What got you into chickens?

[Fancie]

taxidermy.... "But I am raising it for a project... It'll only be around for 3 months tops"... 4 years later......

 

[Mahonri]

Grew up on a farm. Always wanted them.

Friends up the street got them but didn't care for them and they died.

Neighborhood to the south of us is full of them. (ferals)

Watching those ferals made me decide I'd do it. Told my wife I wanted them.

Wife told neighbor, Neighbor bought me a book called, "Keep Chickens"

Had neighbors husband help me build a coop.

Ordered chicks "Rainbow Layers" from McMurray.

Had the chicks three weeks and found BackYardChickens. The rest is, as they say, "History"

 

[digitS']

I'm an old guy but when I was really young and just becoming aware of the world, we lived with my Grandmother on her little farm. She had a big garden and there was a pen full of chickens out there. I was interested in the chickens but didn't like the pen. Grandma gave me a little gold Sebright hen. She was really tiny but so was I and I liked to carry her around.

I named her Goldie and that was my grandmother's nickname. She was a little lady named Goldie and I had this little chicken named Goldie.

Before I was 5 years-old, we moved to a town about 300 miles away. If you've ever moved off a farm into town, or know someone who has, you know that it is very difficult to go from having so much room to living in a city with neighbors and busy streets.

We had 2 dogs but they were my dad's and I had this little chicken that lived in our backyard. After a few years, we moved to our own farm and once again there were lots of chickens in a pen. Goldie lived outside and went anywhere she wanted to go. About this time, my grandmother died. We drove down and visited her in the hospital but she was in a coma and didn't know me.

Goldie lived with us until she was 7 years-old and she died. I was 11 by that time. We had other banties and Goldie had some batches of chicks. You can see a picture of me and Goldie with her chicks on my BYC page.

When I was in Junior High, we moved off the farm again. No Goldie by then, but I had a dog. About 10 years later, my family bought some more land and I moved there to be a farmer. I was grown up and wanted a few big chickens. I continued farming for a long time. I even moved to town but continued to work as a farmer. My chickens showed up in my backyard.

I have 2 grown children - a boy and a girl. They probably don't like to be thought of as a boy and a girl. My son is almost 40. My DW, doesn't really like dogs and cats even if she is always commenting on the cute ones. She claims to like fish and maybe we will get some of those again. But, she's fairly happy with my chickens because we get fresh eggs.

I'm old and really only have a garden now. That's my "farming." I still have chickens.

Steve

 

[Attack Chicken]

School got me addicted LOL The whole story is on my BYC page

 

[sonew123]

I was forced! 8 chickens were gifted to us last July-It wasn't until a woman I work with said she was incubating eggs 7 weeks ago-she took 13 of mine and 2 hatched 3 weeks ago today-I was sucked in from there and now Im 10 times worse than she is!!! I got a botor-2 brooders -1 huge 1 small-a new coop being built-etc...My DH thinks I lost it-but right by my side!!

 

[wanda047]

I think having chickens is just a part of who I am. My family always had chickens when I was growing up. My mother loved to raise things, whether it was veggies in a garden or chickens in the backyard. She loved watching things grow and prosper and seemed to gain a lot of personal satisfaction from it. Today she has dementia, but still talks about getting some more chickens. Her last hen died a couple months ago after an ice storm where they were without electricity for 10 days. I think the poor chicken froze to death.

As a child, my dream was to live on a big farm and raise chickens. My plans were to "make a living" selling the eggs.

I apparently never planned to be rich!

 

[CHICKENCHASERWV]

I got started because I wanted to more self sustaining and able to with stand any hard ship that may arise. So I started with one pig two years ago and that went fine. Now I have 39 chickens,2 pigs, 3 ducks and 2 geese.It allows me to reuse all waste from the kitchen plus fertilizer for garden again another self sustaining part of my life. The chickens will lay way more eggs than the three of us can eat but if times were hard you could barter with them and fry up the eggs and shell and feed back to the chickens and pigs. They in theory could sustain them selves if needed. Plus now I am really amazed of how attached I am to them.

 

[TheDuckCrew]

well i don't have chickens, but i do have ducks. i got the ducks because i just love animals and i'm a farm girl. sorta, just don't have a full out farm. our ducks are just pets and we love them so much. if i were to get chickens, it would probably because of this website and all the ENABLERS on here!!!

 

[Big Red's Mom]

My brother had chickens and I loved to watch them...He had a strick hands off approach to his birds.......I am very hands on...

I asked my DH if he could build me a coop and he said one day...........Time ticked on and on...finally he added additional roof to one side of our barn/shop. I was telling him what a great job he had done.

Then asked if I could have the back section for a few chickens.....He said that would be okay.....just wait a while....

The next week I went to get 13 RIR chicks......I let him know he had about 6 to 8 weeks to get something ready.....After several weeks of waiting and the several weekends of working we had a sweet little coop. It is not much but the chicks love it.
I added several more chickens and lost three

Now I have 16 hens a roo and just purchased 20 more babies but lost 2. I love the different colors of birds and eggs...

So I love my chickens....We have a great time with them...Several kids come by to play with them...The chickens follow me around my yard like dogs most of the time....I can even call my roo to me....I love animals and giving the eggs the we can not eat away is great fun.....I love the people at BYC, ya'll have helped me with many questions and concerns....I have also spread the bug....Many people in our area are starting chickens after coming to visit our little flock.....We have had chicken alittle over a year now and I don't see a time that we will not have them again....They are a great joy to watch....

 

[amartinlb]

When I was little my older brother had chickens. We had a old large grey coop that I was not allowed in. I remember it had one side having nests thigh high I could see chickens sitting in sometimes and the other side roosts. It was long and narrow with a window in the door I could see in. I'd watch through the door or fence as my brother would go collect the eggs.

'
My parents would tell me the chickens we ate were from the store, they were very careful not to let me see anything that would distress me. I remember one time I ate an egg with a piece of shell in it that I was sure was part of a baby chick and would not eat eggs for a while!
:rolleyes
Somewhere around Kindergarten or 1rst grade the neighbors where complaining (we did not live in a chicken area-homes grew up around us) and my brother got rid of them and the coop was knocked down. I have always been fascinated with chickens ever since.

Last fall my son and I stopped at this lady Eve's home in NY to buy some fresh eggs. She has easter eggers and many others. My interest was rekindled and I started reading and logging on to this site. I thought about it for 3-4 months and decided to give it a try. My teenagers and twenty something children thought I was nuts! (Still think so)

My youngest son now likes them and helps out-getting hooked fast! He built me the large brooder for the 3 wk plus ones in the garage. The next project is turning our shed into a coop and run for the spring! I now have 23 chicks ranging in age from less then a week to 7 weeks!