So did you jump in with both feet or?

[Davaroo]

I read an article in 'Hobby Farms' magazine about chickens. They went on about how easy it is to hatch them, and take care of them - even in a cityscape yard.
As they say, a fool and his money are soon parted.

I got an incubator, some hatching A-lorp eggs off ebay and well, here we are.

 

[NancyP]

Thanks for sharing. I have really enjoyed your stories and don't feel so impulsive anymore.

 

[codybird]

My 86 year old father called one day and said he saw a plan for a moveable coop to keep chickens.

I said " a rooster will not be good here"

He said " you don't need a rooster for hens to lay eggs"

My mother said that she would like to be able to gather eggs since she grew up on a farm.

6 black sex links and a new chicken tractor later, here I am.

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
Your father has some wisdom, it would seem. At least about chickens.

The average person knows nothing about chickens and many assume a cock must be present for eggs to be lain.

 

[gardenak]

A friend out the road raised hens for eggs, the colors and flavor of fresh eggs had me hooked. I went out to meet her girls one day this winter to see where my eggs were coming from and got bitten by the bug. My husband and hers built a coop for us and I ordered up a batch from MM. I love to feed them little treats and watch them play keep away! I can't wait for them to get their feathers so we can play outside! And then there's those eggs. . .

 

[R@ndy]

I guess you could say I jumped in with both feet and havent looked back.

All started around march 20th when a co worker asked me if I wanted a couple Roosters, 2 weeks late I had built a nice big coop in the back yard. Made a trip to the local live stock auction and bought a Cuckoo Maran Rooster then that following Monday I found a breeder near me and bought 8 New Hampshire's and 6 Delawares plus ordered 18 Red Star Pullets from Southern States.

A week later while picking up supplies at TSC they had Bantam chicks for sale so I bought 20 of them hoping to get some Broodys

and built a 6'x4'x2' brooder for them and future chicks

Right now I'm in the process of converting 1/2 ( 8'x24' )of my garage into a area to brood chicks and also give my Bantams a nice home

 

[Dogwood Farm]

I have wanted Chickens for a long time now. So instead we have 6 parkeets 1 lovebird, 1 peach-fronted conure, 1 Umbrella Cockatoo. Now Hubby is realizing he should have just left me have the chickens in the first place. Trying to keep myself under control I have 20 peeps ordered. 15 in the incubator. But TSC keeps getting in more and more and more. Its hard.

 

[farmerlor]

I was just fine, raising my little flock of chickens and gathering eggs for my family until I came to this forum. These people here are like drug pushers or something and the next thing you know you have six pens of turkeys, ducks, geese and more breeds of chickens than you had ever even heard of prior to your visit here. Boy howdy, did we jump in with both feet after we found BYC! LOL!

 

[cmom]

Over 40 years ago I had 50 leghorns. My then DH and I decided to go our separate way and we had to give up the birds. A few years ago my now DH of 35 years decided to get some chicks. Our local feed store was putting in an order from Ideal Poultry for the store so he had him add 6 RIR pullets. I did not know this until one day he told me we were taking a ride and that I should bring along a box. We went to the feed store and picked up the 2 day old pullets with a small bag of Starter/Grower crumbles. We took the chicks home. I was nervous about keeping them in the box so I went back to the feed store and bought a brooder, lamp, feeder and waterer and returned home. Every year I add more to my growing flock. I have had some losses such as chicks die, predators killing, and have had a couple of pullets just drop dead for no apparent reason but overall I am addicted.

 

[Phox01]

My hubby and I had talked for several years about having a few chickens , just enough to give us eggs for family. Went to TSC one day and he said"how much for these 2 tubs of chicks and all the equipment ?" Came home with 48 chicks unknown breeds , then lost a few , then added more until we had 54 . Talk about jumping in with both feet.

He has since built me a great hoop coop and we both love just standing around and watching them and waiting on eggs. We still do not know what breeds we have or how many hens or roosters. Guess we will find out when they start laying and crowing.