Who would have THUNK? That I would LOVE chickens this much?

[Lil'ChickFarm]

Oh this is just warming my heart. NOTHING has ever effected me like this before and all the animals that i have had. What is it with Chickens? They got me!!! I love all the comments about them being like a TV show and people just sitting and watching them like I do.
I watch them out my window. It is hilarious to watch them up and take off on a little run for no real reason. lol. They have a purpose though. Too much fun. WOW. I am just in amazement about this. Chickens, where have you been all my life?

 

[mothrhen]

Lil'ChickFarm :

I really just wanted to be a farmer. I wanted a barn with chickens to go out and smell that beautiful smell of farm poop, hehe.........

I wanted to collect eggs daily. How FARMIE is that? (probably not a word )
I have always loved raising small animals.

In 25 years I have raised hamsters, mice, rats, bunnies, then on to lizards, bearded dragons. filling my incubator with eggs that hatched out these tiny adorable little lizards.
Then I got into birds. I have been raising birds now for five years and I love it.
Well I still desired that farm. We live in the city. How could we do that and be ok with our neighbors?
I looked into all the rules and one day I went out and got 2 dozen fertile eggs of mixed breeds and stuck them in my incubator. Now I was going to be a chicken mommy.

Ok, so I found out all these things about chicken eggs incubating that is much different then lizards and all but two of these eggs rotted.

So I got two anyway, and put them in my bird aviary. OMG!! THE FUN BEGAN!!!
I was like, these guys are FUNNY"!!!

I would sit and watch them and laugh and think, this is more fun then the movies!!!

I had to have more. So the farmer that sold me the eggs, had just hatched some and I went over and picked up three more.
Soon all five were together and too big for the house, so we built a CHICK Tractor.

They went outside and now came all the motherly worrying about if it rained or the temperature dropped at night. OMG!!! I was out there late at night, almost every night, checking on them, checking the weather, adding towels for warmth, or tarps for protection.

Just lovin my babies.
Now I am sitting in an outside chair during the day and watching my movies.

So then I begin to research breeds and decide I want some silkies.
LONG story there, as I lost a whole hatch of silkies to shrink wrap,

So then I find out you can order them live in the mail. I ordered 15, and they got canceled and eventually I went somewhere else where the order limit was 25. By now I have decided that I want Cochins too. So I add three of those in the bunch.
Well this order arrives one morning with all these crying little babies.
There was 29 chicks in the box and I am trying to dip 29 little beaks in water and make sure I got them all. IMPOSSIBLE!

Later I got the BRIGHT idea that I could put them in a plastic tub as I put some in the water and then I knew who all had drank.
I promptly had to photograph every baby. Took all morning.

Ok so then I went on craigs list and listed some for sale. I cannot keep 29 babies. I can't spoil that many. It took me a few days and I was down to five silkies and my three cochins.

Now our coop is almost finished out back. We just need to add on the extra insulated room with the nesting areas.
My original five are now four. as three of my babies were males and I had to depart with them back to the farm they came from. My original two are females and the day I sent the three babies away, I picked up two gorgeous wyandot bantams.

So now I have four out back in the coop, two RIR/EE mixes and two Wyandott bantams. AND 8 babies in the brooder.

Have you lost me yet?
So anyway, NOW I go out to the coop every night and say good night to my four out there. I let them free range during the day. They love it. I love it. I love watching them run around my back yard. They hardly eat any of the bought food as they are nourished from the garden bugs, lol.
Every day I am on this web site peering at eveyone's new chickens and chatting with them.

I am now officially a full fledged CHICKEN FREEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK , how many of you just love watching your chickens? How many of you think CHICKENS ALL DAY LONG? How many of you are now eagerly learning every thing that they can about CHICKENS??? I mean is this CHICKEN ADDICTION??????

I'm outside with my laptop right now reading your post and others since 10 this morning. got one chick on the arm of my chair and one over my shoulder (who's busy trying to remove my earring). Now I have another hen on the other arm of my chair so that I've become quite uncomfortable. Who loves chickens? ME!!​

 

[CapricornFarm]

Totally! I started out with some pullets. As they started to get older, I decided I needed chicks to replace them. Then I found out about hatching.

Now I have all kinds, I mean, lots, of different breeds with 6 incubators that are only turned off due to my vacation
in 2 days, I will be back filling up the trays with hatching eggs. Yes, and I adore watching them run around.

 

[mothrhen]

Oh, I forgot to mention that I put a baby monitor in my coop so I can hear if there's any intruders during the night. I really am the mother hen!

 

[Heathero617]

LOL found myself saying this exact thing a year ago!!! I have been in a bitter hate relationship with all chickens not on my plate since I was a kid. My uncle had guineas on his farm and we were terrorized by those danged birds!!! But here i am, not an addict either! LOL

 

[Silverose]

I understand, and it is an addiction, I spent 2 months researching breeds, decided on Ameraucauna, seen some at TSC, HAD to have them, and this and that, and oh all that other stuff they need, then fussed and flitted over them then omg the power went out! their just babies they'll get cold! filled jugs with hot water from the hot water heater and placed in brooder, they huddled around awwww just like a momma, took pics, took more pics, moved them out side, supervised playtime, obsessed over who was going to be a boy or a girl! 5 boys ahhh which one to keep?? (another excuse for heavy chicken supervision

my husband thinks I'm CRAZY (as do my co-workers sine I have named them all. it's only 7 ladies and a roo why not name them? who cares if I can identify who laid what egg? I don't have a problem

what just because I call home to make sure someone let them out and see how many eggs were laid, and what color each egg is,... and now I'm on here buying chicken saddles! but my fave hen is losing feathers! (apparently she's also the roo's fave) my husband will think the saddles are INSANE I guarantee. *shrug* it's time he knew the truth, he married a sick woman I have chicken fever!

 

[Silverose]

Quote:
oh I didn't think of that!! that's such a good idea! my kids outgrew it anyway, but honey we wouldn't want it to go to waste!!

 

[kinsey228]

I'm the same way. I was totally against my Hubby getting chickens. I begged him not to get them ! Now I can't help getting more and more ! (If I have the room) I think I'm done for a while though. My flock just grew today to 20 chickens and 3 guineas. (I think). I saw a Silver Laced Wyandotte and a Buff Orpington (both pullets) today and I had to get them. It's not the chicks that get me, it's the 9-16 week old pullets. Especially the Wyandottes !

 

[JanetR]

Lil'ChickFarm :

IOK , how many of you just love watching your chickens? How many of you think CHICKENS ALL DAY LONG? How many of you are now eagerly learning every thing that they can about CHICKENS??? I mean is this CHICKEN ADDICTION??????

That's me- I work from home and I have to force myself not to go out every hour "just to check on them'". The highlight of my day is letting them out late afternoon to free range. Then around 7:30 I sit by the coop and watch them put themselves to bed and listen to them fight over who sleeps next to who

Lots of squawks and sometimes someone falls off the roost,

then it gets quieter, with peeps- it's better than therapy or a vacation!​

 

[eenie114]

Whoda thunk? Ida thunk!



It's like a chronic illness... Not that we're suffering!