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

[JillD413]

One day, after I had quit working outside the home, I got a wild hair and decided I wanted chickens. And the rest is history.

My first chickens I affectionately called my OG hens, Original Gansta Hens. Two Buff Orpingtons, 1 Red Star and 1 Amberlink. I credit my two Buffs for being gracious enough to let me poke and prod and learn all I could about the outer anatomy of a chicken. View attachment 2010000
Only two of the OG’s remain, Biscuit and Penny, the two on the top.

It took 24 months before chicken math set in, but it did in a big way, when I added 24 chicks to my flock. View attachment 2009999
It was at this time I built my big coop and run...fun, fun, fun times.

Later that year I added 3 chicks from a broody and wound up with 8 bator chicks, keeping the only pullet and one of the seven cockerels. And Rusty has been the best rooster. There have been 12 others that have gone before him.
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My last little group of 12 pullets came a few months later.
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Several have passed, several have been sold and several have been eaten. My remaining birds total 36 hens/pullets and 1 rooster.

Oh, and I almost forgot about the eggs.
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What an impressive flock and setup! Thanks for sharing!

 

[JillD413]

Wow...let me count the years! So far I'm at 25 years raising chickens.
I began with a trio of chickens from my uncle's flock. He had breeders for his fighting game birds...now outlawed.
But my trio had lovely personalities and were very gentle. We lived in OKC and my neighbors did not mind having a crowing rooster in our city neighborhood. We had 1/2 an acre lot and my birds freeranged in our backyard making us early proponents of backyard chickens. Sadly a hawk took the rooster.y

When we moved to our farm, I still had the two hens and added 10 hens...a variety of breeds including a Silver-laced Cochin hen we called Lacey...and a Rhode Island Red rooster...named Rhody...not the most creative of names.

Over the next 21 years my flock has had a number of different large fowl because I wanted a colorful flock of egg layers.
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I tried many breeds including Delaware, New Hampshire, Minorca (Buff and Black), Leghorn, Cochin, Marans, Orpington, Easter Eggers, Plymouth Rock, Buckeye, Polish, Sultan, Cornish, Jersey Giant, Wyandotte (Blue, Black, Barred, Columbian, BLR, Silver-Laced, White) and Sultan. Oh and the Naked Necks!
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And I wanted good broody moms.
My husband thought I was nuts when I told him about chicken math....and my first incubator.
And then I got my big cabinet incubator...hatching 108 eggs per tray...
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I almost became a chicken addict when I saw Bantams...
In Bantam breeds I've had d'Anvers, OEGB, Serama, Spangled Hamberg, Cochin, Rosecomb, Sebright, and Delaware.
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Then I experimented with other poultry breeds including quail, pheasant, turkey, geese and ducks.
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My flock now numbers 109 and consists mainly of my favorite the Columbian Wyandotte, a few Black, Blue and White Wyandotte with a couple of Cochin, two Orpington, some cross breeds and a huge Blue rooster named Barney ( Wyandotte X Australorp) and a duck named Daisy. Daisy is here because she was hiding on a nest when I sold the other 41 in the duck flock early this month.
Here are a few of my Columbian.
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I'm one of seven breeders for Columbian Wyandotte registered with the Wyandotte Breeders of America. These birds are a Heritage breed bred for dual purpose (meat and eggs). I am pretty proud of my flock.....can you tell?

WOW! That’s a lot of birds. Impressive.

 

[JillD413]

Going into my 5th year with them. Lost my first flock to a mink a little after they turned 1 and started over shortly after securing the coop better. Had always wanted them growing up and finally moved out to the country. I love having them. On really rough days I just go out and sit and watch them and it's like therapy.

Chicken time is truly therapeutic.

 

[JillD413]

I've had chickens for about 10 years or so, except for the last two years, after I moved. I just got chickens again in June.

I had gotten pullets from a local hatchery before, a cross between White Barred Rocks and Rhode Island Reds. Very nice chickens, great layers. But my husband passed away four years ago, and when I moved, I had to give the chickens away. One of the things I looked for in a house was a place where I could have a garden and chickens. This spring I put in a raised bed garden and coop, and am developing a permaculture garden that the chickens will be able to roam--some.

