Official BYC Poll: Why Do You Have Chickens - Select All That Apply

[HeadChick2014]

Why do we have Chickens ? 1). Fresh Eggs 2). They are very beautiful & Fun ,
Plus we have about 8 different Breeds , thier personallities are different as well .
And I do have my Favorites !!!!
We have 26 Egg Laying Hen's , & I just brought home 4 Brown Leghorn chick's .
My Husband is going to build another Chicken Coop , as Soon as our weather
Improves up here in the Pacific Northwest , ( Whidbey Island )
As it has rained about 9 inches , aprox. so far this month !!!
We are going to move 7 of the Laying Hen's into the New chicken coop
As soon as it is ready for them .
I also have a Boarder Collie , " Molly " she loves to help me round them up in
The afternoon , to put them into the coop encloser .
Bright Blessings , HeadChick2014 ( Sherren )

 

[BYC Man]

Entertaining and therapeutic. Very enjoyable.

 

[Dixie1954]

Getting chickens was the last thing on our minds but when we saw a "free to a good home OR for food" ad as a vegan I could not see them ending up on someones plate! We made arrangements and even though we didn't really have a place for them nor a car to go get them we still got them and brought them home so they would be safe from slaughter. You read right, we did not have a car at the time so I took a medium size dog carrier, strapped it onto the back of our motorcycle and off I went! Yes, of course I got strange looks! I mean how often do you see a 2 wheel Kawasaki chicken hauler with 5 hens and a rooster? Anyway, we had a giant dog crate we kept them in as we built them a place to live. In the meantime they stayed in the crate. The guy that gave them away claimed they had stopped laying but after a while they did start laying. That is not why we got them but since they are well cared for pets and they are not trying to sit on the nest to hatch we do eat the few eggs they lay. We have 1 lacewing, a couple of red sex links, a couple of auracana and I am not sure but I think Charlie our rooster is an aruacana. We really do enjoy them and their different personalities, they are a lot of fun.









AND HERE IS OUR FIRST EGG

 

[Katmazdo]

I want to sell pullets locally to help encourage people to raise their own food sources.

 

[hbhoffman]

For our family we have raised and shown them for 4 - H. It also is awesome for home schooling for science, art, & teaching cooking! Not to mention teaching how to care for your flock like testing them, doing chores and handling them. Even my special needs dd at 4 could handle a pullet. But we really like watching them! And when the male chicks start to try crowing,we all start laughing at how funny it sounds. Truly funny!

 

[pollo portero]

I hated chickens...at least that's what I thought! got our first dozen from a relative who could no longer take care of the 3 month old layers. NO idea how to keep them. A couple of months and a lot of fast learning later, I was watching and listening to them peacefully clucking in their pen. All the tension went away and I realized I really like the feathery creatures. That was almost 2 years ago and I am hooked. So, the "other" reason for me is because I love seeing miracles every day. Just going into the coop in the morning and seeing the eggs...having my favorite rooster "Rocky" jump into my lap for a treat or "Duncan" my old english hen fly up on my shoulder just to say hello, watching a day old chick cuddle in my hand, listen to an attentive rooster call his hens for a tasty morsel........and in a few days my broody will hatch her clutch and I get to witness this for the first time. Why have chickens? ....why wouldn't you?

 

[Sierrab]

I have chickens for the destresser. I enjoy watching them, I spend my mornings and evenings just watching them. And secindly is fresh eggs and we do meat birds once a year.

 

[Chickamauga Man]

They are my hobby as well as an opportunity to make friends by giving them eggs, and introducing them to real chicken meat.

 

[shanbits]

I never thought I would see the day "being called the chicken lady". 11 years ago we bought a home that came with 7 chickens a few horses,Lama and goat!
The only animals I kept were the chickens and keep adding every year as I loose my girls to old age. I even took in some recuse
gals a few months ago that are a great addition to my flock!
My husband has really been a big help building then a large fenced in outdoor run in our pasture to keep them safe when we are
not home to keep an eye on them.
Each day I get down to talk to the chickens and watch them play, it's really a calming hobby for me now that all my children have
move out.
As I post their are six different breads for chickens under heat lamps waiting to grow up and I can't wait!


Shannon
Orangevale, CA

 

[hildar]

I have chickens for the destresser. I enjoy watching them, I spend my mornings and evenings just watching them. And secindly is fresh eggs and we do meat birds once a year.

Me to after 3 major heart attacks over the past 2 years I find that just sitting with my chickens now relaxes me big time. We had a few before but now I so enjoy them, and getting into good breeds and being able to show them. To me it is so worth it all.

However I tried brown leghorns about 4 years ago. never again. they were causing way to much stress, all the time flying over the fence and I would have to chase all of them. And the worst part is they don't squat like my other breeds do, they just run every wheres. Plenty of exercise though. I think I lost 20 pounds that summer chasing them all.