Why did you get your first chickens?

[Chic_girl]

My first chicken.... Hmmm....

Well, I had raised several batches of ducks for 4-H, but I never had chickens before that. My duck experience accounts to about 10 years of raising Runners, Khakis, East Indies, blue Swedish and Pekins, but my chicken knowledge has only be gained within the last three years! I always wanted some chickens, but my parents always said no. While visiting a friends farm, my friend showed me all 50 broilers she was raising, and the single free mystery chick that had been given to them by the hatchery. The mystery chick was tiny and bantam sized, while the broilers were huge and ready for market. My parents were not pleased when I drove home with a tiny chick in my car...

This chick's breed was still a mystery to me, and to solve a mystery, you need a great detective. So, his name became Sherlock, and he eventually showed me his breed- A Silver-Spangled Hamburg cockerel. A few weeks later, my same friend gave me a guinea fowl keet, and Sherlock met his new best friend, Kevin the guinea. I admit, both of these birds were not people friendly- Sherlock was known for spurring people, and Kevin wasn't above chasing small children. But, even with their tendancy to attack, I was hooked on chickens. The following spring, I ordered my first Polish and bantam Brahmas, and my flock has only continued to grow.

Eventually, Sherlock and Kevin were caught by a predator, which made me sad, but my dad- the most spurred- has since never liked my roosters, even the harmless ones.

They were a goofy pair, and I loved seeing them wander the yard, with Kevin making dinosaur noises, and Sherlock crowing his little heart out.

 

[20736]

I know this one!
I was at a Kresgees Department Store in 1964 and they had little pink, yellow, green and blue chicks for sale 'cause it was Easter. They were 11 cents each I think. I got 7 and 23 cents worth of starter feed - about 3 pounds if I remember correctly. The whole deal might have been $2, I forget stuff now. I was with a friend and his Mom, so I got away with it LOL. I got home and put them in an old cracked aquarium we had, and we had to butcher and eat them for the 4th of July 'cause a neighbor ratted us out when they started to crow in the backyard.
Then, in 1983, DW let me get chickens here and we have had them ever since.

 

[poultrylubber]

A guy who works with my dad had over 100 birds and he knew that I was wanting to get chickens so he gave me three. He alsoe wanted to throw in a RIR rooster but my mom didn't want a rooster so we passed. When we went to pick up the hens we saw the rooster and he was HUGE. I'm 5'7" and he would have come past my waist! Anyway, Jan. 24 will make it one year I have been raising chickens I told my mom that she and dad didn't know how bad a mistake it was for them to let me get chickens becouse I am sooooo hooked! So I now have 15 chicks ordered for this spring!!!!

 

[obsessedwchicks]

My dad has always gotten chickens and at first I wasn't interested in them. I didn't even really care. But now since I've helped him, I've seen that every chicken is like a person. They have their own very personality and it is fricking funny and absolutely amazing to see them brighten my day. I don't know how I lived without chickens in my life because now I'm obsessed and constantly always talking about them. Now since I'm wanting to have chickens that don't fly everywhere when I go into the pen, I feel like that only happens when you raise them the way you want, and so I'm getting my first hatch of my very own ( my dad bought all his chickens and for the last couple months he has just let me call them mine. Awesome dad, I tell ya!) and I am going to spoil them with the absolute healthiest way ever. I am so glad my dad and my sister who owns a feed store has gotten me into them. I wouldn't have my life any other way now.

 

[stephensc7146]

When I was 15 or 16, my friends parents decided to get chickens. I wen't to her house one day and seen them. I had never seen a chicken in person in my life until that point! I asked her dad if they were mean, and he told me to get in the pen and catch one. Soo, I entered the pen and he closed the gate behind me. I had no idea how to catch a chicken.. and at the time, I was still halfway afraid of them! I ran circles around that pen for atleast a half hour (her dad cracking up the whole time) and as I was starting to give up, her dad entered, reached down, and picked one right up, and laughed some more as I pouted about it. He put the chicken down, and showed me easier ways to catch a chicken, other than running behind them and trying to catch them while yelling 'come here, stupid bird!!!!'
I finally got ahold of one and was instantly in love! I never wanted to put the hen down!
I asked my mom if I could get chickens, and she told me if the landlord was okay with it then it was fine, but I had to ask him myself. a while later when I finally seen him I asked and he was like 'yeah! sure! chickens are cool, man!' (he's a bit hippie-ish lol)
After I got the ok, and a couple years later..(last year in march, 2 weeks before my 21st birthday) seen it was chick days at Tractor supply, for some reason mom had changed her mind about allowing me to have chickens... My boyfriend at the time had chickens, and I was always coming home and talking to mom about how cool they were. One day he gave me money for a kitchen scale that I had been eyeballing for weeks. I took a quarter of culinary classes and took a bread class and fell in love. all the recipes in my book required a scale and I really enjoy making bread. I asked him if he wanted me to pay him back the money or surprise him, and he said surprise. I remembered him saying that he was thinking about buying more chickens because he wanted more eggs. I talked mom into letting me buy some chicks for him and brooding them until they were ready to go outside for him to take them home. After just one day, mom seemed to fall in love with the chicks too!!

