Passing Fancy or Long-Term Activity

[CarolJ]

I'm a newbie - I've had my chickens for 3 weeks - they're 20 weeks old. I love having them, and find myself just sitting outside and watching them. They're fascinating. I've been thinking about trying my hand at hatching some chicks. However, my daughter said I might want to wait till at least December - see if my enjoyment of my chickens will sustain long-term. And, to be honest, so many times in life, we get involved in something - only to lose interest after a few weeks or months. Of course, I realize pets/animals are much different than taking up origami or ceramics! LOL! We have both a cat and a dog we've loved and cared for for over 5 years.

Still, I'm curious. How long have you kept chickens? Are there any here that have found it's more a passing fancy than a long-term activity?

 

[ranchhand]

I'm at 20 years, I reckon it's long term now........

ETA, they can be a bother- we have no such thing as vacation anymore, but that really due to the dogs rather than the chickens!

 

[aarronh]

I was obsessed with chickens as a child... I hatched them in the 2nd grade, and ever since then, I had birds while growing up. I of course was a typical kid, and my mom often got stuck caring for the birds (which she despised).

Life happened, got involved with things in high school, etc. and the birds went to the wayside.

After six years of college, here I am... back into it... over 200 birds strong

 

[chi-rn]

Less than a year, but I can no longer imagine my life without chickens!

 

[sourland]

Well, I've had something with feathers almost my entire life-- chickens, ducks, geese, guinea fowl, pheasants, peafowl, pigeons, doves, canaries, parakeets and the list goes on. I'll be 70 in a few days (yeah, I know I've been claiming that age for the past year--one of my little quirks) and can't imagine not having birds of some sort along with my dogs. I have never grown bored of them or regretted the time, worry, and expense involved. It's dictated where I live, the friends I've made and is a large part of what defines me.

 

[bustermommy]

But there are occasional ads on Craigs List about wanting to get rid of them, being "over it" too. I think you're much more likely to have long-termers here.

 

[Imp]

About 7 years now. No plans on stopping.

Imp

 

[aarronh]

Yes - very often folks who decide their kids should have cute fuzzy little "peeps" at Easter... and then when they figure out the little fuzzy creatures require care and that they poop, they want to get rid of them :-/
Quote:

 

[CarolJ]

Ha ha, Ranchhand - after 20 years, you might need to wait another few months to be absolutely certain you want to stick with raising chickens. LOL! I can relate to no vacations. I'm out of town right now, and am on pins and needles until I get home tomorrow morning to make sure my chickens have survived 3 days without me. I had three different people taking care of them - husband the first day, a neighbor the second, and my son the third. Hope they did okay.

 

[aarronh]

Likewise! I'm leaving town for three days starting tomorrow - and it took me 3 hours of prep just to get things ready so that my neighbor only needs to do "minimal" feeding and watering... I'm grateful to have such a nice neighbor to help care for my birds, but it really does make traveling an inconvenience! I guess it's no small miracle that I have no desire to travel the world

Quote: