I am in awe of the earlier posters. Wow....
I always felt like I belonged in the country despite being raised as a military brat, mostly in metropolitan areas or overseas. I got my first chickens in 2009, right after my husband was diagnosed with metastatic cancer--not the best time to start a long term activity like chickens, but hey, timing has never been my long suit.
I now have 27, including four roosters (three of whom are rescues and one, Bruno, whose former owner made me promise not to eat him--no one goes to freezer camp here, so no problem!). We bought an insulated storage shed from Sam's that has french doors, a window and a roof vent, put a repurposed wooden stairs that exactly fit on one side for them to use to roost and put straw on the floor. They are kind of messy, but I read on a thread here that that's not a bad thing. Good, since I am not much of housekeeper!
A peahen showed up in the spring and kind of messed up the flock's production, but they still receive and enjoy all sorts of foods. I have been surprised that they can spot protein from quite a distance--I've given them the rare treat of left over beef (never chicken or eggs!).
I'm a nurse and a licensed marriage and family therapist, constantly in school (just finished my BSN and applying to grad school). At 60, my hope is to grow up to be a nurse practitioner. My husband is an engineer who shares my love of animals but doesn't get into the more problem-specific care such as managing chronic illness or specialized care.
I have three grown children--one I gave birth to, one adopted at age 3 days, and one, a former foster, adopted at age 27 years. I have 8 grandchildren though I only know two of them--everyone lives quite far away.
I used to be quite crafty until life and neck/back injuries got in the way, but I'm on a promising path toward a painfree life again, so should be able to stand at the stove, hover over the sewing machine and the like. I have all sorts of potential supplies built up (I hate getting rid of what might be useful), and my latest passion is to convert those plastic-y bags (such as Layena comes in) into reuseable shopping bags. Maybe they can be sold to raise a little money for the sanctuary, lol.
Just love this site--I need to visit more often! Hope everybody has a wonderful day!!
Christine
. I convinced my mom to get chickens about two or three years ago. She hated birds back then, lol. Since then, she's grown to love the farm life, and has even started raising rabbits. I hope to get a real farm someday; one with goats and cows and sheep.
But so far she just likes to chase the animals and listen to her dad pay guitar.