This time I got chicks, 7 different types. Buff Brahma, Wellsummer, Plymouth Barred Rock, Speckled Sussex, Silver and Gold Wyanndottes, Easter Egger (that interestingly looks almost identical to the Wellsummer, but lays a blue egg.)

I'm hoping that I've managed to build a predator-proof run. Time will tell. You can see the chicken run to the left of the coop. It runs the length of the garden fence. Permaculture garden is behind the coop.

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Jeepers! Your set up is rock star beautiful!

 

[JillD413]

I moved north over 3 years ago to look after my mum when it became obvious she could no longer look after herself because of dementia. Mum had 3 full grown chickens at the time. She talked me into buying another 3 baby chicks. Then one weekend I was away and my nephew was looking after mum and she made him take her to the pet shop where she bought another 6 baby chicks. I had to look after them all as mum wasn’t really capable. I grew to love them. We’ve had a few die and a few taken by pythons but I’ve still got 4 left. Mum passed away not even a month ago so I’m very glad I’ve still got some of her chickens as they never fail to cheer me up when I’m feeling blue.

My heart goes out to you for the loss of your mum. It is nice that you have some of her chickens as a source of comfort. My mum is 94 and in failing health. While my mum has never been an animal person, our little flock does provide joy to our world. Your connection between parent and bird is super special! Thank you for sharing

 

[PennyAndPeepMom]

I was watching a TV show about sustainable food and the guest said, “If everyone would have chickens in their backyard instead of dogs. . .” and it got me thinking. Then, without prompting, a cute little coop popped up on my computer screen while searching for something else and the rest is history. My first two were RI Reds but when I lost one to a disease, I got an Easter Egger and Buff Orpington. The vet said i couldn’t replace Peep with just one.

 

[Clairemarie1982]

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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?

I grew up in NYC and my husband and I started to raise a family there. We outgrew our apartment so we moved to Connecticut. Here we live surrounded by horse farms and tons of people have chickens. It’s the first time I saw a live chicken in real life! We have been here for 5 years now and have 5 kids. Last spring we decided to get chickens and started off with 10 chicks. We decided to get a variety of breeds with 5 standards, 5 bantams. I am obsessed with them and don’t think I will ever be without them! Now this spring we have already ordered ducklings to add to the flock. It’s so nice to have pets that give you breakfast! The kids have enjoyed loving and spoiling their babies. Anyone who is on the fence about getting chickens I would totally recommend getting them! They are so easy to care for and are really so sweet!

 

[Clairemarie1982]

Aug 1 2009 My dh an I brought home a Game hen and her 10 chicks that hatched at a retreat my dh worked at. Never thought about chickens but we have had ducks since 2004 and geese since 2007 so hey why not. I am hooked. ❤
I only have one rooster left from that first year and he has been the best! Still going strong!View attachment 2009937View attachment 2009936View attachment 2009938

Wow am I reading this correctly, your rooster is 10.5 years old?!

 

[Pete Yo]

My family and I have had the pleasure of raising chickens for roughly 5 years. We still have three of the four birds I first bought. There are ten outside in my coops and four in a brooder in the garage. We enjoy getting different breeds every time, so my flock is very unique and my egg basket is very colorful!

 

[kategre]

We moved to our little piece of rural NE Tennessee 8 years ago. I lived in upstate New York a!I my life before the moved. We started our flock in 2013 with a dozen mix of barred rock, silver lace wyandotes, sex links and white rocks. Later we added a black copper marans rooster. I knew I wanted chickens for about 10 years, don't know why but I just knew I wanted them. We were lucky that the prior owners had a wonderful fenced in dog kennel attached to the back of an rv port. We added nesting boxes, pop hole and hardware clothe over windows and we were ready. Since then we've added guineas and quite a few other varieties of chickens. I incubate and also let the hens hatch if they're so inclined. We have about 65 now. Love them all!