why did you get into chickens?

[picklespickles]

count me in with maternal g'mas also. mine used to shoot the chickens. lol. my gpa couldn't stand to kill them period but ate them happily as suppose people will do.

 

[gardener]

My grandparents had a big farm and my grandma also kept chickens, had to be at least 50 laying hens. The coop was more of a barn it had two rooms in it, one for laying hens and the other looked like the younger pullets. She would collect eggs and leave the door open to let the hens out to range freely, they had the run of the whole property but they never really wandered far from their barn. I remember her driving into town to deliver some eggs to a market.

I mostly got my chicks for the hobby and eggs. everything else is a bonus, fertilizer makers, bug catchers, weed eaters. Also going toward a more sustainable living has been an interest of mine.

 

[hcammack]

Well I have wanted to be a farmer all my life and I love chickens so I have started my mini suburban farm at the age of 15 so I will be ready for the big sustainable organic farm when I grow up.

Henry

 

[gardener]

Quote:
Go Henry! I am grown up but dont have a big farm, trying to be a city farmer, I have fruit trees, berries and vegetable garden in a city lot. I plan to build a greenhouse too.

 

[Scrambled Egg]

Sounds alittle silly but truthfully I was trying to avoid empty nest syndrome! My daughter is in her second year of ocollege and my son is a high school senior so I knew next year the last of my kids would be gone - the chickens were something else to look after - isn't that just nuts????!!!!

 

[LynnGrigg]

I just like critters, all kinds. I've had lots of different animals. I'm a country girl/artist and like plants, animals and fantasy themes.
As a kid, I worked on a dairy farm for years. I'd love to have a cow or milk goat eventually.
I got chickens for their beauty and the eggs. We are considering processing some meat birds in the spring. I'm fortunate to have a husband who helps me with these "animal" things. He likes to pretend he doesn't like them. lol!

 

[BJ]

For us, it all started with a bird egg my son found under a tree. "Sure", we said, "go ahead and see what happens with it". We surely felt the egg was a goner. He placed it inside a "nest" he made out of llama wool and stuck it under a 60 watt light bulb. Days went by and we declared it dead much to his dismay. He insisted it was alive...and one more day went by. I thought the sky was falling when he went running through the house screaming "it hatched...it hatched!!!"

Well, we've got this tiny thing about the size of a thumb with its mouth open. Now what? We got online and searched for a baby bird recipe. One called for chick feed blended with other stuff. We rush to Tractor Supply before it closed. We purchase a 25 pound bag of chick feed. Needless to say, the baby didn't make it. My son was so sad and then began begging for chicks. He said, "C'mon...we already have the chick feed!" How can you argue with that? There was a 25 pound bag of chick feed sitting in the garage!

Hundreds of dollars and several bags of chick feed later, here I am online with the BackYardChickens Forum and lovin' every minute of it!!!!!!

 

[schmoo]

I saw an ad that said 25 free chicks with the purchase of a bag of feed. Hmm good deal I thought. We have 3 acres and a barn -why not? So we get there and ofcourse they are all roos only. Hmmm now I had to do research and I found this site. I read how much everyone loved their birds and realized this sounds like more fun than I imagined. I ordered 25 chicks (pullets) from a hatchery and have been hooked every since. I never thought chickens could be so fun and entertaining. They are my little girls and I love 'em!

 

[magikchick]

As a child we had chickens. We ate the eggs and culled the roosters. They were my pets, I had a rooster named Big Boy. After being in my place for over 20 years I got to looking at the 1 acer, chain linked fenced back yard. It was just awful empty looking. That's when it hit me I needed some chicken out there. Just 3 or 4 for pets. Now I have 12 and 6 newly hatched chicks and planing for more next spring.

I tell you when I come home from work my DH and I enjoy nothing better then sitting out on the deck watching them. I love to spoil them and they give me a lot of peace in return. The eggs are an add bonus too.

 

[Henrietta23]

Quote:
My in-laws are in Croton-on-Hudson and I can't imagine their neighbors putting up with a rooster! : ) Until they were treated to fresh eggs that is.