We've Caught the Bug!

[Petrakat2002]

Hello We are Scott and Kathy. We started raising chickens last year so that our grand kids would know where eggs come from. They were egg eaters but some times they would be wishy washy and say I don't like eggs. We went to our local town and country store and bought 30 straight run meat chickens and 30 brown chickens which we now know to be New Hampshire Reds. When it was all said and done we had a nice bunch of hens and three roosters that added up to 23. Life was good. We loved to sit and watch them as they grew and learned their personalities.

Before long we were getting more eggs than we could use and give away so we posted an add for free range eggs for sale and got more customers than we could keep up with. We decided we would have to either get more chickens or sell the ones we had. No way did I want to give them up. Nothing better than free range eggs and where would we go for ZEN? Then trouble really bloomed.....My husband learned about all the different colors of eggs that were out there. Well that did it. Today we have our original 25. Bought some Barred Rocks, Sussex, and a pair of White Silkies though I had never thought that I would want any of them until I saw them. Awwww they are so cute I told him. HeHe! Then we started the hunt for eggs,(after we bought an incubator and tested it out) At the current count, We have only hatched 3 batches of eggs and bought a few chicks and we have just under a hundred of them. Are we crazy or what? We love it though. We have as I have seen in the Beware thread on insurance been given notice by our insurance company because they only allow ten chickens, (in case you are interested we have Liberty Mutual) I asked them couldn't we sign a waver or something and she said no. I said what is wrong with chickens? We live in the country on a dead end AND private road.....she said "they poop in the yard". REALLY???? I said to her...and dogs don't do that? Oh well on to bigger and better insurance. Happy to be here and look forward to chatting with all of you and learning even more!

Sincerely,
Scott & Kathy

 

[drumstick diva]

Very nice to meet you Scott & Kathy. My goodness there are enough obstacles to having chickens, without the insurance companies sticking their nose in it. I have never heard that before. My early years on BYC, it was mentioned often that insurance companies would not allow coops to be attached or in part of the house (garage etc) because all the bedding, heat lamps etc. were major fire hazards. Didn't know the amount of chicken poo had a limit. I wonder if you could have double the number of bantams since they leave smaller droppings. lol.

 

[Pork Pie]

Hi Scott and Kathy and welcome to BYC. Thanks for the intro and the rather "interesting" insurance issue. I wonder if that company allows policy holders to put manure on their flower beds? If i had the space, i would go as chicken crazy as you, and you will rarely be told by anyone here that there is such a thing as too many chickens!

All the best
CT

 

[ejcrist]

Yeah, I'd tell the insurance company to pound sand. What business is it of theirs anyway? I do other things around my property that are far. far more hazardous than anything chickens bring to the table, and all of those things are perfectly acceptable. I never heard of insurance issues before but I'll keep an eye out for them in the future. Maybe they'd be willing to sell us a "chicken hazard" policy or something I betcha.

 

[uncertainty]

Hi Scott and Kathy; I am in Canada so insurance coverages could be really different here, but it sounds like you need a policy for a hobby farm. This would provide the usual coverages for your house and personal property, as well as coverage for the outbuildings and the livestock itself. Sounds like Liberty Mutual is working hard to lose themselves a good customer.

 

[Petrakat2002]

Thank you CT. My husband asked her don't you eat eggs from the store? Her reply was "No I'm a vegan" What's the world coming to?

 

[Petrakat2002]

Thank you Diva. I have the opinion that insurance companies are starting to run the world. hehe. I will definitely take bantams under advisement.

Kathy

 

[Chicken Girl1]

 

[Petrakat2002]

you would think so EJ but sadly no. One of my least favorite things to do is find a new insurance company. I definitely wasn't happy with them for putting me through the torture of that!

 

[Petrakat2002]

Hi uncertainty. That is what I have been asking about however I followed someones recommendation from BYC and when checking out their company I found some very good info on HF vs. Farm. Like normal though no for sure recommendation just a vague check with your broker prior to making that decision. Happy Days!