I would always catch her in my room watching them and talking to them. The next day we were at TS picking out chicks of my own My aunt moved in and ended up needing the shed I was working on making into a coop so I ended up giving all of my new babies away. This year my aunt moved in with one of her friends, and my mom moved in with my grandma after gram had surgery for a pace maker. She paid off the trailer we have been living in for 10 years and left it to me and my brother. Now that the shed is available again and only needs perches and nesting boxes, I ordered my new chicks on January 30th, and they arrived yesterday morning! My mom (now living in town close to the post office) agreed to pick them up and bring them to me when they called saying they arrived.

It's a pretty mixed up crazy story, but i'm happy that I have them, and I'm keeping them for good!

 

[Emmapee]

I love this thread! I had worked at a farm and ranch store when I was younger and always loved the little babies. During my college photography class I decided I wanted to get two for a photography project. I got two and one ended up dying. I was really upset, but kept the second one. I couldn't get rid of her no matter how many nights she kept me up from crying haha. Amazingly, she grew up all by herself and has turned out to be a fabulous chicken. She now has a friend and we're adding two more this year!

Here's one of the pictures from the project. I called it "meet your meat" hah

 

[BullChick]

I grew up on a farm with a goat, horse, cows, chickens and one very ornery turkey. I currently live on part of what was my grandparents farm. I was going thru a tough time in life and decided I needed something to keep myself busy. Chickens were perfect because they kind of honored my grandparents farm, gave us fresh eggs and were pretty simple to care for. I already had a small shed I could easily convert with some basic carpentry skills and I just went for it. 5 years later we have 8 chickens and a rooster. A local man who has had chickens all his life takes my extra roo's and this spring I will get some chicks from him. You meet the nicest chicken people locally. Now 2 of my neighbors and my uncle have chickens as well.

I haven't seen you on Pennsylvania Unite. There are quite a few people in NE PA. You can click on the map in my signature to see a few of them.

 

[showbarnmom]

You name it, I've raised it. Grew up on a small ranch, and showed cattle growing up in FFA. My family has also been showing rabbits for 40 years. Horses, cattlrd, hogs, goats, lambs, rabbits, you name it. Except chickens.

I graduated high school, and bounced around in different college degree programs, never really deciding what I wanted to do. Just that I wanted to work with animals. So I've spent the last 10 years in vet medicine as well as canine behaviorist. This summer I gave birth to my son, and decided I needed a career change. I started volunteering at a local exotic animal park.

About a month in, we had a clutch of 10 game bird mixes born in the middle of a cold snap. Within the first 48 hours I lost one to a sheep stepping on it, twoto drowning in the water dishes, and two to the evil peacocks picking on them. I was able to.catch 4 of the remaining 5, and brought them home so they stood a.chance. I was so mad at the peacocks! They wouldn't leave them alone!

DH built me a coop out of a repurposed deer blind, and I've expanded from 4 to 13, lost one of the original 4, bought 3 "brown egg layers", then gave 7 away to a friend. Now I am the chicken nazi at work, lol, and have 3 more on order!

They are addicting!

 

[BullChick]

I was raised thinking all birds were gross. Then last April I wandered into TSC for garden fencing. The chicks were so tiny, and so cute! The peeping broke my heart! I returned 2 days later after reading up on chicken care. The longer I have chickens, the faster my preconceived notions fall apart!

 

[WillowChick]

I went to Earth Day in Edmonton and saw a table display about raising backyard chickens in the city. We live in a little village outside the city but I found out there were NO LAWS saying we couldn't have chickens! Muahhahahaha. We got 4. 2 turned out to be roosters, so of course we had to start hatching more! Then chicken math got us.

Willow