What Is Your Earliest Recollection That Started You With Chickens?

[edbama2]

I grew up in Staten Island, NYC. In The late 60s I lived across the street from a dairy farm that had chickens. That would be my earliest recollection at the age of 5. At the age of about 7, I was one of the ones that received a dozen of the Easter Chicks. No they weren't dyed. I was heart broken to lose them to a farm because of city regs and too many Roos. They had tomove to a historic building up the street that was grandfathered in to having them. I would say that I have to blame my parents for all of this. I think my parents need to send more money for feed! It's all their fault LOL! Here is a link to the most info that I could find on the old farm across the street. It is an obituary though: http://www.silive.com/obituaries/advance/index.ssf?/base/news/117967625976410.xml&coll=1

 

[barg]

When I was a kid I had just about every pet you could get at a pet store or catch in the woods/ponds.
I was headed into the woods and saw a mother quail and her babies.... I wanted one.
My dad said hed get us some, but he came home with a couple sebrites instead.
I never did get a quail as a pet.

One of the sebrites (the hen)was killed by my little dog... see my various posts in other peoples threads on dogs.
She was replaced by a larger version of the same chicken.(probably a GLW? I really dont know)
When the rooster died, of natural causes, we sent the replacement hen back to the farm it came from.

The next time Id'e have chickens was 10 weeks ago when my wife walked in the door with 4 of them

Now we have 6 and one is a GLW

 

[AtRendeAcres]

I tryed to bring home all kinds of animals (mom wouldn't let me keep)

so blame her!

I also am from Staten Island!!!

and father had a resturant in Stapelton (Kurly's)

 

[Queen of the Lilliputians]

Ok, no one's going to think this is a story to use on a poster for keeping chickens but.. actually it illustrates great parenting on my mom's part.

My parents moved here to Maine from MA when I was 2. They were city folks, but decided to have a big farm (Dad was also working full time). We had an enormous garden, and lots of animals running around. Even our pig was free range

. Anyway, I was little, maybe 3 or 4? My Dad went in to collect the eggs from the chickens. One of them must have been broody. She was VERY angry. I remember her flying into my Dad's face, attacking him. We could have been terrified.. but my mom explained that the hen was protecting her babies. I just remember thinking what a great mom, how much she must love those eggs!

The next real memory I have that stuck with me was a year or two later. The chicks had just started cheeping inside their eggs. My mom broke one open (I know.. I know. But I think she wanted to teach us something). Wow, a baby chick! We kept the little fellow under a lamp in the house. When it was warm and dry it went back to it's mom.

I knew I wanted some chickens, but this entire adventure hasn't really turned out quite like I'd thought. Maybe because I was little and my parents were too busy to hold chickens... I have no idea, but the chickens I remember really just kind of did their own thing, and ignored us. The chicks I have now (6 wks) are very interested in whatever we are doing. Whenever I hang clothes on the line they watch me, and talk to me. One girl loves to be held, a few others really seem attached to us (although they don't necessarily like to be held or petted, they stay under our feet whenever we are in the run with them). I'm loving those girls!

-Meghan

 

[Chelly]

All my mom's fault!

When we were kids we would rescue anything and everything (if we didnt' find them, people would drop them off at our house), my mom was the one who got up at all hours to feed any babies we had at the time, we had bunnies, snakes, dogs, Tortoise, turtles, hamsters, mice, rats, ducks, lizards, cameleons, cats.... birds - unfortunatly we never had chickens or horses!! So now I need to make up for that!

 

[SpottedCrow]

Before I got Tom and Jerry, I considered chickens as being good with Broccoli and Alfredo sauce.
But when I got to take them home for a weekend, I fell in love with the little cheepers.
When I was growing up we had dogs and cats, and the guppies, but that was it...
I wasn't really a "bird" person even though I had always wanted a Mynah bird.
I thought they were noisy and dirty...but my chickens are a heckuvalot smarter than some of the people I know.