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

[gtown]

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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’ve been at this for 24 years. Fortunate to have a large, sturdy, 100 year old chicken house on our 8 acres here in central Texas. Girls free range every afternoon after laying. Grateful for but puzzled by never losing hens to hawks, which are always around. My two large dogs always wandering around must be the reason. Neighbors on both sides have penned hens that are hit by hawks regularly. I’m grateful for my setup. On night of Feb3rd I tried slipping one day old chicks under a broody partridge Wyandotte and it worked. She’s a fierce mom doing a good job with 8 babies. Easy for me! Love all my girls, never fond of roosters that always turn aggressive. Love their beauty, though.

 

[tuesdaylove]

What got you interested in raising chickens? I had no interest in, or knowledge of, chickens at all when I got my first. She was a spur-of-the-moment rescue. Tiny little chick with splayed legs that was a leftover from a high school agriculture class experiment, and she was going to be killed otherwise. I took her home and learned from there. Fell in love instantly, and once I got more chickens to keep her company, I fell in love with the species.

Did you ever "take a break" and not have chickens? Nope! I've always had chickens since my very first, in February 2012.

What breeds did you start with, how many, and do you have any pictures to share? My very first chicken was Darcy, and her photo is my avatar here. She was a Cornish cross. I got six bantams to be her friends - two Rosecombs, two Cochins, a d'Uccle, and a booted bantam. One Rosecomb died young, but the others grew up strong. A few months later, I rescued a Leghorn. They were one happy flock until about a year later, when I hatched my first batch of chicks. I no longer have any members of my original flock, but I do have some of their descendants.

 

[Jedstar]

3 years down under is 1/3 no?

Sorry what are you asking

 

[Love my chickens 25]

Gorgeous! What's the breed?

Mille Fleur duccle

 

[Love my chickens 25]

Gorgeous! What's the breed?

Thank you

 

[Manhen]

Sorry what are you asking

Just a play on words.

 

[reluctant farmer]

My wife got them, I wasn't to excited about them. But they grew on me. Now there my friends. And we get eggs! We had 15 to start 2 were roosters, (rehomed) 1 died, 2 barred rock, 2 lavender Orpingtons, 1buff Orpington, 3 salmon faverals, 4 black star.

 

[ZoomuKeeper]

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?

, I have raised chickens since 1994. I am now a retired zoo keeper and I have my own animal rescue / rehab. I still raise chickens

 

[Razadia]

I've had chickens for the better part of my 30 years of life. I've only been without them for about a year now. Tomorrow I'm ordering chicks. Most of what I started with were the remains of my grandmother's flock that included what may have been some of the last straight comb Dominiques. Later I raised American gamefowl. My last flock consisted mostly of Isabelle Orps.

 

[Apyl]

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What got you interested in raising chickens?
Originally I started because I have always wanted a hobby farm of sorts. My grandparents had a farm my entire life and I always wanted one but smaller scale. In 2010 my husband and I moved our family out of state to rural Wisconsin. At that time I was a stay at home mom and decided to start with chickens. It then spread to ducks, geese, turkeys and goats. We also lived a more self-sufficient lifestyle.

Did you ever "take a break" and not have chickens?
I decided to take a break about 4 years ago. I went back to work and placed focus on moving up to make more money. We built a house about a year ago and are now in a place that we are starting again. My babies will be here in June. This time are going about it a bit different. We are building much larger and permanent pens/coops/ect. We are also starting at a much smaller scale. We previously had about 100 birds, this time we are starting at 15.

What breeds did you start with, how many, and do you have any pictures to share?
Originally we went with Barred Rocks for our main birds and a bunch of misc breeds. The Barred Rocks are a very hardy bird for Wisconsin weather. This time I ordered 7 Easter Eggers (I like the variety of colors the birds and eggs are), 3 different ducks ( the kids chose), 2 Geese (unknown what breed, I ordered surprise surplus), and 3 Narragansett Turkeys. No pics yet, but I'm sure I'll post some once they are here.