Official BYC Poll: How Long Have You Been Raising Chickens?

[Kiki]

How many of our peeps are really new to raising chickens and how many are old-timers?

In addition to answering the poll, please reply with some fun details, like:

What got you interested in raising chickens?
Did you ever "take a break" and not have chickens?
What breeds did you start with, how many, and do you have any pictures to share?

 

[Love my chickens 25]

 

[Pennys Mama]

I've had them off & on since I was a kid, just during the last year have been able to get them again. I love, love, LOVE my chickens! And have guinea, ducks, turkey, Bobwhite, Coturnix, goats & dogs too.

 

[Molpet]

Had chickens as a kid a couple of times... opossums and dog got them. 5 yrs ago bought some as a retirement project. Built a predator proof coop.

 

[grayjay11o]

I've been raising chicken for 12 years, I started out with Mille Fleur D'Uccles and the last one just died a couple of months ago. Now I have 2 nankins, 3 Nankin Xs, 1 Silkie X, 1 Red Pyle OEGB, 1 Crele OEGB, and 1 Golden? Dutch. This spring I will hopefully be adding 2 Appenzeller Spitzhaubens, 3 Silver-laced Orpingtons, and 3 Blue-Laced Red Wyandottes.

Picture of one of my original D'Uccles, Peeka taken last year.

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

When I was 11 we moved to the country. There was a huge chicken house and some old hens the previous owner had left. My dad and I weren't close but we had a love for birds that bonded us. He started incubating eggs and it was my responsibility to fill the water and take care of the birds. When my husband and I moved to our farm and my middle son was 1 year old (13 years ago) I picked out my first chickens. 25 Black Astralorps, to this day I always have to have some in my flock.

 

[aart]

Got my first mixed age and gender flock 6 years ago last Sept.
Had wanted chickens since I was 15 and spent a summer tending my brothers chooks in upstate NY.
Was a chicken sitter for 10 years for several friends before getting my own flock.
After a year of sitting on the couch mourning the death of my son and reading about chickens, I finally got up and started building the coop in the spring of 2013.
Chicken Coop fits into Big Shed.
Have tried it all from hatch to harvest, for 'cleaner and closer' food.

 

[CrazyCrttr75]

Technically I am in between 1 and 2 yrs but closer to the 2 yr mark so that is what I chose. I started out with 6 Australorp chickens and now have a variety of 16 chickens and 7 ducks.

 

[NuggetTheChicken]

I got interested in raising chickens when my dad would tell us stories from when he was a kid, how he had chickens and pigeons. We moved to a more rural part of town, which had no restrictions on what animals or how many you could have, a very farm friendly town, I am surrounded by farms. My family decided to get chickens. We picked winter hardy breeds that would lay a decent amount of eggs, barred rocks, rhode island reds, jersey giants. We later added in light brahmas and welsummers. Don't have any recent pics, but have a pic of one of my boys, a red sex link, Cornflakes and some of the hens

 

[ValerieJ]

February 12th it will be four years. I lost my only child to a sudden death in 2003. I tried a lot of different things to move on and live again, and I'm sure it all helped a little. It wasn't until we bought a little property on a river complete with wildlife and a rain forest that I found some peace again. Chickens arrived about a year into this new life and saved mine. Still haven't gotten over the loss, but I have made friends with the pain and am able to live a mostly happy life. Maybe this is TMI, but it is directly related to having chickens for me.

I started with 6, 2 Australorps, 2 RIRs, and 2 Buff Orpingtons. Of that flock, I only have Lucy (avatar) left. Each one of those losses was heartbreaking.

At this time I have 8 hens, 3 BOs, 3 Australorps, and 2 RIRs. I also have 4 at nearly 5 mos, 2 Lavender Orpington pullets, 1 Lavender Orpington cockerel, and 1 Buff Orpington cockerel. The last two are a little trouble at the moment, but they are being given every chance to grow up here.

Here's a few pictures. First is Mad Hatter. Second is Alice.

Third is Alice and Abby, fourth is Pippi Longshot (who owns my heart),

And finally most of the hens, hanging out together at one end of the run while we trimmed trees at the other end.

Pippi was the only chick hatched out in my incubator. I picked up Mad and the girls to be brooder mates for him. Here is my sweet Pippi's beginning:

And finally, a video I've shared several times of one of my first hens who liked to give the benediction at the end of each day: