why chickens?

[graciesmum]

I got my first chickens at the end of February, I
got 3 ex battery hens to begin with, the guy I got them off had 2 left that he couldn't home, I very quickly got addicted to this chicken lark, so I decided my store bought coop and run just wasn't big enough, so I decided to fence off half of my garden and convert my shed into a chicken palace, then I thought to myself, I can get more now.

Now we know we're this goes, I then went and got the other 2 who my friend still hadn't regimes, then I joined a local chicken group on facebook, and then it began, people posting pics of these cute little chicks, so I thought to my self, I have room for more.

So I built a brooder and got 3 little balls of fluff, I got 2 cream legbars and a lavender pekin, well when they out grew the brooder I put them into the store bought coop/run.

Well then I missed having little balls of fun that I called my chicken tv, so I decided I still have room, so I thought to myself my pekin is a bantam so I need to get her some friends, so I then got 1 lemon pekin, 1 white crested polish and 1 blue crested polish, I lost the blue polish :-( to coccidiosis, then not long after the babies outgrew the brooder, I put them in the store bought coop/run, and thank god they got on really well.

Then I lost one of my older girls :-( to egg bound, and I decided it was time to put all my girls together, and big chears, now all my 8 girls and 1 roo (lemon turned out to be a roo) all live in harmony, in my chicken palace.
I am already planning to hatch eggs for easter next year, this chicken thing really is addictive.

I decided to get chickens because I had an idea that I wanted to teach my daughter about where food comes from, my original plan was to get a lamb, fatten it up then put him in the freezer, but I was convinced chickens would be better.

Now any one that knows me knows I am petrified of birds, I freak when birds fly near me or flap there wings, but I was talked into doing this, I have had my chickens 4 months now and wouldn't have it any other way, I love my fluff balls, and also I got over my fear.

So after all my ramblings my question is,
What made you decide to get chickens?????

 

[DDNONIN2016]

Loved reading your story. Best wishes on your future hatches

Lets see....the reason I got chickens is because I have always owned horses and wanted something a little less dangerous and BIG since I'm getting older. Plus chickens are the most adorable little creatures ever. Love them

 

[AvianEgo]

My dad made the mistake, or blessing of bringing them home to me. He was at a event with his work friends and saw they were selling chicks for 1 dollar each. He brought home two on a whim. Been a poultry lover since

 

[theoldchick]

Why did I get chickens? I like their faces. Seriously, they can give you some looks, can't they? My first experiences with chickens happened when I was 5-6 years old. Living in tornado happy Oklahoma, my dad purchased 50 chickens that were supposed to be pullets. We ended up with 49 roosters and one hen. Despite living on 88 acres, having 49 roosters was very stressful for my sister and mom. They got flogged the moment they left the house. Me? I parted them like Moses did the sea. I'd pick them up, hug them talk to them, and wash them. The roosters didn't attack me. They ran because they knew once caught they were getting a bath.

Well, I came home from school one day, and glory be, the roosters had turned into pullets! It was a while before I realized what really happened but at that time I was one happy kid. My chore was to collect the eggs and make sure they had water. Even at 5, I was a serious chicken keeper. I'd herd the hens out to pasture, stand guard over them. I'd squat down with them, whisper to them, help them find worms and so forth. This was how I earned the nick-name: Chicken Whisperer. The local Native American Chief, who was well aquainted with my strange ways since I was his grand daughter's best friend, saw me among my flock of white angels. After watching me lead my flock across the pasture he promptly dubbed me The Chicken Whisperer.

My earliest childhood memories are of chickens, and if I'm lucky my last memory will be of my chickens flocking around my feet.

 

[graciesmum]

I love all my chickens now, and my daughter is 2 years old and she helps me carry out the food and water, then she gets her basket and collects the eggs, then she goes and says thank you to all the chickens, hugs them and then plays with them lol, I am so glad I got my chickens, I know what you mean about the looks, mine give me some right looks if I havent got anything for them lol

 

[cafarmgirl]

When I was 5 years old I spent a few days on a very rural ranch with my great aunt. She kept a large coop of chickens and she let me go out and gather the eggs every day. I was completely hooked and never got over my love of chickens. I had to wait many years until I was married and we had property where we could keep chickens before I had a flock of my own. Now life just wouldn't be complete if there were no chickens clucking and scratching about and a rooster crowing at all hours.

Those of us who love and keep chickens get to see all the intricate details of their social behavior, their quirky individual personalities, while the un-officiated have no clue. To them they are "just chickens". That and the fact that it takes the simplest of things to make a chicken happy! Give them a few friends, some room to scratch/peck/forage/dust and sun bathe and a safe place to sleep and you have content, happy birds.

 

[3KillerBs]

I don't know.

I've just always wanted chicken. I have a long list of practical reasons why having chickens is a good thing, but they don't have anything to do with the deep-seated, long-term urge to have chickens.

 

[sn0wwhite]

I love animals and trying to be as eco-friendly, natural food eating as possible. I wanted chickens for a long time, but when I was a kid my next-door-neighbors got some chickens one time, and those birds got really mean, really fast! So I was afraid of them for years, and then one day overheard another mom at my daughter's riding lesson talking about her chickens, and I asked, "Aren't they mean?" and after she told me that her kids play on the swingset with them, I launched myself into reading everything I could, asking hours worth of questions to experts and placing my order.

I've had my first 4 chickens for just 5 weeks now, and I love everything about them.

 

[graciesmum]

That's great, my 2 year old loves her chickens lol, mine are friendly I haven't had a mean one yet, hope you enjoy the chicken life, just watch out for the addiction to take hold lol

 

[gryeyes]

Why chickens? Well, I relocated (due to a promotion) and was renting a house sharing an acre of space with the landlady's house. Two houses, one acre. She had five sheep. I had two dogs and two cats.

My back yard was fenced to keep out the sheep, and I started experimenting with raised bed gardening. The ground had no soil, it was all mixed rock and clay. Dragging huge bags 'o fertilizer at age 56 wasn't easy OR fun. Hey! I could keep a few chickens and get the best fertilizer FREE!

Chickens eat bugs, too, score!

Oh, yeah, they lay eggs. Cool. But that was just a bonus; they wouldn't have had to lay a single egg, because by the time they were old enough to lay, I was already in love with their personalities.