So tell me... What got you into chickens?

[CrazyChickensEverwhere]

Whats you story that got you into being i dont know...... CRAZY ABOUT CHICKENS!!!

Mine is...


my mom is a postal worker and she was delivering 200 chicks ( meaties)to my neighbor and she said"they sounded soooo cute!, we should get a couple" and from there she never heard the end of it...




your turn!

 

[Miyashi]

We lived on almost an acre lot in Traverse City...which is huge there. We had a nice yard for my dogs to play in and that was about it, a patio to grill on.
We lost our house....my Dad got a job at the Meijer in Gaylord and had been driving there for over a year at this point, it was an hour drive from our house for him to get to work every morning.
My Mom still worked in TC, my boyfriend still lives there. He used to live with us. I saw him often.
So we were trying to get a house half way between Gaylord and Traverse, everything fell through and we wound up in Gaylord, leaving my Mom to drive the hour trip to her job for over a year.
The first signs of spring, we started seeing what potential our new 10 acres and out buildings had. My Mom had chickens as a child and remembered how much she loved them, so....being out in BFE...in the spring, you can get chickens everywhere! She bought some and yeah, I thought they were cute but I never thought I would be attached to them and consider them as individuals like I do. I don't know why I thought this way...maybe because every parrot I had met was very stand offish and unpleasant. I know my dogs are individuals and my horses....so I really don't know why I felt this way about chickens at first.
So in short...we got them because we finally had the room for my Mom to live out her hobby farm dream.
While I am very sad that I only see Matt once at month, I'm happy in a way.
If it weren't for my birds, I think I'd be in a much crappier mental state....I'm very prone to depression and animals are my favorite kinds of people....so if it weren't for them, who knows how often I might smile.
Matt and I are trying to get a place currently, we both have jobs, but in towns that are far apart from each other...at least for early 20 year olds who hardly make over minimum wage....if we made more, we could probably swing a place half way for the time being, buuuuuuuut such is life.
Now I want to take my rooster with me when I move. xD
Matt didn't know much about birds either and he loves them. They are great. They are more than great.
He seems to be okay with the whole house chicken idea...I just don't know how happy roo would be....
My birds really are my only friends out here. I'm a person who keeps few human friends....I have 3 and I would rather have 3 good friends than a bunch of poopy ones.
I've become obsessed and I'm pretty sure it deters people, oh well.
So, I'm glad to have met all of you wonderful people! So many just like me...completely enamored with their chickens...I was starting to think hey, maybe I am crazy before I found this forum.
Sorry if this seems dramatic, I kept it as short as I could....but really, my chickens mean a lot to me. They have been great friends and family members.
And thank you kind people for being here! I'm so glad you exist! Hopefully I'll make it to Chickenstock to meet some of my new MI friends!

 

[NYRIR]

There isn't really one specific thing for me...I know I LOVED Henny Penny as a kid

I just wanted a few chickens for a LONG time...I kept putting it off due to building coops,costs etc.Then 2 years ago I had 2 friends with chickens.One was my DD's best friend and one was a co-worker.My co-worker would sell the eggs at work and talk about his chickens.When I would tell him I always wanted some...he would tell me to get them! So,last spring we were running errands and I thought...."Wait a minute! It's Chick Days at TSC!" I asked DH to just drive over so we could look...well of course we came home with 12 RIR's! DH built me a brooder...and that's how it got started..
I now,a year and about a half later have.... a laying flock of 41ish....a bunch of meat birds...a bantam flock of 23 (for now) I have 24 ducks....5 geese and 2 more on the way! YAY! And I have 12 Turkey poults!!So we have lots of coops now

I have fallen in love with this hobby and enjoy it tremendously...my kids get sick of me talking about birds!

 

[NYRIR]

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I agree wholeheartedly! I am obsessed too, but there are much worse things we could be obsessed with than birds! I have a lot of acquaintances but not many "friends". Welcome to my world

 

[Zanna]

Blame it on my DH of 21 years........... About 5 years ago we were in Eastern Oregon on our annual bow elk/deer hunt. He states that he wants to get some chickens. I say, what for, I hate chickens!!!!! We are too busy, why do we need to make more work for ourselves??? When I was a kid, I used to clean horse stalls at a riding stable that had chickens. The chickens would peck through the manure in the stalls and make it very difficult to clean properly. I used to chase them out with the manure fork and yell at the annoying critters, did I mention I hated them?? He talked me into it and when we got home from the trip I ordered 25 RIR chicks from Strohmbergs. Well, what can I say, we now have over 50 chickens, I am trying to raise Black Copper Marans and Heritage Delawares, am putting up more breeding pens as we speak and THE CHICKENS ARE ALL MINE, I LOVE THEM and can't ever imagine being in situation where I would not be able to have chickens

 

[M.sue]

I spent most of my childhood on my grandparents farm. Grandpa raised chickens, geese & cows. He also had some workhorses. I built my home on my grandparents farmland. I wanted my children to be raised in the country and experience some of the simple pleasures of country living. That alone has always been my drive. What through it all into action was a Rhode Island Red named Rosie owned by a good friend. She would strut her stuff amongst everyone in the barn, through the tack room, pass the mares, goats, dogs & cats and into the indoor arena where in one corner during the winter hay would be stored. We would sit on the bales of hay & watch the riders lessening. Rosie would strut in, hop up on a bale of hay next to you & sit for the hour. If you decided to get up & move she would follow you or go about her own business in the barn. Sadly to say Rosie passed away early this spring. But it was her got that my plans into motion!

 

[M.sue]

Wow, this a great story and you sound like a fantastic person. Sounds like you've had some major life changes. Animals are truly mans best friends. There is something tranqual about being on the back of a horse or just sitting and watching the chickens peck & forge their way about the yard. Some of the simplest things in life bring the most pleasure!!
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[CrazyChickensEverwhere]

Nice stories. I hope someday I can have a house chicken lol. and rosie sounds like a hoot.

 

[Poultrybonkers]

I had them when I was younger. And I was the one who handled them as babies and cleaned them

 

[Kitt]

I spent my summers with family who lived in the country and had a lot of chickens. My friends and I used to show them. Now I am back in the country and can have them.