Topic of the Week - What is the purpose of your flock?

[Ponypoor]

Strictly entertainment and lawn ornaments - they go well with my other three hay burning lawn ornaments (my old horses).

Though to be fair the chickens do give me eggs which I do sell enough of to pay for their feed AND the horses grain! Told the horses they needed to up their game and start paying their way!

The horses enjoy the chickens also this is Reenie she shares supper with the chooks every day.

 

[Ponypoor]

I guess for the same reason I have a vegetable garden...I enjoy watching them grow. I've always wanted chickens...this is my first year having them. I bought 15 last April from Tractor Supply...5 of each of the 3 breeds they had and my 6yo and 8yo helped me name them. They have more personality than I ever realized...it is quite entertaining. I came home from work the other day and Joshua, my 6yo, said his chicken" Sweetie Pie" was cackling very loudly. I thought it odd because every evening when I greet them with, "Hey, girls.. How is everybody?"...they always talk with soft gentle murmurs...NEVER loud cackling. So I went in the chicken run to give them all treats that I keep in a large lidded trash can. All the hens gathered around the treats except for Joshua's "Sweetie Pie"...she went on loudly cackling and ran straight into the chicken house! I thought, "What is wrong with her?...seems like shes trying to tell us something. Just then Joshua came out of the coop and hollered, " Mama, Sweetie Pie laid an egg!"...so our first egg harvest begins.

Awesome!!! Congratulations!

 

[The cheek coop]

We have our chickens for eggs and learning responsibility for our kids. Of course it has been a learning experience for me also. Not to mention the pure joy the chickens bring to our lives.

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

Originally, I have to admit that my flock was used for nothing more than their eggs. I was young then, and did not understand that chickens could be so much more than eggs. I was not allowed to go by the chickens because in our first flock, we kept three roosters. None of them were aggressive, although they would dance at my parents as a warning.

If you skip several years, then you will see a time in which we decide to get a rooster because of our previous human-aggressive one died. We were going to use him for fertilized eggs if we needed to hatch our own. I wanted to make sure that our rooster would be nice this time, and therefore I began to research all of the commonly friendly breeds. My parents chose to get a rooster from a backyard breeder, which turned out to be a Cochin/Ameraucana hybrid, Phoenix.

I thank Phoenix, because he was the start of me being chicken-obsessed. After I had done research on friendly breeds and their unique history, I had found that I suddenly could not leave studying chickens. Now, here I am, and my birds are so much more than egg-producers. They are wonderful creatures that bring me feelings of peace when I get to watch them roam the yard, foraging and commencing their amusing antics.

Phoenix, my Cochin/Ameraucana hybrid rooster, who started the transition of chickens being used solely for eggs, to ornamental birds and pets.

 

[Sally PB]

Reasons, in order of appearance:

Eggs
Poop for compost
Entertainment
Emergency meat, if the need should arise

I did not know that chickens would be so entertaining.

 

[Riverbend Farms]

For Eggs, Pets, and Showing. All of our chickens will be kept as long as they live. We have 6 layers, and 4 show hens. I have an OEGB hen and my little sister has her own too. I just got 2 new D’uccles yesterday!

 

[ChickyWhicky]

I just wanted a few to hang around the farm. Love them running around, they make it so homey. Eggs were a perk, too. Now I have like 60 and its kind of crazy but still love it!

 

[21hens-incharge]

Originally, I have to admit that my flock was used for nothing more than their eggs. I was young then, and did not understand that chickens could be so much more than eggs. I was not allowed to go by the chickens because in our first flock, we kept three roosters. None of them were aggressive, although they would dance at my parents as a warning.

If you skip several years, then you will see a time in which we decide to get a rooster because of our previous human-aggressive one died. We were going to use him for fertilized eggs if we needed to hatch our own. I wanted to make sure that our rooster would be nice this time, and therefore I began to research all of the commonly friendly breeds. My parents chose to get a rooster from a backyard breeder, which turned out to be a Cochin/Ameraucana hybrid, Phoenix.

I thank Phoenix, because he was the start of me being chicken-obsessed. After I had done research on friendly breeds and their unique history, I had found that I suddenly could not leave studying chickens. Now, here I am, and my birds are so much more than egg-producers. They are wonderful creatures that bring me feelings of peace when I get to watch them roam the yard, foraging and commencing their amusing antics.

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Phoenix, my Cochin/Ameraucana hybrid rooster, who started the transition of chickens being used solely for eggs, to ornamental birds and pets.

I had to say he sure is a cutie pie!

 

[fuzzi]

• Pets
• Eggs (none yet)
• Entertainment
• Scrap eaters
• Eventually composted litter

"These hens are driving me up the roost!!"

 

[BeefQuesoritto]

I originally just got them as a way for better self sufficiency. But they've been sooo fun, they're practically pets now. Pets with benefits? I've deluded myself into thinking I can raise up some meat chicks from fertilized eggs. We'll see how that might work.

So

• Eggs
• Meat
• Pest control (eat bugs)
• Entertainment

We'll see how the quail and geese pan out.