Why did you get your first chickens?

[Bellurd]

I've lived in an agricultural zoned suburb about 20 minutes away from Los Angeles since I was 4. As a teenager I would house sit for my neighbors and take care of their chickens. For some reason it never really occurred to me that I could have my OWN chickens until I about a year ago, when I got the fever. The chicken fever. I don't know what came over me but I just wanted them and their fresh eggs so badly!

A week after the lightbulb in my head went on, my boyfriend was at home depot buying supplies for an A-frame chicken tractor. The man is great with computers and electronics but there's nothing more frightening than the site of him using a dangerous power tool. I had my doubts to say the least, but he was determined to provide me with the coop. In the end, it didn't turn out so bad. Although, I had my dad secretly make some adjustments after we brought it to my house. (Heehee)
After the coop was complete we took the much anticipated drive to the lovely little town of Norco, ca. to procure some chicks that I saw on craigslist. I hadn't felt that excited since I was 11 and it was christmas and I knew my mom got me a Furby. We left with a cardboard box stuffed with 6 extremely confused and scared EE chicks.

Now over a year later and I still have 5 of the original 6 in a huge new coop built by my dad. And I'm also on day 9 of my first hatch ever! I can definitely see how incubating can become addicting. Who knows how many I'll have by next year. My dad didn't know what he started when he built that coop. The chicken possibilities are endless now!

 

[soldonold]

My Grandma always had white Leghorns, which I loved. I loved Grandma and Grandpa, I loved being on the farm, and I loved those chickens!! Grandma kept a old bird cage in the smokehouse, and I'd go get that out and chase the chickens around until I caught one of them, and stuff her in the birdcage, carrying her around most of the day, feeding her corn through the bars. Occasionally, I'd take her out and hold her in my lap. Grandma even let me take her in the house and sit on the couch and watch TV

. (Only one channel came in down on the farm.) Grandma told me later that her chickens didn't lay for three days after my visit -- I'm sure they were really glad to see me go home.

My grandparents are both in heaven now, but I have such fond memories of being with them. And I kept my love for chickens all these years. When I got to retire two years ago, the first thing I did was order some day old chicks, which has blossomed into breeding, hatching . . . you know, a regular chicken obsession!!

 

[Marty1876]

Had them growing up (mom ordered 200 per year) and so when I got married, I wanted my own chickens.

Now, they aren't officially sanctioned in the city, but I have two acres, so I devised a plan. Made a 4 x 2 foot coop and a 10 x 4 foot run with wheels under the cooper. It was something of a chicken tracter. There, my first offical chickens as a grown up were black australorps. I choose them for being dark ninja chickens, and I ordered 12 chicks, 4 of which were hens. The 4 hens and 1 roo worked perfect as adults in the chicken tracter, and the other 7 gentleman grew up fine and tasty.

 

[Stang65fst]

I raised them in high school for just meat birds at the house. We have layers over on the farm. So I decided to get some layers and now we have some meaties too.

 

[kstavert]

I had wanted to have chickens for quite some time...

My husband grew up on a farm and they raised
meat birds...He wasn't very interested in having
any chickens... (He's definitely changed his mind)

We belong to the local Kiwanis and, each year,
they bid on animals at our local fair...

4 years ago, they won 4 chickens and asked
if anyone wanted them.... "Me, me, me please!!!!!"

So, that was the start of my "herd"....

A year later, we ordered 25 red and black sexlink
hens... and, had to build a much larger area for
these ladies...

I am grateful for them for so many reasons...

Main reason is that they make me laugh all of
the time...

Next is that they give us gorgeous, glorious
eggs and, last but not least, they provide beautiful
manure to nourish my gardens...

They are beautiful, mean, funny and wonderful...

 

[marvun22]

it was last may i wanted chickens but my wife was not going to let me. i looked at the ones in my store and i coudnt resist and i bought 10 buff orpingtons. my wife was mad at me until she looked at them. she thought they were the cutest things on earth. now i have 15 hens and 1 rooster.

 

[meechoacres]

My fiancé and I knew we wanted to be out in the country. So we bought what is now known as Meecho Acres. I knew my 5 year old son would enjoy the freedom of being in the country. Sure enough he did. It started with the garden but then one day he said "dad if we had some chickens we could get eggs". So as time went on and I researched them more he started picking some out that he'd like. We're now proud parents of some great chickens and he can't wait to see them every time he gets home.

 

[Hilda the Hen]

Well I'm not 100% sure on why we got our first chickens. When I was 2 a canadian goose bit me, at 10 I was attacked by a neighbors chicken. Then at 12 attacked by crows, then at 15 my grandmas turkeys (she tricked me into feeding them) and attacked by a robin. And another a duck of some kind at age 23. So as you can see my luck with birds hasn't been the best but after having my daughter she's helped me get over my fear of birds. I didn't want her to fear them trough my fear, so I hid it from her. And it actually helped me get over it!! So after research and realizing you can raise them to like you we purchased 4RIR just a little over 2 weeks ago. We LOVE them, and I'm pretty sure they like us too. They love to hang out with us and get excited when we visit. They like to sit in our laps and sleep and love to sit in my shoulder. I hope they stay this nice and it's been a great experience so far for our family. The eggs will be an extra bonus!! My daughter made the baby chicks valentines as you can see in the photo.

 

[PlymouthNBuff]

My aunt and uncle have about 30 chickens and 2 easters ago gave us some eggs, they were SO much better than store bought eggs. We live in town on an acre and our neighbor told us that a previous owner of our house had chickens in our back shed. The shed was an outdoor wood burning sauna that we never used, so we converted it back into a chicken coop. We love our 4 chickens, 2 BR, 2 BO's, we lucked out that the shed has electricity, so when it gets nice and chilly in MN during the winter the hens are nice and cozy.

One perk of having chickens is hopefully the garden will grow better this year!

 

[Birdgirl99]

dont't think i am a horrible person but i got my first chickens when my dad used them as a bob cat bait [he put a small squriell trap inside a large bobcat trap chick had food and water 3 did this to 3 1 died 2 lived 1 rhode island red 1 cornish rock and he gave them to me because he never got the cat and the cornish rock died at 1 year old but now Caramel [the RIR] is gonna be 4 Aug 24

i now have 9 chickens and rhody is the queen of the flock