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

[SmColorInDaPan]

Got tired of driving 25 m to get eggs from the Huttewright Colony. Had Truly Free Range chickens since about 09-10. No coop although I have to clean up, replace the feed sacks on the back Porch. Wonderful eggs. Have lost some to dogs, foxes, hawk tried once. Out of 16, I barely get 4 eggs a day. Maybe they're Spoiled....LOL? I am VERY Low maintenance on chicken keeping.

 

[Chickassan]

Iv'e had chickens most of my life whether I wanted to or not.
My firsts were surprise chickens when I was seven.
That Easter a neighbor fella called Albert presented a peeping Reebok shoe box into my grubby little hands.
That box contained two Easter egger chicks, from that moment forward iv'e been lost to the void.
Iv'e pulled some people in with me so I feel better about it though.

 

[Muscovy Wunda]

My parents raised the other types poultry for most the time of my growing up. We only had chickens briefly, as my dad is allergic to the meat. We had quail, guinea fowl, turkey, ducks, peacocks and a 5 year stint of an emu farm (I believe it peaked at 175 emus). So naturally, when we moved here for my husbands work in 2017 and discovered the monster chicken coop I decided to give my kids the wonderful experience of poultry. Our flock consists of, australorps, RIW, silkie, muscovy indian runners and pekin.

 

[Sakal-Kara-Pumpkin]

I started with 6 but lost 3 of them to a hawk because of my inexperience. Then I got 3 more and now I have three red sex links, two easter eggers and one Plymouth rock.
I love it that the chickens are eating so much of my food scraps (along with a high quality layer's feed) (we eat pretty health, so do they get to eat healthy too) and still producing plenty of amazing tasting eggs! I fed them a lot of black soldier flies that started growing in my wormery last year and got amazing results. Then the more I researched bsfl, the more obsessed I was. So I ended up building a rather large bsfl bin and I am hoping to feed my chickens more sustainably as I go.
I have only raised egg chickens so far but I am now venturing into raising meat chickens. In fact, I just placed an order for 10 Cornish crosses, as well as 2 Australorps, 1 California White and 2 Ideal 236 to replenish my layers.
I have so many odd questions and all of them seem to be asked and replied here, so I really appreciate this forum. Thank you!

 

[kmfriend]

12 years ago my daughter's third-grade teacher incubated eggs as a class project. I was the only parent who agreed to take chickens. I love my gals! When teaching at a continuation school I incubated eggs and started a flock there. I now teach in corrections and am trying to figure out a way to incubate eggs with my inmates.

 

[SWES]

I'm curious, where do the rest of the chickens sleep? How fascinating that she wants to come in the house to sleep.

They sleep outside in the coop. When I got my first four chicks, I bought them at a flea market and brought them home with no coop or knowing anything about chickens. I put them in a dog cage with the heating lamps and they stayed indoors for about four months.
By then I bought a small coop and moved them outside. I lost Cookie to a hawk and Blackie to a mean Rooster who she hated and would fight with all the time. Anyway, I believe because Rocky and Sweetie were raised indoors they have no fear of being inside. They don't jump on the tables or furniture either. I have let other chickens in, they are curious but I have to keep an eye on them because they will jump up on the furniture. None of they others seem to care to stay in too long and always head to the door to go back out after they've looked around.
Rocky used to sit on the couch with me (I put protection under her of course) and watch TV with me. She liked me to pet her and would nuzzle up to me. But, when she felt it was time to go to bed, she'd stand on the edge of the couch and wait for me to set her on the floor. She didn't like jumping if she didn't have to because she would slide on the floor. Just like Sweetie, every morning she would go to the back door to be let out and take charge of the other chickens until it was time to go to bed again. Occasionally, in the summer she would come in and sit on the floor for a couple of hours. I guess she was cooling off from the heat.
I really miss that chick!

 

[RobynNicole]

Started with 3 barred rocks and 3 rhode island reds 10 years ago this year. Since then I've ended up with a variety between what was rescued and what I have carefully chosen. Now I have - australorp, buff orpington, easter egger, amberlink, black sex link, golden lace sebright, blue sapphire, barred rock. Ages 10 years to almost 1 year.

Pictures of my 2 amberlinks who will be 1 this May and my sebright and easter egger who will both be 9 years old this June.

 

[Terricat]

I started raising chickens around 1991, when my mother gave me about 10 guinea fowl with one Bantam Rooster (not sure what breed he was). A neighbor friend who raised a few chickens gave me a hen for my rooster as he was beginning to think he was a guinea hen!! That hen and rooster began my almost 30 year love affair with chickens! I now have a flock of 21 with several breeds, some of which are mixed breeds that my hens raised. I have Light Brahmas, Dorkings, Speckled Sussex, Blue Laced Wyndottes, Ameraucanas, Swiss Apenzellar, and more... My favorite breed is Favorelles but the hens, unfortunately, are so non-aggressive that they are at the bottom of the pecking order and don't do as well.

 

[Chercher72]

I have had chickens most My life. I just love chickens. Mine are all pets. My first real love of chickens came when a mink got into our barn and killed all but one little sweet bantam hen. She was a mother and the mink got her chicks. I think I was about 9. I couldn't leave her out alone so I snuck her up to my bedroom. I had her in a big dog cage. I made her a roosting spot and she and I became great friends. I know that sounds silly almost 38 years later but I loved that hen. Funny conclusion to that story she became really broody. She wanted chicks so bad. So on the next trip to Big Acres I bought her a fluffy little yellow chick. It grew and grew and grew. When that silly chick was full grown it would still try and get under her mother's wings. So here was a little Batman with this big white chicken under her wings. Oh, the memories we make and keep forever.

 

[NewChickenmama06]

View attachment 2009564​

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?

We decided to get chickens for meat and eggs at first so we bought 3 Australorp chicks from TSC. As they grew we realized that we actually had 3 Australorps (one is a roo)and 3 black stars. We also ended up falling in love with them so the whole meat thing was out the window lol. We are looking to expand our flock in the spring. 3 more for eggs, and around 20 Cornish Cross for meat, not naming them this time! I have included a few pictures from the fall of them.