first house, since there were a couple of sheds on the property that could easily have been converted into a coop or two, but he didn’t want any.

We moved and our property had/has a side yard shaded with trees and nothing much could grow there, so I again mentioned it would be perfect for a chicken run. Again he didn’t want to, even though I was more insistent about the idea. Finally the pandemic struck and there were no eggs to be found in the grocery stores for weeks, and then only very slim inventory for even longer. My husband loves having eggs for breakfast, and was complaining about how he couldn’t have his usual breakfast. I said, “You know, if we had chickens, we wouldn’t have this problem . . . “ and he caved.

So yes, we were part of the great chick buying craze of 2020, and neither of us would go back. I enjoy them more than he does, but he likes watching them and the eggs are (of course) far better than anything we could get at the store.

This is pretty much my chicken story, too. I was stuck at home and had lost my job. The stimulus check gave me the ability to start this new hobby. And the eggs are great!